These delicious magic cookies are chewy, soft, and full of chocolate and coconut! This special recipe supports nursing mothers to boost milk supply!

These cookies are simply delicious, and unlike many other recipes for “lactation cookies” these do not use brewers yeast and still work for improving milk supply in lactating mothers. I use several lactogenic ingredients to boost milk supply such as healthier omega 3 fats from almond butter (purely ground almonds) in lieu of regular dairy butter, coconut oil, shredded coconut, oats, along with the essential fenugreek and flax meal. All of these ingredients are documented lactogenic foods. Whether they will work with your body or not is not clinically proven, but they each have outstanding health benefits nonetheless. First a few disclaimers:

a) Even though they involve lactogenic ingredients (foods/herbs that increase milk supply), non-lactating individuals need not to worry that eating these delicious cookies will make your nipples drip milk (ahem, silly husbands).

b) While these cookies have worked very well for myself, family, and friends, there are no clinically proven results to support the efficacy of this recipe.

The bottom line is that these cookies are perfectly delicious and scrumptious chocolately treats that also happened to increase my milk for the duration that I ate them. Lactation cookies are wildly popular and all over the net. Proponents tout that the milk was “dripping” and that they could not “pump fast enough”. Did I experience this? No. But even when I was engorged in my early postpartum days with TOO MUCH milk, I still did not “drip” or “leak”. So everyone has a different body… Okay. Enough of that.

If anything, these are delicious chocolate chip cookies, made with natural and clean ingredients, good fats/oils (mainly healthy omega 3 fats from an almond butter and coconut oil), and healthy ingredients such as flaxseed meal, oats, and honey. Most “lactation cookie” recipes call for the essential brewers yeast. I did not use this, which is advantageous because it supposedly smells and tastes awful and it is not easy to find in general grocery stores. I avoided its use because I read on WebMd that pregnant and nursing women should avoid use. After all, it has not been studied enough to assess its safety.

The fenugreek seed (hulbeh in Arabic) is one of the most popular herbs used to increase milk supply. I bought a box from Whole Foods, but you can also find it commonly in Asian markets. Fenugreek contributes a nutty/caramel flavor but can also impart a bitterness if not balanced properly. To balance it I use cinnamon in the recipe, as well as honey :).  Simply toast the seeds in a pan, and grind them in a food processor or spice grinder (this improves their potency). The recipe also uses fennel, coconut oil, almond butter, and oats which are all lactogenic ingredients, or galactogogues shown to increase and improve milk supply. Please note, in order to maintain an adequate milk supply, you cannot rely solely on these cookies but must also eat a healthy diet, and most importantly, nurse your baby  frequently. Milk supply is based on demand. If the baby is not nursing and the breast is not stimulated, then the milk production decreases. So if you are away from your baby for whatever reasons, limiting nursing to a schedule, using a pacifier to appease the baby when hungry (the sucking of a pacifier will decrease the amount of time a baby nurses), or using formula for some feedings instead of nursing or pumping, then you may be decreasing the demand for milk and therefore decreasing the supply. Read more about that here: increasing milk supply.

When I saw Giada making these on TV I knew it would be a hit in my family. I never eat regular chicken salad or tuna salad because I strongly dislike mayonnaise and other processed condiments heavy in preservatives. This chicken salad is a genius concoction of fresh and flavorful ingredients such as  sun dried tomato, olives, lemon juice, fennel and parsley. The creaminess is imparted by the use of deliciously healthy avocados, olive oil, and feta cheese. Giada uses arugula in her original recipe but I opted for parsley to stick to the mediterranean flavors I was combining and I really like the earthy bite it adds. I also have made this with chopped baby spinach and fresh tomatoes which also tastes incredible! The lemon juice and spices bring this all together nicely.

You need some cooked chicken  breast, so you could use a roasted or rotisserie chicken, pan sear some chicken breast, or poach some breasts in a pot. I think its juicier and more flavorful when roasted. One time I made this with small chopped chicken tenderloins that I cooked in the pressure cooker with tomatoes and onions and that was quite juicy and quick! Your options are many. Just get some cooked chicken breast your favorite method.

I first made these and served them at an afternoon tea party baby shower I threw for my sister, and these shells went like hot cakes and everyone was asking for more. Fortunately it is easy to make yourself at home and is the perfect thing to put together when you have left over rotisserie chicken that you do not know what to do with! (Am I the only one with that problem?) So here is the recipe, enjoy!

Chicken Salad Pasta Shells

2014-02-24 14:54:39

A fresh and delicious chicken salad packed with mediterranean flavors perfect for entertaining!

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Prep Time

30 min

Prep Time

30 min

Ingredients

1. 1 lb pasta shells (about 30 shells)
2. 2 lbs cooked chicken breast, cut into small cubes
3. 2 avocados, cut into cubes
4. 1/2 c sliced sun dried tomatoes
5. 1-2 tsp minced garlic
6. 2 c chopped parsley
7. 1/2 c thinly sliced fennel
8. 1/2 c sliced kalamata olives
9. 1 c feta cheese
10. 1/2 fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
11. 1/4 c olive oil
12. 1/2 tsp salt
13. 1/4 tsp of black pepper
14. 1/4 tsp cumin
15. 1/4 tsp paprika
16. radicchio leaves

Instructions

1. Cook the pasta shells according to directions, drain, and rinse with cold water. Be sure that none of the shells are inside one another as once it dries it will be difficult to separate.
2. Line each pasta shell with a radicchio leaf.
3. Combine all other ingredients and toss.
4. Scoop a spoon of chicken salad into each shell.
5. Serve on a platter.

Notes

1. You could use arugula or spinach instead of parsley or along with the parsley; it will be a different flavor but it still works well with these ingredients!

By Noha Elsharkawy

Adapted from Giada de Laurentiis

Adapted from Giada de Laurentiis

Sugar & Garlic https://sugarandgarlic.com/