Lovely lactation cookies: breast cancer awareness tribute

So this is my tribute to breast cancer awareness! I found a recipe for lactation cookies (for all my lactating mammas!). Hey! Who doesn't want an excuse to eat cookies guilt free!?  Unfortunately the recipe I found had two cups of sugar and a cup of butter and a cup of chocolate chips... So... I couldn't just leave it alone!!

What makes it a lactation cookie?

Two things... Oats and brewers yeast. You know how some people say to have a beer to increase your milk supply? Well it's the brewers yeast in there that does the job! So why choke down a beer (and risk all the alcohol/breastmilk controversy) when you can just buy the stuff at bulk barn for a few cents and make some cookies!?

If you don't feel like being healthy, you can invent your own lactation cookie by just adding two rounded tablespoons of brewers yeast, and some activated flax meal to your existing oatmeal cookie recipe... But my blog is on the healthier side so naturally I have a nice healthy alternative for ya!!

(What a great way to keep your husband away from your cookie stash eh? "If you eat these, you will grow boobies dear"... 'Nuf said!) - I guess you could always get him to do the midnight feeding if he eats all your cookies... 

Anyway! Our story begins with a successful trip to bulk barn. I got about a cup of brewers yeast for 1.80. Not expensive stuff! It's in the spices aisle. 

Here are all my ingredients! Mostly normal stuff. The weird additions are easily attained or substituted if you don't like them.

- palm sugar: coconut tree sap, dehydrated. An awesome brown sugar substitute cause it is nice and Carmel tasting. It has roughly half the sugar content of normal sugar and your body digests it slower so you won't get the same sugar spike as regular sugar!

- coconut oil: a Margerine/butter substitute. Also known to aid in lactation so in my opinion it should be part of your recipe! I buy mine at Costco. You can also get it at any health food store and usually at grocery stores now too cause it is getting more popular. 

- brewers yeast: no replacing! This is a critical ingredient. Just cause you didn't know about it doesn't mean it's hard to find. Bulk barn is 20 minutes from anywhere in the city I bet... (I won't put money on that cause I didn't even google map that). Anyway, this stuff actually has other health benefits other than lactation (but your husband need not know this). This is the left-overs from breweries after they are finished... Beer-ing the stuff. (That's the technical term) so in addition to making you into a cow, you get some awesome amino acids too!

Protein powder: optional. I use garden of life's vegan organic sprouted grain and legume protein (sounds crazy I know. The nice lady gave me a sample, so I bought some). I get it at vita health. Only add this if you already like using protein powder in your diet. Totally not necessary. 

Ground flax: not pictured... You can buy flax anywhere and grind it up in your coffee grinder. You can buy it pre-ground at many grocery and health food stores as well. I have a vitamix dry blender so I blend mine that way. In this recipe you activate it by adding it to some water and letting it sit for a while. It basically turns to sludge but this is some of the healthy oils coming out, and then into the cookie!

And the rest of the stuff is pretty straight forward. 

Step one 

Mix your flax seeds and water and let them sit on the counter for 3-5 minutes, till they get sludgy like this picture. 

Start by creaming the coconut oil and palm sugar together. Coconut oil should be a solid at room temperature. If it's not, you need air conditioning, or  you bought a highly refined product and not natural unrefined coconut oil. This makes it easy to use as a butter or lard replacer. Coconut oil has too many health benefits to name, but I challenge you to google it for yourself! Make the switch!!

Next mash up your banana and stir it in there. Then add your eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla and flax sludge. 

Your batter will resemble oatmeal at this point cause the coconut oil solidifies in the liquid a bit. This won't affect your final product at all. 

Next mix your dry ingredients including brewers yeast (pictured above) and add them to the wet mix.  (I actually substituted 3/4 cup almond flour for the wheat flour. I would do more next time since it is such a stiff batter and doesn't need the gluten from the flour to stick together). 

Your batter will be quite thick. I had to switch to a wooden spoon to actually stor the oats in there

Now is the fun part: pick your one cup of extras! I suggest something sweet like dark chocolate, raisins or craisins since the banana is a sugar substitute from the original recipe I saw.  But you could add seeds, nuts, flax, chia, hemp etc... Coconut... Whatever your heart desires!

I added cranberries since thanks giving is right around the corner... And they help fight off infections, and I have a cold :)

Pan-em up (nice and close together. They don't spread much). And bake them at 375 for 10 ish minutes!

Then enjoy!! (Yes I ate all six of these after I took the picture). I got about 60 small cookies in total

Lactation cookies

Ingredients

1 Cup coconut oil (Costco)

1 Banana

1 Cup coconut sugar**

4 Tbsp water

2 Tbsp flaxseed meal**

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

3 Cups oats**

2 generous Tbsp brewer's yeast**

Optional:

1 scoop plain or vanilla protein powder

1 Cup add ins ** (add something sweet like cranberries or raisins since I cut out some sugar)

**Bulk barn sells it

Directions

Preheat oven at 375 degrees F. Mix together 2 tablespoons of flaxseed meal and water, set aside for 3-5 minutes. Cream coconut oil and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, then add banana mashed up.  mix well. Stir flaxseed mixture and add with vanilla to the sugar mix. Beat until blended. Sift together dry ingredients, except oats and add ins.  Add to wet mixture. Stir in oats then extras.  Scoop or drop onto baking sheet, preferably lined with parchment or silpat. The dough is a little crumbly, so it helps to use a scoop.

Bake 375 for 10 minutes.