Friday, September 2, 2011

The Breakfast of Breastfeeding Champions


It's just a crummy 2.0mpx iPhone photo, but doesn't that look good? That was my breakfast this morning prepared in my oversized mug here at my office. It's a medley of steel cut oats cooked in 2% milk with nuts and dried fruit added. I started eating steel cut oats about two months ago hoping they would help me with breastmilk supply. I thought I had read somewhere that they helped increase supply. On doing further research, I have discovered that oatmeal is not a galactagogue, but it is certainly nutritious (and filling!). And, where oatmeal is concerned, the less refined it is, the better (nutritionally speaking, anyway). Steel cut oats take longer to cook, but I can (and do) prepare them in the microwave. I just watch carefully so that they don't boil over. I love them! They are very comforting. And we all know that comfort + relaxtion = oxytocin, which equals better letdown and/or breastmilk pump yield. So, ta-da... there you have it.

Some recommended reading on adding oatmeal to your diet if you are lactating (and even if you're not):

Oatmeal for Increasing Milk Supply by Kelly Bonyata, BS, IBCLC of kellymom.com
Is Your Breastmilk Waning? by Jean Weiss for MSN Health & Fitness (Excellent article!!!)

These are the products I use to make my oatmeal (add milk).

*1/4 cup Quaker Steel Cut Oats
*1 cup 2% milk (works fine with skim or water, too)
*1/4 cup Planters NUT-rition Bone Health Mix (I threw a few chopped dates in this time, too)

My breakfast was about 440 calories, 58 grams of carbohydrate and 17grams of protein. The fat content is a little high at 17grams, but I'm not dieting. I could cut down on that by omitting nuts and using skim milk or water, but I'm eating "good" fat from nutritious foods, so I don't really feel bad about it. This is a hearty, delicious meal that gets my day going (and sticks to my ribs) without making me feel sluggish. It beats a biscuit and bo-rounds any day.