Ayurvedic Breastmilk Coconut-Dill Mushroom Recipe

We recently had an Ayurvedic cooking-nutrition practicum at my house, where my teacher, Dr. Jay, made a healthy and delicious recipe designed to be great for mamas’ lactation.

I feel truly grateful that I’ve been able to breastfeed Lil Bub, and that he’s such a BIG healthy boy (95% percentile!). I’ve naturally gravitated towards slightly increasing my fat consumption (having hemp milk for my Power Protein Shakes and having a warm glass in the evenings, in addition to my daily avocados, hemp seeds, etc.), as well as healthy plant-based sourced of protein (again the Power Protein Shake daily, as well as tempeh, etc. I’ve stayed totally plant-based during pregnancy and breastfeeding and feel fantastic.

But I know that many Mamas out there can have various issues with breastfeeding. With compassion we say that such issues are indeed very common. Over the years but especially since becoming a breastfeeding Mama myself there has been an outpouring of questions about how to help with breastfeeding issues, especially not producing enough milk.

Whether you are vegan, vegetarian or omnivore, it’s important to get in your veggies, proper fats, protein and liquids during breastfeeding – in other words, superior nutrition all around.

Here is an easy and simple way of nourishing your body to help you create abundant, nutrient-rich breast milk…

Coconut Milk

I don’t know about you, but I love the creamy texture and natural sweetness of coconut milk. This combination might lead you to believe that it should be bad for you — but no-siree!

Coconut milk, coconut oil and coconut water are among the world’s healthiest foods. In fact, coconut milk is often considered a “miracle liquid” due to its great ability to build up the body’s immune defenses and prevent disease.

Why Drink It?

What we consume as mothers passes to our baby and we want to make sure we are supplying important antibodies through the breast milk. These protect the baby against infections and help build a healthy immunity base for the baby as he or she continues their exciting journey of growth and development!

Coconut milk will do just that! This liquid (not actually milk, as we have been accustomed to believe), is naturally found inside of mature coconuts and stored within the coconut meat. When you first crack open a fresh coconut, you will notice a milky white substance- this is natural coconut water. Once you blend the coconut meat and strain it, the end result is a thicker coconut milk.

Mature coconuts tend to be better producers of coconut milk- this is because, as a coconut matures, more of the water inside is replaced with coconut meat. The younger coconuts (around five–seven months), are the best producers of coconut water.

Whichever way you choose to go, these tasty liquids pack a punch of nutrients such as healthy fat, which is an important part of breast milk, as well as manganese, and iron, (just to name a few), and are an excellent source for building up our breast milk. They also have a beneficial fat called Lauric acid, that is easily absorbed and used by the body for energy- and which one of us mom’s doesn’t need more of that?! ;)

What I love about coconut milk is that it’s the perfect Beauty food- free from dairy and processed soy (which are no-no’s in my book, although organic, fermented forms of soy like tempeh are a good thing to work in if you don’t have a soy allergy). Plus, it’s vegan and good for plant-based eaters, not just breastfeeding moms.

This recipe also contains mushrooms, a great source of easily assimilated protein. You can mix up your mushrooms to include cremini, porcini, Portobello etc. into your weekly diet- let’s say one or two times a week.

The fragrant herb dill is an important herb widely used in Ayurveda and is also believed to help stimulate breasts secretions. If you want to be the a Breast Milk Queen, you need to check out this easy recipe!

Check out the full recipe below…