Now, I am the first person to admit that cooking is not my forte. In fact, the closest my celebrity has ever come to a celebrity chef is being the warm up comic for a television pilot that Paula Dean was a guest on. And just for the record she IS as sweet in person as she is on TV and she loves butter just as much as you think she does- I don't care how much she's changed her diet post diabetes.
But that's neither here nor there. This blog entry is dedicated to the "Milk Mommies", the ladies who like myself are doing their darndest to keep the milk flowing for their little nursing ones.
I applaud all of you who are part of this club. Breast feeding is SO not the easy task that one might think it is nor does it come as second nature or as naturally as it seems it should. It's hard work made harder when the baby you so wish to nourish doesn't have an abundant milk supply. Some women's boobs runneth over. Others of us must use supplements like Fenugreek, Blessed Thistle, Goat's Rue, etc...but the tastiest thing I've come across thus far is Lactation Cookies- that I swear on my cracked nipples work.
There are several recipes out there, I've take a bit from here and there, but this is my own recipe that has made some of the best batches of cookies me and CJ, my non-lactating husband have ever had. Oh, and these cookies were a hit at "Baby Breastfeeding Bootcamp" so I can vouch for them.
Here is goes...
Ingredients:
- 3 cups of old fashioned oatmeal (NOT instant)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 and 1/2 cups of brown sugar
- 1 cup of chocolate chips (I prefer the milk chocolate morsels)
- 1 cup of butter (I prefer salted)
- 4 table spoons of water
- 2-4 tablespoons of Brewers Yeast (be generous)
- 2 tablespoons of Flaxseed Meal (I've used plain and the milled Flaxseed from Trader Joe's with blueberries)
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda (yes like Arm & Hammers)
IMPORTANT! Do not substitute the brewers yeast… that’s the ingredient which makes them work.
Method:
Preparation time is around 15-20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350F.
1) Mix together 2 tablespoons of flaxseed meal and water, set aside for 3-5 minutes.
2) Cream (beat well) butter and brown sugar. Add eggs one at a time, mix well.
3) Stir flaxseed mixture and add with vanilla to the butter mix. Beat until blended.
4) Sift together dry ingredients, except oats and chips.
5) Add to butter mixture. Stir in oats then chips.
6) Scoop or drop onto baking sheet. The dough is a little crumbly, it might be easier if you use a
scoop- I just use a spoon- no need to get too fancy.
Bake for 8-12 minutes, depending on size of cookies. Makes approximately 6 dozen cookies.
*Again, I can only vouch for myself, but this definitely increased my milk supply and it was a delicious treat that was easy to make. A HUGE plus when you're crazy busy with a newborn.
**Where to Get Brewers Yeast
You can get brewers yeast from health food stores, or in the health food isles of supermarkets.
It’s a bit cheaper to buy brewers yeast from supermarkets than from
health food stores.
***While these cookies most definitely helped my milk supply it was only temporary (the more lasting affect was my ass getting bigger- these suckers are addictive so be careful.) My real saving grace came about 4 months later when I was introduced to doTERRA Essential Oils. I was told to use Basil Oil topically to assist with my milk supply. I was super skeptical as most of us would be, but IT WORKED. I wrote about it here in my other blog entry: It's a Miracle #2: Basil Oil Cured My Breastfeeding Blues.
As Paula Deen and I would say, HAPPY NURSING Y'ALL!!!
4 and 1/2 the number of batches of Lactation Cookies I've made so far.
3 the number of pediatricians I've interviewed and still haven't found one that isn't a complete ding bat.
2 the number of times I've threatened to beat my husband to death with my My Brest Friend breast feeding pillow for saying stupid sh*t to me like "Why do you look so tired?"
2800 the number of times I've Skyped with my family in Texas (a 3000% increase since the baby was born)
4 the number of jeans sizes I've gone up since having this little darling. (Let's just say I used to be a "perfect 10".)
3 the number of breast pumps I've had my boobs on.
11 the number of different versions my husband has for the songs "The Isty Bitsy Spider" and "Baa Baa Black Sheep"
8 the number of C batteries we've wasted on baby gear who's vibrating feature was supposed to calm her down.
0 the number of times ANY of those things has calmed her down for more than 45 seconds at a time.
73 the number of times I've exposed myself to breastfeed in odd placees i.e. the Trader Joe's parking lot, Target parking lot, The Improv Comedy Club's back seating section before a show etc...
12 the number of hours I spend a week at lactation counseling- although to make it sound more fun I call it Baby Breastfeeding Bootcamp.
2 the number of flights I've taken with the baby and the Chihuahua all by myself.
0 the number of times I'll do that again.
4,862 the number of photos I've taken of my baby with my phone.
2 the number of times I've accidentally dropped my cell phone on my baby's head while trying to get work done. (*Okay one time I was playing Angry Birds.)
7 the number of times I've stopped and started this blog before I was able to complete and post it.
When you're this far along in pregnancy most of us have the potential for feeling heavier and crappier than ever before; so there's nothing like a huge compliment and a surprise of goodies in the mail to make you feel better about life. Which is why this blog is dedicated to two groups of folks who put a smile on my face this past week.
Shout out #1 goes to Trader Joe's whom when my husband, CJ, and I don't get everything we need from the local Farmer's Market here in SoCal we patronize constantly. Among other things, I love them for carrying gluten free mac 'n cheese, pasta and ginger snaps . But I am completely in love with them for hiring Jason who when CJ and I were checking out the other day carded me because my husband had put a bottle of beer in the basket. I was like, "Oh, that's nice- at least you still think I'm under 40." Then Jason replied, "Actually no, we have to card anyone who looks like they could be under 30." I wanted to make out with him right there I was so ecstatic.
Shout out #2 goes out to PopSugar who essentially made my entire week with their goodie bag i.e. the POPSUGAR MUST HAVE BAG. I was an honored recipient because of my blogging connection with Circle of Moms- (thanks again to all of you who voted for me as a Top 25 Blogger both in NYC and SoCal.) Because of my COM connection, PopSugar who has this really cool subscription thing where once a month you get a box full of the hottest trendiest items ranging from snacks to beauty products to helpful household items sent me their monthly box. So when I came home the other day to mail other than bills I was thrilled to find a box filled with SO many things that I like and can use. The edible stuff didn't last long. The Pretzel Crisps pretzels and Bear Naked Granola were like the movie- "gone in 60 seconds." Y'all know how green I am. I started using the Baggu bag immediately for all my trips to Trader Joe's, but it's so cute and fashionable I can use it to carry essentially anything. I happened to get it in my favorite color- fuscia, but they have many more at www.baggubag.com
With my TV appearance coming up in just a week I was beyond thrilled to receive Tatcha Blotting Papers - this pregnancy has my "T-zone" going on full force. The other goodies for my face included the ALL-NATURAL Sprout Exfoliator and Cleanser- from my other home of NYC- well, Brooklyn actually- btw they have a GREAT story.
Although I'm not indulging in the wine just yet, I have exactly what I need to celebrate Baby Bean's arrival in style outside by the pool. Because I also received the coolest stemless, and more importantly shatter proof Govino Wine Glasses.
After a week with gems like these how could a Momma-to-be NOT be happy?!
