Banana Nut Lactation Muffins

“Banana Nut Lactation Muffins” | mymindbodybaby

So you had a baby!

Are you wondering where you milk is?

Or, has your milk come in and you just want to make sure you have plenty for your little one?

I had all the same questions, when after 3 days, nada, zero zip. No milk. Check here for my full story that includes tips, tricks and foods to help increase your milk.

So regardless of your situation and why you want to optimize your milk supply, I’ve put together, what I think, is a pretty tasty, low sugar version of Banana Nut Lactation Muffins to get the milk-a-flowing!

But first…

Health Benefits of Banana Nut Lactation Muffins

There are several elements about this recipe (other than its lactation supporting properties), that appeal to me as a nutritionist; the fat and fiber content. Since I’m always on the hunt for low sugar, high fiber, satiating snacks, especially now with my little one, this particular muffin fits the bill quite nicely.

Once I got my hands on the nuts a bolts of this Banana Chip recipe, I “nutritionized” it to work for those of us who want to keep things as sugar free as possible, while still tasting great!

Voila! Banana Nut Lactation Muffins a-la Michelle was born!

Let’s Talk Galactagogues 

Errrrr, what?!

These are substances that some suggest promote lactation. While there is no hard evidence to prove this, much of it seems to be anecdotal, so long as the foods are whole and natural, I am game to experiment. I underlined the galactagogues foods, in the list below, that are in this recipe.

Examples of plant based, healthy galactagogues:

• flax seeds
• brewers yeast
• fennel
• basil
• oatmeal
• nettle
• fenugreek
• blessed thistle

Note: Always check with your healthcare provider before consuming something new or anything herbal while breastfeeding.

Other than the galacta-goodness, straight up, this recipe is chalk full of the good stuff and not just for us mamas who are trying to maximize our breast milk potential.

Fiber

This muffin is exploding with it. Nuts, oats, flax and coconut are all providing us with the plant based roughage to keep our pipes functioning optimally! Why should you care? Well, other than avoiding the awful feeling of being backed up, a healthy digestive track is vital for a host of reasons. Here’s a short list

• Our immune is made in the gut. If the gut is full of toxins and undigested food particles, our immune systems can become compromised. (1)
• Inflammation in the gut caused by various factors including, consumption of allergenic foods and highly processed foods leading to compromised digestion  “have been linked to causing several mental illnesses including anxiety and depression…” (2)
• High fiber foods like the soluble fiber found in oatmeal in the recipe, is one easy way to help reduce Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) or “bad” cholesterol in the body. The Mayo recommends 5-10g of soluble fiber per day to help lower LDL. (3)
• The Fibrous nature of these foods is wonderful for keeping you feeling full and satiated, while also helping to balance blood sugars (great for diabetics). As a result cravings are reduced and subsequently unnecessary eating – especially of low nutrient “foods”.
• Estrogen dominance has been linked to hormonal issues including infertility. Fiber plays a key role in helping to remove this excess estrogen from the body via bowel movements. (4)

Healthy Fats

I think we can all FINALLY agree that eating fat does not make you fat. In fact, it does quite the opposite. Eating healthy, omega 3 fatty acids reduces inflammation, keeps you feeling full, supports cognitive development in baby AND slows down age related decline. All pretty awesome reasons in my book to be eating tons of plant based healthy fats. Check out our Easy Salmon Dill Patties for more ways to include fats in your diet and brush up on its benefits!

In fact, unsweetened coconut, flax, nuts and coconut oil all contain this vital macronutrient – which by the way are ALL in this recipe as well. See, we’ve got you covered!

Why Gluten Free Flour?

Here’s the deal.

I’ve seen enough over the past 11 years of practice as a nutritionist to feel comfortable suggesting people eat a gluten free, or at least, gluten reduced diet. You might be thinking, “I don’t want to jump on this bandwagon like everyone else”. I get it. It seems like a fad, but to be frank, I think it’s here to stay.

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, spelt and barley and is an incredibly tough protein for our bodies to break down.

We commonly associate gluten intolerance or coeliac disease to gastrointestinal symptoms like bloating and bowel issues. While this can be true, diagnosis can be challenging, in that patients often suffer from silent or extremely subtle symptoms.

Why You Should Care

Unfortunately due to the subtly of these symptoms, people are often misdiagnosed or don’t even realize there is an issue to begin with until there is a reason to look deeper into ones health concerns, such as infertility.

“Reproductive problems, including infertility, miscarriage, low birth weight newborns, and shorter duration of breast-feeding, are known to exist in women with coeliac disease…”, so  when it comes to the topic of hormones and fertility, according to the Endocrine Society, “A gluten-free diet is essential to prevent coeliac complications such as anemia, osteoporosis, and infertility”.(5) (6)

With that said, you can judge for yourself what flour to use. If you choose to opt out of using gluten free flour, simply substitute with an all purpose whole grain version – but, for the love of God, please avoid white flour!

So, go ahead and please enjoy these muffins responsibly. But remember, they still ARE a muffin and tasty enough to O-D on when you are sleep deprived…a topic for another day!

Loving these muffins? I make them ALL the time, please take a picture and share with us on Facebook or Instagram!