Breastfeeding and Mookies (milk cookies)

As a new mama, it can be so frustrating figuring out breastfeeding. Before Shiloh I thought it was a simple pop-her-on and done. False! I felt like Shiloh spent equal time nursing as she did sleeping. I would talk to other mama’s and hear that their babies would spend 15-30 min nursing. Meanwhile we were going on 45-60 minute marathon sessions AND cluster feeding every hour on the hour.

This prompted me to do a lot of research into breastfeeding. One of the best things I did was talk with a lactation consultant and her pediatrician. Both put my mind at ease – we were totally normal. It simply comes down to the fact that every baby is different. I love how Shiloh’s pediatrician put it – some babies are barracudas (done in 5 minutes!!) and others, like Shiloh, are grazers. 

Here are some of the other very helpful tips I learned:

• Babies have tiny tummys!! As newborns it’s just the size of a hazelnut. And, since breast milk is so easily digested and their tiny bodies are doing major work, they run through that milk pretty quickly! 
• Just because she looked like she was nursing, didn’t mean it was all nutritive. Sometimes it’s about comfort and closeness for the baby and that’s 100% ok! 
• Make sure you switch which side you start nursing on. Let her nurse a while on that first side so she gets that super rich hind milk, then top off with “dessert” on the other side. 
• Your milk is more rich in the morning. By the end of the day you might need a little boost…
• …like beer. It works. Like really really works. But obviously you want to talk to your doc first. There’s also some great info about alcohol and breastfeeding here.

Another fun fact: Brewers yeast, flax seed, and oats all increase milk supply. Actually, that’s officially debatable but I’ve had great success with this combo. For a while I would mix varying amounts together with some PB fit to mask the bitterness of the Brewers yeast (which worked remarkably well!). But I kept coming across cookie recipes, which is much more appealing in my book. Finally, I decided to try and bake up a batch.

I scoured Pinterest to find the perfect recipe, but couldn’t find “the one”. I wanted something tasty yet healthy since I planned on eating them every day. I also don’t like complicated. So here is my creation, a conglomeration of all the best recipes I could find, tweaked to my liking. That being said, I love to cook, but baking is a bit too precise for me. Despite that, these came out pretty tasty! 

And best of all, they work!!! Like feed the neighborhood kids kinda work (not that I’m recommending that but just sayin…). 

A few Baker’s notes:

• I drastically cut the sugar and fat in these…like by at least half of what other recipes have. So if you are looking for something a bit more sweet and less crumbly, you could technically double both the butter/oil combo and sugar. 

• Just FYI – however you shape ‘em, that’s how they’ll cook. As in, they don’t flatten out or spread out at all. 

• Also, yes, men can eat these too without worrying about spouting milk. In fact they are loaded with healthy nutrients!  

Mookies

Ingredients:

• 3 TB flaxseed meal
• 6 TB water
• ¼ cup agave nectar
• ¼ cup coconut sugar
• 3 TB coconut oil (softened)
• 2 TB butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ cup brewers yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 ½ cups of almond meal or almond flour
• 2 ½ cups of rolled oats
• 1 cup of steel cut oats
• 1 cup of chocolate chips
  

Easy peasy…

Preheat oven to 350*

Combine the flaxseed and water in a small bowl and let it sit or a few minutes (the flax will soak up the water). 

Combine the agave, sugar, coconut oil, and butter (tip from my baker MIL – grate in the cold butter to make it easier to work with…brilliant!). 

Mix it really well, then add the eggs, flax mixture, and vanilla. 

Stir together all dry ingredients, except chocolate chips, and then add them to the wet ingredients. 

Finally, stir in the chocolate chips.

Use a tablespoon to scoop and drop the cookies on the baking sheet, and press them down slightly (spray the spoon with an oil spray to make this sticky mixture workable). 

Bake about 8 min. Recipe makes about 30 cookies!