“Pump Up Your Milk” Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

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These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins are perfectly moist, and delicious and slammed with nutrition— hi pumpkin, chia seeds, flaxseeds and brewer’s yeast. Perfect for nursing moms (eeerr… hungry dads) + a list of foods that supports nursing. 

Breastfeeding. Boy do I have a lot to say about the subject right now… but in effort not to go off on a rant, I will stick to nutrition today and save the social discussion for a later date. Nursing your baby is not all roses people and I’ll leave it at that.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Lactation Muffins

As a new mom, I’ve been trying to do what I can to eat foods that support a healthy milk production so that baby Parker can be fed the good stuff. When Sonali from The Foodie Physician reached out about her latest book, Natural Pregnancy Cookbook, my first hope was that she had a good lactation cookie or muffin recipe and ohhh.m.geee this muffin is a winner.

These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins are perfectly moist, and delicious and slammed with nutrition. Hi! 

pumpkin,

chia seeds,

flaxseeds 

and brewer’s yeast.

I’ve seriously made these muffins over and over and over gain. Welcome to the land of milk and… j/k not all the batches were for myself. I love how this recipe uses honey, applesauce, and coconut oil rather than sugar and butter… so you can feel good about munching on these goodies.

Milk supply is very individualized some moms naturally produce more milk and/or baby’s have more affinity to nursing. Personally, I nursed my first 23 months and currently going strong with nursing my second at 16 months. Maybe I’ve eaten one too many lactation muffins, but most likely it’s just what works for us.

There are definitely some things mamas can do to help with supporting their diet for nursing, in fact I wrote a whole post on that here if you’re interested: breastfeeding foods guide on what to eat and what to avoid while nursing. 

Breastfeeding moms need to get more nutrients into their diet especially fluid and calories. Because nursing can burn up to 500 calories per day, restrictive diets can put a damper on mom’s supply. Drinking enough water is essential to milk production too.

While eating when hungry and drinking when thirsty are the two most important factors to producing enough breastmilk, incorporating oats, flaxseed and brewers yeast in the diet may also help boost supply. All the more reason to eat Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Lactation Muffins right?

Brewer’s Yeast for Breastfeeding?

Many moms swear by brewers yeast for boosting milk supply. Brewer’s yeast is considered a galactagogue, which is basically just an herb, food, or medication that might increase milk production in some women.

The increase production of milk is seen as a result of an increase in prolactin levels, which initiates the letdown reflex of the breast and aids in milk ejection. You can buy brewer’s yeast in tablets, or add 1-2 tablespoons of a powdered form to smoothies or baked goods to see if it works for you! Brewer’s yeast contains significant amounts of B-vitamins, essential amino acids, and chromium. 

While nature does a good job at preserving quality of breastmilk if mom is slacking, there are some key nutrients that baby may be missing if mom isn’t getting enough– specifically Vitamin D and Omega 3s. For those of you that know nutrition, these are two shortfall nutrients that we ALL need to be getting more of because they both have very important roles in health and longevity. Along with daily sun exposure for adequate Vitamin D levels moms should work to balance their diet with these foods.

Foods that help with lactation:

• oily fish (salmon, low mercury tuna, sardines, anchovies, mackeral)
• seaweed
• nuts/seeds (chia seeds, flaxseeds, walnuts)
• oats
• omega 3 enriched eggs
• variety of fruits and veggies
• lean meats

Hope you enjoy this recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Lactation Muffins as much as I have and do share it with a nursing mommy friend. And for the men out there, trust me… if you take a bite of these muffins you will not start squirting milk. 🙂

If you love these muffins, check out more of our best muffin recipes:

Spinach Blender Muffins

Carrot Berry Quinoa Muffins

Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

And for those nursing mamas that are getting back in the swing of a workout routine, check out our list of 20 Pre Workout Snacks to Fuel Busy Moms on the Go. 

More motherhood resources:

How to Heal Postpartum Belly

How To Feed Peanut Butter to Baby: 8 ways on early introduction to peanuts

Natural Birth Story: I had a baby on the elevator

“Pump Up Your Milk” Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

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★★★★★

4.5 from 8 reviews

• Author: Natural Pregnancy Cookbook
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins
• Total Time: 40 mins
• Yield: 18 muffins 1x

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Description

This recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Lactation Muffins is delicious! Perfect for nursing moms + list of foods that support breastfeeding.

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Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 cup pureed pumpkin
• 1/2 cup melted coconut or grapeseed oil
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2/3 cup almond flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips plus extra to top muffins (or dried fruit like raisins or cranberries)
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds (optional)
• 3 tablespoons flaxseed meal (optional)
• 2 tablespoons brewer’s yeast

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk together the wet ingredients (eggs through vanilla).
2. In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients (whole wheat flour through brewer’s yeast).
3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well.
4. Line muffin tins with paper. Fill each to the top with batter and top with chocolate chips (optional).
5. Bake 25 to 30 minutes for regular muffins, 22 minutes for mini muffins, and 55 minutes for a loaf.
6. They are ready with toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
7. Cool for a few minutes in the pan on a rack. Then, remove from the pan and cool completely on a rack.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 muffin
• Calories: 196
• Sodium: 231mg
• Fat: 12.1g
• Saturated Fat: 1.8g
• Carbohydrates: 19g
• Fiber: 2.9g
• Protein: 4.6g

Kristina LaRue, RD, CSSD

Hi I’m Kristina LaRue, registered dietitian and millennial mom of two active and hungry boys. Here on Love & Zest, you’ll find (mostly) healthy recipes to fuel the whole family and real life stories of modern motherhood. I’m all about veggie-filled breakfast meal prep recipes, healthier sweets, and easy weeknight dinners made in the Instant Pot or sheet pan.

Did you make one of my recipes?? Leave a review in the comments and tag @loveandzest #loveandzest on Instagram!

If you’re a modern mama– I’d love for you to join my Facebook group A Modern Motherhood Collective!

https://loveandzest.com