Homemade granola

I hear from my breastfeeding clients all the time – “I’m so tired of eating oatmeal…” “It helps my milk supply but man I’m tired of eating oatmeal.” I feel like people hear they should eat oats to help with milk supply and automatically assume oatmeal. Today I’ll show you my granola recipe, which is loaded with healthy fats and galactagogues (foods that may help with milk production). If you’re not feeling like granola check out my Lactation Smoothie, or Baked Oatmeal, or even my Lactation Oatmeal Bars.

With every oat recipes, I always put the disclaimer, that while oatmeal may help with milk production, you must ensure your breastmilk is being removed FREQUENTLY and EFFICIENTLY to really boost your production. Your breasts are a factory, not a storage unit. You will continue to make milk as long as that milk is being removed frequently by either your baby efficiently removing milk, or by pumping. You can take all the supplements and eat all the oats and brewers yeast in the world, but if you’re not removing that milk, it’s not going to do much.

Now, on to my granola recipe 🙂

This recipe was actually inspired by my college roommate. She’d always come back from break with a giant jar of homemade granola and we’d munch on it as a snack or eat it in our room at breakfast. I’ve modified her recipe by adding more nuts/seeds and dried fruit and decreasing the amount of oil.

This recipe is easy to make and lasts a good while. I’d recommend making it while you’re still pregnant then storing it so you can have a good healthy breakfast once you’ve delivered and you’re focusing on breastfeeding. You can munch on it as a snack, while you’re nursing too.

What’s in it for mom and baby?

Oats are known to be a natural galactagogue, which is great for breastfeeding mamas. Oats are filled with protein, fiber, phosphorus (energy production and bone growth), pumpkin seeds are a rich source of magnesium (relaxing the uterus from contracting prematurely, helps with restless leg syndrome and muscle twitching), the dried fruit has fiber, and antioxidants. There are a variety of B vitamins (helps with energy and metabolism as well as other bodily functions.) The healthy fats in the nuts and seeds are important for baby’s brain development, as well as regulating your hormones.

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Crunchy homemade granola

Filling, delicious, crunchy, nutritious homemade granola

Course Breakfast, Snack

Keyword granola, oatmeal

Ingredients

• 6 cups Old Fashioned Oats
• 2 cups chopped/sliced almonds (I choose to keep mine whole for more crunch)
• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 1 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1 cup walnuts
• 1 cup craisins/raisins
• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup oil
• 1-2 cup brown sugar (sub honey/agave)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• pinch salt

Instructions

1. Turn the oven to 325 degrees F

2. Mix in a big bowl the first 6 ingredients (the oats to craisins). Feel free to add different nuts/seeds, coconut shavings, other dried fruit like apricots

3. In a pot, mix and boil the last 6 ingredients (water to salt)

4. Once the pot is boiling, turn it off and combine the oat ingredients

5. Spread the granola evenly on two baking sheets

6. Bake the granola in the oven at 325 for 25 minutes. Then toss the granola around. Reset the oven to now 275 degrees and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until it’s golden brown. Take it out of the oven and let it sit (it’s a this stage that it’ll turn crunchy)

Recipe Notes

Feel free to make this recipe your own – add different nuts/seeds, add different dried fruit, coconut shavings, try more honey/less sugar etc. Eat it with your choice of milk, yogurt, berries etc

Feel free to try adding brewers yeast for an extra boost in  B vitamins and milk supply boost.