Yield: 24 Muffins
These tasty muffins served with eggs make for a hearty breakfast. They can also be enjoyed with fruit and tea for a filling snack. They contain three known galactagogues: brewer’s yeast, nutritional yeast, and oats. The yeasts can be left out if you are breastfeeding and already have an oversupply, simply replace with oats and flour in equal volumes. Flaxseed is included for its omega 3s and dietary fiber, and it is important to use ground flaxseed as whole seeds are not digested.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (240 g)
- 2 tablespoons brewer’s yeast powder (NL: biergist)
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast (NL: edelgistvlokken; sold at Holland & Barrett)
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed (NL: gemalen lijnzaad; sold at most groceries)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups oats—either rolled or quick, I use rolled oats; NL: gros haver of fijn haver (336 g)
- 2 cups oat, coconut, or almond milk (480 ml)*
- 1 cup coconut oil, melted (160 ml)*
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar (220 g)
- 4 large eggs + 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten ** (can also replace extra egg yolk with ¼ cup applesauce, full-fat yogurt, or dairy-free yogurt substitute)
- 1 large ripe banana, mashed (or ½ cup applesauce, or 5 medjool pitted and chopped dates)
- ¼ cup coconut flakes, chopped walnuts, pecans, or slivered almonds (optional)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 220 °C. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners or spray with cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, brewer’s yeast, nutritional yeast, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, combine the oats, flaxseed, optional nuts, and milk. Allow to stand for at least 10 minutes to let the oats, flaxseed, and nuts to soften and absorb the liquid.
- Add the brown sugar, oil, mashed banana, and eggs to the oat mixture. Stir to combine.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to combine using a spatula, making a sweeping motion to incorporate any flour sticking to the bottom of the bowl and being careful not to over-mix. The mixture should be thick and still a little lumpy, but without any large pockets of dry ingredients.
- Divide the batter among the muffin tins and sprinkle with additional rolled oats, slivered almonds, or leave as they are.
- Bake for 7 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 180 °C and continue baking for 12-15 minutes or until the centres are springy to the touch and the muffins are golden brown.
- Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning them out to cool completely on a wire rack (this prevents them from steaming themselves).
- Easy topping: combine Skyr (or dairy-free alternative) with honey and cinnamon, mix until creamy and spread on cooled muffins. You can also sprinkle dried fruit or nuts on top of the Skyr.
Storage
Store muffins in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months in a small freezer and up to 1 year in a chest freezer. Allow frozen muffins to thaw in the refrigerator before heating in the microwave or oven and enjoying.
*It is also possible to use dairy (butter, cow’s milk or goat’s milk), but since it can be more difficult to digest, particularly in early postpartum, this is how I prefer to prepare this recipe.
** This recipe can be made vegan by replacing the eggs and egg yolk with 1 tablespoon soy flour and 1 tablespoon water per egg. Or, combining 1 tablespoon chia seeds with 3 tablespoons water per egg, mix thoroughly and allow to rest 5-10 minutes until a gel forms. In each case, use half the volume for the egg yolk or replace with applesauce or dairy-free yogurt.