Favorite Breastfeeding Foods: Dates
My Favorite Recipes Using Dates for Increasing Breastmilk
Folks will often say specific foods can’t increase milk production. Well, let’s bring dates into the conversation. To do that let’s give a little background of breastmilk production.
Prolactin in the main hormone responsible for the stimulation of breastmilk production. Levels can be increased by a baby suckling at the breast, through foods, better sleep hygiene, and exercise. Prolactin is critical for breastmilk production as it is the hormone that initiates the synthesis of milk proteins. Oxytocin meanwhile is responsible for let downs releasing milk.
With prolactin levels being highest at night (think midnight to 4 AM), it’s best to eat dates at night before bed, and have as a midnight snack while pumping. I’m a big fan of creating the habit of snacking/drinking a bevy while pumping.
Dates and Peanut Butter
One of my favorite easy recipes to make in bulk (looking at you birthing partners) is this dates and peanut butter snack. Take a date, open it up, place a dollop of peanut butter inside. Boom. Easy as pie. You can freeze, refrigerate after.
I like to add a sprinkle of hemp seeds, chia seeds, ground flax seeds, and cinnamon to the top just for the extra nutrients. It’s easy to make a variety of these—add chocolate chips, crushed nuts, different nut butters, salt, sprinkles.
Brie, Dates, and Crackers
If you want that charcuterie board post partum here ya go babe. There’s something very decadent about a bath with a tray of Mary’s seed crackers, topped with a bit of brie and a date. Again, go ham on the modifications—wrap the brie/date combo in proscuitto, add honey over the top, use cheddar instead. This savory option makes it an easy snack, with variety from the typically more dessert-oriented date recipes.
Stewed Dried Fruits
This is one of my favorites post partum—by itself, topping oats, on toast, who cares. You’ll find me eating bricks of this through post partum. I typically batch freeze it during pregnancy. It’s an easy set-it and forget-it recipe that just needs to be remembered to make once in a while during your pregnancy. A favorite nesting and kitchen clean out recipe, I often add lots of different variations.
Ingredients:
1 Cup Dates
2 Cups variety of dried fruits (dried pineapple, blueberries, cherries, goji berries, raisins, apricots, figs…)
1/4 Cup ground flax seed
1/4 Cup ground hemp seeds, chia seeds, or other nuts/seeds
1 can of full fat coconut milk
Oatmilk added to consistency
Cinnamon, cardamom, ginger to taste
Directions:
Bring a pot of coconut milk with dates and dried fruits to a very light boil. Add oatmilk till you have a consistency that resembles a stew. Add all other ingredients. Simmer for 1 hour or until very mushy.
Freeze in ziploc bags, Souper cubes or similar or eat fresh. Serve by itself, over oats, or toast.
Date-Caramel Apples
I’m not always the biggest fan of spoof foods—ya know like a healthy version of such and such. It’s just never the same. When I was vegan, a “bloody” burger never compared to the real thing. So take this as a “caramel” with a grain of salt.
This is an easy one to variate and modify as well—which is the nice part about these recipes. Nothing needs to be exact, you get to use what you love, and add things that make sense for you. Any of the foods suggested are great postpartum foods that stimulate breastmilk production, and help encourage healthy post partum bodies.
Roll out 15 or so dates—3x5 on the cutting board, with no gaps. You’re trying to make essentially like a date-wrap for this apple. You can roll it out pretty aggressively, trust you won’t get this thin.
Once rolled out, wrap around an apple. From there you can put peanut butter on it, and then melted chocolate, or just melted chocolate and then flax seeds, and chia seeds. Again, experiment, create variety, have fun. Pumpkin seeds, and cranberries would be delicious in fall!
Date-Chocolate-Peanut Butter Brittle
You know that earlier recipe with dates and peanutbutter? Well we’re giving it an upgrade with dark chocolate. Anything is better with dark chocolate—even chili, haha. And again, this is one of my favorite modifiable dessert treats.
You’re going to take dates and roll them out like you did for the “caramel apples.” From there you’re going to slap on some nut or seed butter—it could be any. You could add a layer of jam if you’re feeling spicy. From there take some melted dark chocolate chips and just pour over the top. I like to take dark chocolate chips, a spoonful of coconut oil and microwave them at 30 second increments, mixing at each pause.
From here you can add whatever toppings, or none at all, that you like. I love cranberries, flax seed meal, and pumpkin seeds together. Another fave is dried blueberries, and almond slices. You can really add whatever you like to give yourself a fun treat throughout the day.
At night this is a great option to help you sleep deeper. Chocolate contains high levels of magnesium, and peanut butter contains tryptophan—both will help you sleep through the night a little more soundly.
