These cookie bars were created with breastfeeding mothers in mind as they contain a few ingredients that are believed to help promote a healthy milk supply. One ingredient is Oats, which are very nutritious, and are a good source of fiber; Flax, which contain omega-3 fatty acids and are also a source of fiber; and Brewer’s yeast, which has traditionally been known to help enrich milk supply due to its high B-vitamin content. These bars are chewy, sweet, and hearty – and best of all, they work! So feel free to indulge in these little treats Mama, because you deserve it!
In the article ‘Healthy Foods to Nurture the New Mom’, I state that chocolate is on the ‘limited or avoid’ list of foods for new moms to eat, but if you aren’t super sensitive to chocolate, then the amount of chocolate in these bars shouldn’t bother you or your baby. But in the event that it does, just omit the chocolate chips and substitute in your favourite nut or seed, shredded coconut, or even carob chips. But if you can tolerate chocolate, then I highly suggest keeping it in since it seems to be the key ingredient to take the edge off the taste of brewer’s yeast.
Gluten-sensitive or Celiac? Oats themselves do do not contain gluten, but they are so frequently contaminated with wheat during processing that you will need to look for certified ‘Gluten-free Oats’ if you are concerned about having gluten in your diet. As well, because brewer’s yeast is a by-product of beer, it is often contaminated with barley which is a gluten-containing grain. So, if you have Celiac disease, these bars are not gluten-free but you could make them gluten-free by omitting the brewer’s yeast and selecting gluten-free oats. For those who are gluten-sensitive, these bars are gluten-limited since we are using gluten-free flours such as almond flour and coconut flour.
- 3 cups large flake oats
- ½ cup almond flour
- ½ cup coconut flour
- ¼ cup brewer’s yeast
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ cup ground flax
- ¾ cup hot water (+ 1-2 Tbsp, if needed)
- ½ cup coconut oil, melted
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup raisins (soaked in hot water for at least 15mins, and drained)
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips or dark chocolate bar piece
- walnuts pieces
- shredded coconut
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease a large 13"x 9" baking dish with coconut oil.
- Add hot water to raisins and let sit for 15 mins. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients and mix together well.
- In a medium sized bowl, mix ground flax with wet ingredients, and blend together with a hand blender.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir together until all ingredients are incorporated. Don’t worry about over mixing.
- Drain raisins. Fold raisins and chocolate chips into mixture. If you need more moisture, add 1-2 Tbsp more water and mix together well.
- Scoop dough into greased baking dish. Smooth out the top evenly with your hand or the back of a spoon.
- Bake for 30-35 mins, or until edges are browned.
- Let cool completely before cutting into 24-28 bars.
- Enjoy these bars when fresh, or store them in an airtight container in the freezer. These bars freeze really well and straight out of the freezer is my favourite way to eat them!
*Please note: Even though these are special for nursing Moms, other family members can safely eat them without any unwanted milk-making effects. But, you can also make them without brewer’s yeast for a delicious oatmeal chocolate chip cookie bar treat!
I am not trying to lactate, but these cookies look delicious, regardless!
would ground flax be considered flax meal?
I did use the flax seed meal and they turned out really good. I put everything in a food processor, I don’t care for oatmeal chunks, and these turned out amazing! Couldn’t taste coconut which was surprising, but good 🙂 Will definitely make these again and again.
Sorry for the late reply. I’m glad that you had success using the flax meal (which is the same as ground flax, especially if its ground good with very few whole seeds left). I’m happy that you enjoyed this recipe to make them again!
These look great! I was looking for a lactation cookie recipe without eggs (I’m allergic). This recipe has all the ingredients I would have used if I were designing my own recipes. You just saved me a ton of time figuring out. I will try these tomorrow. I hope they taste as good as they look!
That’s so great! Yes, it took some time to get the recipe just right, but it was well worth it. I hope you enjoy them too!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I made these yesterday and they are absolutely delicious. I am so happy to have a healthy lactation “cookie” to snack on.
I used loosely packed brown sugar instead of the apple sauce (a poor substitute I know but I didn’t have time to make the apple sauce – I might just use fresh shredded apple next time) and omitted the raisins and chocolate (personal preference). I ground whole almonds into meal in my thermomix then added the rest od the ingredients together and mixed 30 sec, reverse, spd 4 and then baked as instructed it was very easy.
Just an idea for easy Apple sauce – I cut up and Apple put a few table spoons of water, microwaved for 5 minutes and used my immersion blender… All in my 2 cup measuring cup – worked like a charm!
Great idea! We don’t have a microwave so I usually steam apple chunks, blend, then put it through a fine mesh strainer to give the apple sauce a velvety texture.
Expecting my first baby in a few days and just whipped these up, they are delicious. I substituted nutritional yeast for Brewers yeast as I am celiac (I’ve read that nutritional yeast also boosts lactation?) I also substituted dried cranberries for rasins (just not a fan.) i did go heavy on the chocolate chips as dairy and I get along fine! Hope these last till the baby gets here
Congratulations! And adding more chocolate chips is hardly ever a bad thing 🙂 I’ve not heard of nutritional yeast for lactation benefits (please send along any resources) but it is a good source of B12.
I wanted to leave out the brewers yeast as it can commonly induce gas and I am currently on an elimination diet battling this with my baby. Do I need to do anything different with the process or just cut out the yeast and continue on as normal? They look delicious and I’ve anxiously been waiting to try them just trying to find a recipe that doesnt use brewers yeast.
You can leave out the brewers yeast & they would still make a tasty bar. They may not have maximum milk making benefit but there’s a ton of other things you can do to promote milk supply such a stay well hydrated & nurse on demand.
I am looking forward to trying these! They actually have a gluten free brewers yeast available at vitacost.com You can go here to get some if you want to save $10 bit.ly/Wpb59W I have been using it in other lactation recipes with good results! This way I can use up the leftover almond meal from my milk making too! Thanks!
Thanks for the info!
What can you use as a healthy substitute if you don’t have apple sauce or apples to make the sauce? Hoping to make these bars while snowed in so I probably won’t be able to run out and grab the sauce or apples. Would ripe bananas work??
Absolutely! They would give your bars a nice hint of banana too. Try it out & let us know how it worked out! We’re always interested in knowing what worked & what didn’t for people.
Do you have the nutritional information for these bars by chance?
We don’t, but is there specific information you are looking for (ie calories, protein)? You may be able to plug the values into a program online to give you the info you’re looking for.
What if you can’t use almond flour?
That’s a great question. You could try using any gluten-free flour either solo or in combination, such as buckwheat flour and coconut flour, or another nut meal such as hazelnut flour. You might have to adjust the liquid or binder (I think ground flax would be a good choice) depending on which flour you choose. Let us know how it goes!
Hi!
Do you have to use coconut and almond flour or could you just use white flour? :o/
You sure can! We just like to provide gluten & dairy limited options 🙂
Can u make these ahead of time and freeze them. If so how long will they last in the freezer?
They are really tasty eaten straight from the freezer. I would store them in a locked container or freezer bag for up to 3 months (though they’ve never lasted longer than 1 month in our house, so I’m guessing based on standard freezing times).