In the past, I’ve found oatmeal to be great for my breast milk supply, but it wasn’t my favorite thing to eat. That’s because I was doing it wrong! This strawberry banana lactation smoothie is delicious, and a much better way to use oatmeal (and a few other galactagogues) to get your milk supply up.
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I’ve mentioned before that when I did my oatmeal experiment, the way that I prepared the oatmeal was to put old fashioned oats in a bowl, add water, microwave it for a minute and a half and stir in some Splenda. This … was pretty gross, frankly.
I’ve been exploring some much better ways to eat oatmeal and boost your milk supply – including brownies and cookies – and this smoothie is another delicious way that has the same amount of oatmeal as that microwaved mess I used to eat. It also has brewer’s yeast and flaxseed as a bonus!
(Note: The best way to get brewer’s yeast is on amazon. However, if you don’t have it on hand and want to make the smoothie anyway, go ahead with just the oatmeal and the flax seed!)
A few common questions:
What kind of oats should you use for this strawberry banana lactation smoothie?
Rolled oats, old fashioned oats, or quick cooking oats will work fine.
To make sure that the oatmeal is ground up as much as possible, I put it in the blender first. Once it’s as finely ground as I think I can get it, I add the other ingredients.
What kind of milk should you use?
I used 2% milk because that’s what I had on hand, but you can definitely try other types of milk like almond milk or soy milk.
Enjoy!
Strawberry Banana Lactation Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup oats old fashioned
- 1 banana
- 8 strawberries frozen
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp brewer's yeast
- 1 tsp flax seed ground
Instructions
- Put oats into blender and process until the oats are well ground.
- Add the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.
Comments & Chitchat
Would it be ok to add sugar? I love sweets and it tastes good just not the amount of sweetness I’m used to for smoothies.
yeah absolutely!
This is a great recipe! I didnt have any strawberries, so I substituted with frozen pineapple and it still came out fantastic. My only thing is I need a better way to try to grind up the oats. My blender is crap and didnt grind them at all, so the oat texture was a bit offputting. But the flavor was very very tasty. Hoping this works to boost my supply ASAP.
Thank you Amber!
This is good
This tastes a million times better than the one I tried yesterday! Thank you so much for this recipe! Would I be able to add more brewers yeast or does the flax seed balance out the 1 tbsp recommended brewers serving?
Thanks Rachel! I think you could try adding a little more! 🙂
I just want to say thank you for posting a smoothie that is delicious and filling. I just made my first one and I am picky. This was perfect! So good. Thank you!! Hoping to get some extra milk on upcoming pumping sessions. I may add cacao nibs next time too to see how that goes since I’m a chocoholic.
Thank you so much Stephanie!
Are you not worried about the alcohol in the vanilla extract? It would normally be baked out but you are not heating this in any way.
If you’re not avoiding alcohol for sobriety reasons I’m not sure what the concern would be?
I’ve got to say that this smoothie is absolutely perfect. I don’t mind adding less honey and adding more rolled oats for the boost in milk supply. Yes you can kind of taste the bitterness of the yeast and the oats can make it a bit chalky but If anyone is complaining about the taste or consistency then they must not really care about boosting their milk supply for their little one. I’d eat straight brewers yeast if I knew it would mega boost my supply lol! I use just bananas most of the time and I absolutely love the smoothie. I have it every morning and I’m considering having it in the evenings as well. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much, Kelly!
Hello so I Oder the flaxseed from target and I didn’t know that I had Oder the flax Linaza seed can I still used this?
Hi Candy! Do you mean can you make it before it comes? Yes, that’s fine!
Absolutely love this! I am trying to get my supply back after stopping pumping for about 2 months. I was a little iffy due to the yeast but it tastes amazing!
I added almond milk instead of Milk and it tastes great!!
Hello! What if you don’t have any flaxseed or brewer’s yeast on hand? Would the smoothie still increase supply with just the oats?
Hi Christiana! YEs, I would go for it!
What kind of vanilla is being used ?
Vanilla extract?
Yes!
Hi, I’m new. Is this recipe for after birth or during pregnancy to drink?
Most people use it after birth!
Can I pre make them and put them in the fridge
Should be fine!
Tastes great! I had a strawberry, peach mango frozen fruit mix I used instead of just strawberries, and I added a couple teaspoons of Moringa powder. Hoping to see some increase!
I just tried this except I used mango instead of strawberries and also add sunflower lecithin and it is amazing! Thank you for this recipe I hope I have great success with it!
So glad to hear it Danielle!
Hi , this was very tasty 😋 all though I’m not a huge fan of smoothies (they make me gag because of the thickness)
But just a couple questions I have :
How many of these a day should I drink to see quick results?
Can I try other frozen fruits?
How often should I pump after each smoothie?
Do you have any other tasty ideas? I’m afraid I may tire out of.
Hi Mikayla! Thank you so so much! I’m so happy that you liked it!
I would say:
1) 1-2 a day is good!
2) Absolutely! Whatever takes good to you. The supply increase is from the oatmeal/brewer’s yeast/flaxseed.
3) It doesn’t matter! Anytime is fine. 🙂
4) I have a brownie recipe that people seem to like! https://exclusivepumping.com/double-chocolate-lactation-brownies/
So I hate smoothies, don’t like the texture or the taste, however, this smoothie is delicious. First time I made the smoothie I didn’t have brewers yeast so I left it out and used whole milk. It tasted great but was way to thick. Next time I added brewers yeast and used equal parts whole milk and water (the toddlers drink whole milk so it’s what I always have on hand) it was perfect. The brewers yeast did not negatively affect the flavor and it wasn’t clawingly sweet like smoothies you get at a shop. Even my toddlers liked the flavor. Thanks for the recipe! How often should I drink these for best results?
Yay! Thanks so much Laurel! I think once a day is great!
Very tasty! I ended up taking out the honey and added pear nectar instead. 💕
So glad you liked it! Thank you!
Hi, can you freeze this type of
Smoothie. Im pregnant so i want to be prepared but im not sure how long ir will last?
Hi Juliana! Congrats on your pregnancy! I have never tried it but googled “freezing smoothies” and it seems like if it works for other smoothies it should work for this one. If you try it let us know how it goes!
I would freeze everything but the flaxseed and brewer’s yeast because those are the important ingredients then add them when you get them out of the freezer. But also dethawing them can be for a great frozen smoothie, I tried that yesterday because the brewer’s yeast has a gross after taste.
I used regular yeast and i added more honey than it called and then cinnamon and nutmeg and i dont like frozen fruit so i did then both fresh! And it tases amazing
This is an awesome recipe but the taste is truly awful. I’m not sure if it’s the flax seeds or oatmeal but i can barley drink one. Any ideas to make this taste any better?
Hmm. I thought it was delicious! Are you putting brewer’s yeast in or no? If yes, that’s most likely the culprit. Try it with out that. If not, ditch the flax seeds. I wouldn’t ditch the oatmeal or it probably won’t work as well. Good luck and sorry!
Alea are you using golden flax meal? If not try that instead of brown flax meal 😉
I heard that brewers yeast has a funky taste. I got the mommy knows best brand brewers yeast and i dont think it tastes funky. I also used strawberry yogurt instead of frozen strawberries. It’s a little thicker and a tad gritty but it’s really good!!!
I added almond milk, it was delicious! Have been drinking it for 4 days now and saw an increase immediately. Thank you!
So happy to hear this! Thank you!
Hi! Did you sub the regular milk for almond milk or you added both?
Thanks!
How soon should I see results?
Usually within the same day if it’s going to work for you. Good luck!
Did you soak the flax seed first like you did with the brownies (which are amazing by the way!) ?
Thank you sooooo much! No I didn’t with this one!
Do I need to put the yeast, only thing I don’t have?
You can skip it if you don’t have it. 🙂
How many smoothies a day?
1-2 is great!
Do you cook oatmeal before you blend it?
Hi there! No. 🙂
Is it best to soak any dry ingredients (oats/flaxseed) before adding them to blender? I made this yesterday with strawberries, blueberries, spinach and a banana. It was pretty good but tastes a little “chalky” or dry because of the dry ingredients, I assume. Going to try today with just strawberries and bananas
This works for me too! I put brewers yeast flaxseed and oats into blender with 2% milk I add cinnamon and sometimes a banana or the strawberry. But by the end of the night my supply slips. I need more than just this I’m thinking to try the liquid gold supplements. I dont like the mothers milks teas and I hydrate all day but baby is 6 months and I’m struggling to get 2 oz out during each pumping session!!
Delicious. How many should I drink a day? Can I use instant oats intend or just old fashion?
Thank you so much! Yes you can use instant! I would do it for breakfast but if you want another for a snack that would be good too!
Hi there,
What brewers yeast and flax seed do you use?