Following on from my recent post on our experience of tandem nursing, I have been promising to share one of the recipes I used to boost my energy, health and production of milk. It is so important for all lactating women to eat healthy foods which can replenish the nutrients that are constantly being used to make milk. As a vegan, breastfeeding two young babies, I was extra vigilant about eating well to maintain a full supply of milk and stay in good health myself. In the early days of breastfeeding two infants, I drank the following smoothie daily:
Breastfeeding Mama’s Super-Smoothie
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Super-Green-Nutrient-Dense-Smoothie!
I make no claims to be a medical professional or nutritionist I found the following information that seems to back up my instinctual choice of these ingredients:
Coconut Milk
Coconut milk is close to human breast milk in its pH, and fat and nutrient content and is also a good source of calcium, manganese, selenium, zinc and iron. Interesting coconut milk and breast milk are two of the most abundant natural sources of lauric acid which is considered antiviral, antibacterial and antiprotozoal.
Herbalist, wellness practitioner and researcher in human development Cori Young says:
A study published in 1998 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has shown that lactating mothers who eat coconut oil and other coconut products, have significantly increased levels of lauric acid and capric acid in their breast milk. Thus, the milk supply has increased amounts of the protective antimicrobials , which will give even greater protection to the nursing infant.
Pregnant females store fat to assure successful lactation. Any lauric acid and capric acid in the diet becomes part of the adipose stores. The milk fat of a lactating mother is made up of these stores as well as her current diet. If her diet doesn’t contain lauric acid, then generally her milk fat will contain around 3% lauric acid and round 1% capric acid.
When a lactating woman adds foods rich in lauric acid to her diet, the amount of lauric acid available in her breastmilk increases substantially to levels three times the original level and nearly double the amount of capric acid. In countries where coconut oil is a diet staple, levels of lauric acid in the mother’s milk can be as high as 21% and capric acid can be as high as 6% giving her infant even more protection against viruses, bacteria, and protozoa. (source: here)
Avocado
Avocados are considered by many to be one of natures superfoods. They are nutrient dense providing a wide range of vitamins and minerals including Vitamins K, C, A, E & many B vitamins, as well as Potassium and Magnesium. They are high in dietary fibre and, according to some sources, provide all of the essential amino acids needed to be obtained through food.
The Franklin Institute Resources for Science Learning website says that:
About two-thirds of your brain is composed of fats. Myelin, the protective sheath that covers communicating neurons, is composed of 30% protein and 70% fat. One of the most common fatty acids in myelin is oleic acid, which is also the most abundant fatty acid in human milk and in our diet.
Monosaturated oleic acid is the main component of olive oil as well as the oils from almonds, pecans, macadamias, peanuts, and avocados.
Bananas
Bananas are high in vitamins B6 and C, pottasium, manganese and dietary fibre.
According to eMedTV Vitamin B6 helps the immune system produce antibodies. Women need 1.6 milligrams of B6 every day, and men need 2 milligrams. Breastfeeding women have a higher need for vitamin B6 compared to most other adults (including pregnant women).
An article found on the website of the Bastyr Center for Natural Health reads:
Vitamin B6 Important for Developing Infants, Mothers
The amount of vitamin B6 in a woman’s breast milk may influence the development of her infant, according to a new study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association (2002;102:1433–8). The mother’s vitamin B6 intake affects the amount found in her breast milk, and higher amounts in the milk are associated with improvements in learning capacity and central nervous system function.
Read the rest of the article here
For a fuller explanation of the nutrients in bananas and their many health benefits see the website of ‘The George Mateljan Foundation for the World’s Healthiest Foods’
Pumpkin seeds
A good source of natural DHA and alpha linolenic acid. Kelly Mom, one of the best websites I’ve found on breastfeeding, explains much more about DHA, alpha linolenic acid and their foods sources here
Dates
Dates are perfect for sweetening smoothies and other treats as they add natural sugars along with a range of other nutrients (unlike sugar or refined sweeteners)
According to e-How Health:
Dates are filled with a variety of nutrients such as calcium, sulfur, iron, potassium, phosphorous, manganese, copper and magnesium. The fruit also boasts a variety of vitamins including Vitamin A1, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, and 20 different kinds of amino acids, which aid in the digestive process.
Read more of the article: What Is the Nutritional Value of Dates? here
Spirulina
I’ve been using Spirulina infrequently for many years and was told by a friend that it helped boost breastmilk production. With it’s super dose of nutrients in just a small amount of the product it’s easy to see why that’s probably true. With all is purported health benefits, I now add Spirulina in smoothies for my little ones too!
Wikipedia says that Spirulina is:
Shown to be a rich source of Essential fatty acids: gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), and also provides alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), linoleic acid (LA), stearidonic acid (SDA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (AA).
Spirulina also contains vitamin B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (nicotinamide), B6 (pyridoxine), B9 (folic acid), vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin A and vitamin E
So as well as tasting great, it seems like this smoothie also packs a good nutritional boost too and I’d recommend it to anyone, pregnant, lactating, vegan or not! I love smoothies and you can read some of my other recipes here and here. Let me know if you enjoy it and what other super-smoothies you make.
For more on maternal health and nutrition during breastfeeding read this article written by a team of medical doctors.
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Oh, yummy! Thank you for all the healthy reasons behind drinking this, too. I’m making my shopping list for some healthy mama & babies.
Sharing this on twitter & facebook, too
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Glad it was of use to everyone. Melissa and Zoie – thanks for sharing!
This sounds fabulous! I seldom make smoothies, but it’s something I probably ought to do more. I was aware of the fact that coconuts are extremely nutritious, but the benefit for nurslings in particular was news to me. I’ve been going crazy with fresh coconuts lately, so that’s great to know!
I’m going to link to your recipe in my Sunday Surf today
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Thank you for posting this recipe, it has come at a perfect time for me, with my 4 week old
I made this smoothie today! I had to use spinach instead of spirulina though. It was VERY good! The avocado and the coconut milk give it such a delightful creaminess that you might only otherwise get with a dairy product. Thanks for sharing!
Hey Claire, Thanks for coming back to let me know your experience with the smoothie. I’m going to try spinach too! So glad you enjoyed it.
I just came back to say hi and tell you that I am making this smoothie a few times a week. My little man is 20 weeks old today and is thriving on his mama’s milk
He’s so strong and smart and happy and secure and I feel so good. And guess what? My husband drinks the smoothies too!
Hey Claire, that is really great to hear and I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment and let me know how well the recipe is working for you, your baby and your husband! I’m glad to celebrate your breastfeeding success – it is so wonderful for our children. I am waiting for avocados to come back in season right now to make more myself – I am breastfeeding 2 toddlers! I have a yummy healthy chocolate milk recipe to share soon that me and my kids love and you might too so hope you will read the new posts coming soon. Onelove.
I’ll be filing this away for future reference. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to use it personally.
Hey Jennifer, it’s good anytime for anyone and the kids will probably love it too! But yes I hope you get to use it for helping to make milk too
I put a few too many dates in mine and it was sweet but I like it like that. Lovely recipe!
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I’m confused about the coconut milk. Should I use the coconut water or milk found inside the fresh coconut instead of water? How much coconut do you grate? What if you didn’t strain out the grated coconut and blended it in the smoothie instead?
Hi Jenna, to make the coconut milk you need a hard coconut. Take out and grate all the white flesh, add water and squeeze it out to make a large jug of coconut milk. You can then use as much as you want and have the rest for cooking with. It will not last long so store in the fridge and use within 1 day. If you have a very powerful blender you may be able to add the coconut into the smoothie but I think most of the time the coconut flesh would be dry and bitty in the drink! Let me know if you try it!
Hi Terri! I thought of this, and came to find it. I am posting a link to it on my SattaDay Sharing post tomorrow. Much love sis. Thank you!
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