Sugar Free Lactation Cookies from Sugar Free Kids

Ah, I am so exhausted today! I didn't have to work so decided to take a me day and do pretty much nothing, aside from a few errands. I was having a lie down and *almost* asleep earlier when my phone rang - my physio checking if I was coming to Pilates. Nope, not coming. Not sleeping either.

Oh well, at least I have managed to achieve a few things, one of them being trying out a recipe from Sugar Free Kids. Sugar Free Kids is the brain child of Sha, a Melbourne Mum and insulin dependent diabetic who has long seen the benefits of leading a sugar free lifestyle. If only I were as motivated and talented in the kitchen as her, perhaps I would adopt the same approach! Nevertheless, her recipes are AMAZING and great for those weeks when I'm organised enough to prepare snacks instead of pre-buying.

This recipe for lactation cookies is a little fiddly but well worth it. They taste amazing and make a HUGE batch, which I've frozen in preparation for upcoming breastfeeding. Sha recommends eating at least three cookies per day to assist breast milk production, and quite a few of the comments on her blog suggest the cookies work. I'll be sure to let you know my own experience - although my lactation consultant has already stocked me up on Fenugreek tablets and Motilium, the lactation cookies will be packed in my hospital bag and the first thing I try to get the milk flowing naturally.

Here is a copy of the recipe if you don't have time to visit the site:

Ingredients:

Sunflower seeds - 1/2 cup or nuts if you prefer (not Walnuts, they do not help milk supply)

Oats - 2 cups (Organic is best, you can also buy GF oats if required)

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Butter - 1/4 cup or use 1/2 cup coconut oil in total

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Coconut Oil - 1/4 cup or use 1/2 cup butter in total

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Natvia - 1/2 cup or sweetener of choice

Blackstrap Molasses - Optional 2 Tablespoons - Spiral Foods brand is only 10% natural sugar, avoid most other brands - the taste is strong, don't overdo it

Rice Syrup - 3 heaped Tablespoons or sweetener of choice

Eggs - 2 XL eggs or 2 heaped Tablespoons of Chia seed left in 4 Tablespoons of water for 10 minutes to form a gel substitute for eggs

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Vanilla Extract - 1 - 2 Tablespoon

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Tahini - 1/4 cup - Unhulled or black tahini are most nutrient or use nut butter

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Cinnamon - 2 teaspoons

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Salt - 1/4 teaspoon - Himalayian has most minerals

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Baking Soda - 1 heaped teaspoon - must be Sifted

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Brewer's Yeast - 2 - 3 Tablespoons - do not replace with other yeast, very different, you can replace with more flax meal. Available at health food stores - it has a very strong taste so you can reduce the amount but this ingredient is important to help increase the supply

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Flax seed meal (Ground Linseeds) - 1 cup - available at health food stores or health section of supermarket

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Cooked Quinoa - 1 and 1/4 cups - use a heaped 1/3 cup dry quinoa and 1/2 cup boling water with lid on for 15 minutes then rest for 10 minutes with lid still on then fluff with fork and leave to cool

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Dried Figs - 3/4 cup (you can use apricot too) chopped small - the soft juicy ones are best, avoid preservative 220

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Almond Flakes - 3/4 cup to decorate or coconut or sesame seeds if nut free

Instructions:

• 1) Precook your quinoa

• 2) Soak your chopped dried fruit

• 3) Preheat oven to 180C

• 4) Line 3 baking trays with grease proof paper (if you only have 1 or 2, no problem to do batches)

• 5) Put the Sunflower seeds (or nuts) in processor and blitz on high until desired consistency (I like a flour like texture, but you can have more chunky)

• 6) Add the rolled oats and process further til desired texture for both. Set the sunflower and oat meal aside

• 7) Add butter and / or coconut oil (1/2 cup in total), molasses, natvia and rice syrup to processor and process on medium until the sweeteners have dissolved into the butters, you will need to scrape the sides back down a few times

• 8) Add eggs (or chia gel) one at a time process to incorporate

• 9) Add vanilla, tahini (or nut butter), cinnamon, salt, baking soda, brewer's yeast, flax meal, cooked quinoa and process on medium high to combine well, scraping down sides if needed

• 10) Add chopped fig or apricot and combine

• 11) Leave the processor running on a slow speed and very slowly pour in the oat and sunflower meal until you have a doughy dense batter

• 12) Have a bowl of water ready to keep your hands wet when making the balls, the dough is too sticky and you'll need wet hands

• 13) Make small balls, about 2cm diameter and flatten them onto your trays. Press on some Almond flakes or sesame seeds or coconut

• 14) Place in oven for 15 - 20 minutes until golden brown

• The cookies will rise slightly and come out chewy, for crunchier make them smaller and bake longer

• Repeat if you only have one tray (it takes about 10 minutes to prepare a tray of balls so you can bake while making the next batch)

• Leave to cool on a wire rack. Store in air tight container

• Being such a big batch, it is perfect to share with your mother's group or freeze some for later

Mine turned out a little weird looking due to my lack of patience rolling into balls, so I haven't bothered with pictures! They still taste great and all the ingredients are there. Hopefully yours will look more like Sha's...

Z x