The Best Easy Lactation Smoothie Recipe
There were so many things I wasn’t prepared for during my first breastfeeding journey, namely: postpartum depletion, constant dehydration, and ravenous breastfeeding hunger.
Layer on top of that the stress I experienced with a turbulent return to work, the start of the pandemic, job loss and miscarriage at just 8 months postpartum. By 9 months I turned to combo feeding to balance my desire to continue the breastfeeding bond with giving my mind and body the space and healing it needed.
In hindsight, I just found it so, so hard to take care of myself as a new mom through all the ups and downs–in turn making it difficult to care for my baby the way I wanted.
I’m incredibly grateful for being able to breastfeed my daughter for as long as I did, and combo feeding was absolutely the right choice for me and my family at the time. Still, as I started breastfeeding my second daughter, I wanted to be more proactive when it came to nourishing myself and boosting my supply.
Like any curious millennial mom, I took to Google to find my perfect breastfeeding diet, which led me to discovering the brand Majka, and to the magic green smoothie I religiously make and drink every morning. I’m fanatically obsessed with their Nourishing Lactation Protein Powder, which is a prenatal vitamin, protein powder and herbal supplement all in one.
Maybe it’s placebo, maybe it’s luck, maybe I’m just doing a better job of caring for my body this time overall, but this is the smoothie I swear by to keep my energy and my milk supply up–even with a baby who doesn’t quite sleep through the night and an energetic two and a half year old. The recipe is similar to the one Majka recommends on the canister, with my own twist and additions.
The Recipe:
1/2 cup fruit (banana and blueberry are my favorites)
1 handful spinach
2 scoops Majka Nourishing Lactation Protein Powder (use my code for $10 off!)
1 tablespoon chia, flax or hemp seeds
1 tablespoon nut butter (I prefer almond)
2 cups oatmilk or coconut water
10 drops grapefruit seed extract
1/2-1 teaspoon sunflower lecithin (optional, if experiencing plugged ducts)
Recipe notes:
Bananas are great to include to add a little extra sweetness and texture, plus they add great potassium to a breastfeeding mom’s diet. Blueberries are my other favorite fruit to add sweetness, and according to ayurvedic tradition, they are a natural mood booster and have a calming effect. You could really use any fruit here or omit if you prefer less sugar.
You could use any protein powder or even collagen here for an added boost. Ritual has a great protein powder that I used during pregnancy, but I’m loving the Majka brand because of the special focus on supporting lactation and the nutritional needs of moms in the postpartum period.
I like to use oatmilk since oats are said to be a galactagogue, but any type of milk, juice or water would do just fine.
When I developed painful nipple thrush with my first, my pediatrician said that grapefruit seed extract saved her breastfeeding journey and suggested I start supplementing to keep thrush away after treating it with an initial round of antifungal treatment. You don’t need to use this in your smoothie, but I haven’t experienced thrush since I started taking it daily!
Similarly, sunflower lecithin is recommended to help with plugged ducts. For a few weeks after I developed mastitis thanks to some lazy pumping early on I experienced on and off again plugged ducts. My lactation consultant recommended trying a big dose of sunflower lecithin for a week, then tapering off to a maintenance dose after that to help manage and prevent the plugged ducts. Supposedly the lecithin “thins out” your milk to help things flow more easily. There’s also a ton of choline in it, which is great for you and your baby! You can also take these in a pill pill form instead of adding the liquid dose to your smoothie.
