Mommy Mondays: More Milk Breakfast Bars

A few weeks ago, I shared my experience with breastfeeding Paisley!  At 3.5 months, we are still exclusively breastfeeding, which is a huge personal accomplishment for me.  This hasn't been the easiest journey!  I know that we will make it to the four month mark, and I am really hopeful that we can make it to six months!  I don't have the best milk supply, so I made some More Milk Cookies (also known as lactation cookies) to help with that.  But I wanted a healthier alternative - one that I could eat for breakfast (and not feel guilty about)!  So I came up with these delicious breakfast bars!

Your Shopping List for More Milk Breakfast Bars:

• 2 tbsp milled flax seed
• 4 tbsp water
• 1 stick butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla 
• 1 cup whole wheat flour (I use King Arthur brand white whole wheat flour)
• 1,2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp brewers yeast powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup white chocolate chips

Now Let's Make the More Milk Breakfast Bars:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 pan with butter or nonstick spray 
2. In a small bowl, combine the milled flax seed and water - set aside
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy
4. Beat in the egg and vanilla
5. Beat in the flax seed mixture
6. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, brewers yeast, and cinnamon
7. Add dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, beating on low speed until combined
8. Beat in the oats on lowest speed until combined
9. Beat in the dried cranberries and white chocolate chips until just distributed evenly throughout the dough
10. Press dough into prepared pan and bake in your preheated oven for 25 - 30 minutes until edges are lightly browned and the center is set
11. Allow pan to cool completely (at least an hour) before cutting into 24 squares  
12. Store in an airtight container

In addition to making and eating these delicious More Milk Breakfast Bars, I am also taking a wonderful supplement called Lactation Boost from The Honest Company!  The combination of these two things have boosted my milk supply and allowed me to build a great freezer stash! 

You can order the Lactation Boost on its own or you can add Lactation Boost to a Health and Wellness Bundle from The Honest Company with another vitamin (like their PreNatal Vitamin) to save money!  !  

If you are a first time costumer of The Honest Company you can get $10 off a minimum purchase of $25 with promo code AMBASSADOR10 at checkout (first time customers only, may only be used once per new user) 

Roasted Blueberry Banana Puree

My sweet Blakely Hope is the somewhat more picky eater out of my two girls.  This has been a bit challenge since Lacie will eat pretty much anything I put in front of her (with so much enthusiasm that she could book a commercial).  And what is Blakely picky about eating?  Fruit!  Of all things!  Most kids won't eat their vegetables, but Blakely will eat mushrooms and broccoli by the handful.  The pediatrician once said "Oh some kids just don't like sweets."  Yeah, that's not it...because give that girl and cupcake and it will be gone in three bites!

Here is the list of fruit that Blakely will eat:

• bananas (every single day)
• oranges - only the little clementine ones
• strawberries on a good day

Yup that is it.  But you know what she will eat.  Those fruit pouches.  Any flavor.  So that made me think that I should probably just go back to making the homemade baby food that she loved so much as an infant.  Whatever I can make will undoubtedly have more nutrients then those pouches.  

So I went ahead and used the amazing blueberries that we have been picking at a local organic blueberry farm to make something that was one of Lacie and Blakely's absolute favorite flavor combinations...

Roasted Blueberry Banana Puree

Your Shopping List for the Roasted Blueberry Banana Puree:

• 3 bananas (you can even use ones that are a little overripe) 
• 1 pint, about 2 cups, of blueberries 

Now Let's Make the Roasted Blueberry Banana Puree:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
2. On a rimmed baking sheet (like a half sheet pan), arrange the bananas *still in their peels* and blueberries
   
3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, until the skins of the banana have turned black and the blueberries are beginning to burst
   
4. Allow to cool on pan for 5 minutes
5. Scoop up the blueberries with a spoon and carefully peel bananas and place into blender or food processor
6. For older children like mine, pulse or blend quickly, leaving some texture.  For infants, blend until smooth, adding a few tablespoons of filtered water if needed to reach the right consistency
   
7. Store in the fridge for up to 48 hours or freeze portions for use at a later date 

This makes 4 servings of approximately 3/4 cup each.  I put each serving into a bowl (as seen above), cover with saran wrap, and store in the fridge.  When my girls were smaller, it made approximately 8 smaller portions that I froze in a freezer tray meant for baby food!  We eat this cold, right out of the fridge.  Younger babies may want it warmed to room temperature!