When I was a new mama to my sweet Tiny, I was fortunate to have an ample supply of nourishing breastmilk. Sure, there are things I know now about breastmilk composition that would have certainly impacted some of my dietary choices but at the time I was just grateful to be making milk!

Not all of my mama friends were as lucky. Many struggled with supplyand breastfeeding. While there are loads of natural ways to boost milk supply, lactation cookies have always been a trusted and popular (not to mention yummy) way for a mama to stimulate milk production.

When one my dear friends struggled with her supply, I immediately whipped up a batch of lactation cookies for her. Shocked at how well they worked, I started to research various gluten free options as I myself was gluten free and figured there were other mothers out there in the same boat.

I created a great recipe for gluten free lactation cookies but was inspired to take it a step forward recently.

I have been dealing with many food allergies and intolerances and wondered if there was a more “food allergy free” lactation cookie recipe out there that didn’t compromise on the lactation boosting effects.

There wasn’t. And so, I decided to head to the test kitchen and see what I could come up with!

I have fallen in love with Tigernuts and after a lot of additional research, I found out that they are used across Africa, South America, and Asia to boost milk supply and enhance the quality of the breastmilk produces.

This is because Tigernuts are very nutritious and contain loads of minerals which are needed in order to produce breastmilk. These include chromium, sodium, phosphorous, magnesium, manganese, iron, copper and zinc. They have a high vitamin E and C content. Tigernuts also contain all the amino acids and some of the B-complex vitamins.

Wow! What breastfeeding mama wouldn’t want to add Tigenuts to her diet to enhance her breastmilk? Since they are a tuber and not a nut, they are safe for those with nut sensitivities. They are also gluten free, casein free, and well, allergy free! This is why I made Organic Gemini’s Tigernut Flour the star of this recipe.

In addition to Tigernut flour, I included coconut oil.

The medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs) in coconut oil improve the absorption of nutrients already existing in the mother’s diet. These nutrients are of course passed onto the nursing infant through the breast milk. For these reasons, it is important that a mother’s breast milk contain as much medium chain fatty acids as possible. (Read more about coconut oil and breastfeeding here.)

According to research, when a lactating woman adds foods rich in lauric acid to her diet, the amount of lauric acid available in her breast milk increases substantially to levels three times the original level and nearly double the amount of capric acid. A single meal with coconut oil can significantly affect the breast milk fatty acid compositions for 1 to 3 days with the maximum increase occurring during the first 10 hours.

Another very important function of MCFAs is that they protect the baby from harmful microorganisms. The infant’s immune system is heavily supported by the antibacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-parasitic properties of these vital MCFAs in breast milk which are increased by daily consumption of coconut oil.

Fun Fact – Lauric acid is the most plentiful medium chain fatty acid (MCFA) found in mother’s milk AND coconut oil. And the ratio of lauric acid to other MCFAs in human milk is IDENTICAL to that in coconut oil.

Fenugreek, flaxseeds, brewer’s yeast, and oats have all been used through the ages to increase milk supply. The reason that honey is used and not sugar is because honey has tremendous health properties which a mother can pass on to her breastfeeding infant. Unless you are allergic to honey, please do not substitute the honey with sugar. The rest of the ingredients are there to make this cookie tasty but I strongly advise you to follow this recipe and not try to make substitutions. The tigernut flour lactation cookies might not turn out right.

Who’s ready to whip up a nourishing batch of Tigernut Flour Lactation Cookies?

Oh, you are? Well let’s make this happen!