Chocolate Lactation Smoothie
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Published Jun 26, 2020, Updated Jun 12, 2023
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Mamas, you will love this chocolate banana lactation smoothie! It tastes amazing and has oats, flaxseed and brewer’s yeast to help boost your milk supply.
As a breastfeeding mama I’m always looking for ways to increase (or maintain) my milk supply.
I’ve developed recipes for lactation cookies and lactation bites, which I love. They’re both super tasty and I definitely notice a difference in my supply when I eat them regularly, but there are plenty of days where I’ve run out of the cookies/bites and I need something fast… that’s where this lactation smoothie comes in.
How to Make a Lactation Smoothie
You can literally make any smoothie a lactation smoothie just by adding specific milk producing foods, but haphazardly adding ingredients to a smoothie can often times result in a concoction that doesn’t taste so good. Especially when you’re working with a bitter ingredient like brewer’s yeast. Been there, done that!
This smoothie on the other hand, has three ingredients for boosting your milk supply (oats, brewer’s yeast and flaxseed) and it still tastes delicious.
It’s so good, I would happily drink it daily even if I wasn’t nursing/pumping. The combo of banana, chocolate and peanut butter totally masks the bitter taste of the brewer’s yeast and the frozen fruit combined with the oats and flaxseed give the smoothie a thick and creamy texture.
Sweetened With Medjool Dates
I purposely chose to sweeten this smoothie with medjool dates because I figured many mamas will have a few leftover from endlessly eating dates to help prep for labor. If you don’t have any dates on hand, you can use another natural sweetener like maple syrup or honey. I’d start with 1 teaspoon, taste the smoothie and add more if needed.
Ingredients in This Lactation Smoothie
Since breastfeeding Olivia, I’ve done a bit of research about which foods are best to keep your milk supply up and help with milk production. Here’s a little list of the foods I found:
- banana
- almond milk
- medjool dates
- brewer’s yeast – brewer’s yeast is packed with vitamin B, iron, zinc, magnesium and potassium. It can be hard to find in stores so I purchased mine from Amazon.
- oats – oats are high in iron and some studies have shown that oats help with milk production.
- ground flaxseed – flaxseed is high in omega-3 fatty acids (which are great for baby) and it also contains phytoestrogens that can influence breast milk production.
- peanut butter – there’s not better combo than chocolate and peanut butter, but feel free to use your favorite nut butter here. Cashew butter or almond butter would both work great.
- cocoa powder – this is where the chocolate flavor comes from
- ground cinnamon – this adds a touch of sweetness without any additional sugar
- frozen cauliflower rice – this is optional, but I love the thickness it adds to smoothies.
I’ve been making this smoothie for breakfast or lunch. It’s filling enough to have on its own as a meal, but sometimes I’ll pair it with a little something extra like a hard boiled egg. I love the flavor and it’s been helpful for my milk supply as well. I hope you like it as much as I do.
More Recipes to Increase Milk Supply
- Lactation Cookies
- Lactation Bites
- Lactation Brownies
- Easy Overnight Oats
- Lactation Baked Oatmeal
- Baked Oatmeal Cups
- Savory Oatmeal
Be sure to check out my full list of breastfeeding snacks and all my healthy snack recipes here on EBF.
Chocolate Lactation Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 frozen banana, chopped into chunks
- 1-2 medjool dates
- 1 Tablespoon brewer’s yeast
- 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 1 Tablespoon old fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 Tablespoon peanut butter
- 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
- pinch of ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup frozen cauliflower rice, optional
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to the blender in the order they’re listed. Start with 1 medjool date. You can add the the second if the smoothie isn’t sweet enough.
- Cover and blend on high until smooth. Pour into a glass and enjoy.
- I topped the smoothie with an extra drizzle of peanut butter, banana slices and cacao nibs, but toppings are optional and I only recommend adding them if you plan to eat the smoothie with a spoon.
Notes
- If you don’t have dates you can use maple syrup or honey as a sweetener. Start with 1-2 teaspoons and add more if needed.
- The frozen cauliflower rice is optional, but I like adding it to my smoothies to make them a bit thicker and to get some veggies in.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Just made this smoothie and this breastfeeding mama is in heaven! Definitely will be pre-portioning the ingredients in advance so I can throw everything into the blender quick! Thanks for making delicious body nourishing recipes!
Yay!! So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Allison. 🙂 Thanks for trying it and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I so appreciate it!
Another hit! I was looking for another way to supplement my milk supply outside of bites and cookies – and this was a delicious swap. Honestly, even If I wasn’t nursing I’d drink this! You can’t even taste the brewers yeast!
Yay!! So glad you enjoyed this smoothie, Rema. 🙂 Thanks for giving it a try and for coming back to leave a comment + Star rating. I really appreciate it.
Really good! You can’t taste the brewer’s yeast.
So glad you enjoyed this smoothie, Jennie! I tested the recipe several times to make sure the brewer’s yeast flavor was hidden. 🙂 Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I appreciate it!
I haven’t tried this yet, I see you say there is flaxseed one it but it’s not in the ingredients list. How much flaxseed do you add? Whole or ground?
Hey April – Thanks for catching that! It should be 1 T of ground flaxseed. I just updated the recipe. 🙂
Awesome!! Thank you. I tried it out today and enjoyed it. It’s going to go into rotation for post baby .
So glad you enjoyed it, April! 🙂
Could you use stevia in this instead of dates or honey? I have all the other ingredients on hand and would love to give this a try, but want to make sure the brewer’s yeast doesn’t taste gross!
Hey Olivia! I’m sure stevia would work just fine as a substitute.
Loving your website!!! I finally made time to make this smoothie. Since I didn’t have a frozen banana, I added ice and it seemed to be ok. My only mistake was not removing the pit/seed from the date! And I think I added a little too much cinnamon. I’ll need to give this another try. I already placed a banana in the freezer and will comment on the second results soon.
Thank you, Julie!! Oh no, yes definitely take the pit out of the date before blending! Keep me posted how the second time making this smoothie goes. 🙂
Totally yummy and refreshing while nursing my hot potato infant on a roasting day! Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed this smoothie, Mikaela! Thanks for making it. 🙂
WOW! What more can I say?! This smoothie is super yummy, and packed with nutrients!! I’m not a mother, so I left out the brewer’s yeast and it still tasted amazing!! If you aren’t a mom either, don’t hesitate to try this smoothie! Super filling and satisfying! Thanks Brittany!
Yay!! I’m so glad this smoothie was a hit, Taylor! I appreciate you trying it and coming back to leave a review. Thank you so much!!
Super tasty! I’ve used kale and spinach in smoothies before, but never thought to try cauliflower…great choice to add veggies while not changing the flavor of the smoothie. Will definitely make this again.
What would you recommend in place of bananas? My daughter is sensitive to bananas and pineapple. Thanks!
Hi Savannah – You could omit the banana. I have also added frozen cauliflower and that works well too for an added source of veggies, and you don’t taste them. Enjoy!