New and updated Recipes to coincide with The StrongLikeMum Method Book
last updated June 14th 2022
Postnatal Recipes:
(contributed by KatieLShore)
Lactation Cookies:
Lots of shop bought lactation cookies can be full of too much sugar (wiping out the benefits of the other ingredients in the cookie) so I tinkered about with a few recipes and found that reducing the sugar doesn’t have to mean sacrificing the taste. The star ingredient here is brewers yeast which is linked to encouraging increased breast milk supply but the oats and flax seeds are also breastmilk heroes too. Think of this as a healthy oatmeal and raisin biscuit that doubles up as a breastfeeding aid!
Makes about 12
ingredients:
1 cup spelt flour* - *if you can’t find spelt flour you can use self raising flour and omit the baking powder.
1/2 cup sugar - either coconut or light muscovado would work
1/4 cup rolled oats (not the huge steel cut ones)
1/3 cup of raisins or sultanas
2 tbsp ground flaxseed
3 tbsp brewers yeast
1/3 cup very soft butter (or light olive oil would work if you cannot tolerate dairy)
1 large egg
1/2 tsp baking powder*
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla essence
Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan assisted
Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
Mix together the wet ingredients (the egg, butter/oil and vanilla) until thoroughly combined, then set aside
Mix together the remaining dry ingredients until well incorporated (no clumps of flour remain)
Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir together until a rough dough forms
Pinch off walnut sized amounts and roll into balls before laying them on the paper lined tray and flattening slightly. Repeat until all of the mixture has been used up. Make sure to leave space between the biscuits when they cook.
Bake for 12-15 minutes until they are golden on the top. All ovens run to different temperatures so keep an eye on your biscuits as you don’t want to over cook them.
Leave to cool (they will continue to harden as they cool down) before storing in an airtight tin for 3 days - any longer and they will start to soften.
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2. Fruity Porridge Fingers
These are great breastfeeding snacks or pair them with a dollop of yoghurt and that’s breakfast taken care of. They keep well in the fridge so you always have something tasty and healthy that is ready to eat and won’t spike your blood sugar too much. Plus they can be eaten with one hand which is another bonus.
ingredients:
100g porridge oats
2 bananas
1/2 apple or pear, grated (skin on)
100g frozen blueberries
1 large egg or 1 tbsp chia seeds soaked in 3 tbsp water for 10 minutes to make a chia ‘egg’
2 tbsp mixed seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, flax, sesame and poppy)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan assisted and line a 20cm x 20cm dish with greaseproof paper. If you’re using the chia egg, prepare it now.
In a bowl mash the banana in to a smooth pulp.
Add the grated apple (or pear), egg (or chia egg) and oil to the bowl and mix together.
Add the oats, cinnamon and mixed seeds and give everything another big stir until well combined.
Fold in the frozen blueberries before transferring the mixture to the prepared dish. Smooth the mixture down using the back of a spoon so that the mixture sits flat.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the top has started to turn golden at the edges. All ovens run to different temperatures so keep an eye out incase yours needs less cooking time. The bars continue to firm up once they are out of the oven.
Once out of the oven, cut into fingers and leave to cool in the dish.
When cool keep the fingers stored in the fridge for 3 days.
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3. Banana Bread
This healthy twist on the classic banana bread has a secret ingredient to up the vegetable content (I promise you won’t taste it!), plenty of fibre to keep your digestion moving and it’s free from refined sugar. Perfect for a breakfast on the go or a portable snack anytime of the day. I especially like it toasted and topped with a lick of butter then eat whilst it’s still warm.
ingredients:
3 bananas
1 medium parsnip
150g ground almonds
70g spelt or gram (chickpea) flour
2 tbsp olive oil (or melted butter)
3 eggs
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tbsp ground flaxseed
3 tbsp maple syrup (or adjust to your taste)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 tbsp of crushed walnuts, cacao nibs or raisins (optional)
Pinch of sea salt
Preheat the oven to 180℃/ 160℃ fan and line a loaf tin with baking parchment.
Peel the bananas. Add 2 of them to a bowl and split the final banana down the middle lengthwise. Reserve one of the halves for decoration later and add the second half to the bowl with the other 2 bananas.
Mash the bananas to a paste (it doesn’t have to be totally lump free).
Peel the parsnip and grate coarsely. Add to the mashed bananas.
Add the oil, maple syrup, eggs and vanilla to the banana parnsip bowl and mix together.
In a separate bowl stir together the ground almonds, flour, flaxseed, spices and salt until combined.
Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir together. This doesn’t have to be too heavy handed, you want the ingredients just coming together. Over-stirring makes for a heavier end loaf.
Add the lemon juice and bicarbonate of soda to the bowl and as they start to fizz fold into the batter.
When the fizzing has stopped and everything is well combined add your walnuts, cacao nibs or raisins (if using).
Pour the batter into the prepared tin and gently level off the mixture with the back of a spoon or spatula. Place the reserved banana half gently on top of the loaf for a final decorative flourish.
Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer or knife inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. All ovens run to different temperatures so keep an eye on the loaf and if the top starts to brown too quickly you can cover the tin with foil to prevent burning (I usually check about the 30 minute mark for this).
Leave to cool in the tin before slicing and storing in an airtight container. The loaf will last 3 days before it starts to get sticky. If you find you won’t eat the whole thing straight away this freezes beautifully. Simply slice up, wrap in baking parchment and freeze in a Tupperware or silicone storage bag (the parchment prevents the slices sticking together). You can toast the slices straight from the freezer or defrost them in the morning for a mid morning snack.