As parents, getting nutritious food into our babies’ bodies is a top priority. Breast milk is often called nature’s “perfect food” for infants! Not only does it provide essential nutrients, but breast milk can also be a versatile ingredient that you can creatively incorporate into your baby’s diet when beginning to transition to solid foods! This blog post will provide you with a variety of nutritious recipes that use breast milk to ensure your baby gets a great start on their journey to eating solids!
The Benefits of Breast Milk for Babies
Before we get into the breast milk baby food recipes below, let’s talk about the benefits of breast milk for your baby. Breast milk is like magic! It has all the essential vitamins and nutrients your baby needs and has a balance of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Plus, it’s full of antibodies that help strengthen your baby’s immune system to protect them from infections and diseases. And finally, breast milk is easily digestible! It’s not called the “perfect” nutrition for nothing!
Introducing Solid Foods to Your Baby
When your baby hits about 6 months, they’ll most likely start on their journey of introducing solid foods to their diet. Of course, exactly when your baby hits this milestone depends on their own rate of development. But, even once solid foods are introduced, it’s important to continue to include breast milk as a primary source of nutrition. Including breast milk in your baby’s purees and other baby foods is a great way to begin a gentle transition to solid foods.
5 Nutritious Recipes With Breast Milk
These 5 breast milk recipes for your baby are perfect for incorporating extra nutrition into your baby’s weaning diet. If you have tons of breast milk in your freezer and are looking for ways to use breast milk, try these recipes!
Breast Milk and Avocado Puree
Avocado is deemed a superfood for babies for a reason. It’s nutrient rich, packed with healthy fats and easily digestible making it a perfect first food for your little one. Pureeing it with breast milk gives this baby food even more of a nutritional boost. Here’s how to make a creamy Breast Milk and Avocado Puree.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 avocado, mashed
- 1/2 cup breast milk
Instructions:
- Add ingredients to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Ensure there are no lumps in the mixture. Serve.
*NOTE: It can be helpful to add breast milk to your purees when beginning to transition your baby to solids since your baby is already used to the taste of breast milk. It can help ease the transition, so feel free to make your homemade baby food with breast milk when making any of the puree recipes on Weelicious!
Breast Milk Butter
As easily as you can make butter with cow’s milk, you can also make it with breast milk. It’s great to use as a spread on toast or crackers for your baby. Here’s how to make Breast Milk Butter:
Ingredients:
- 1 cup breast milk
Instructions:
- Add breast milk to a clean jar with a lid.
- Shake vigorously, this could take about 20 minutes, until you see a lump of butter start to form.
- Drain extra milk off of the butter. Remove from the jar and add to a cheesecloth and squeeze to remove all of the liquid. Alternatively, you can squeeze by hand to make sure there’s no liquid left.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator and allow it to solidify.
Breast Milk Yogurt
Making homemade yogurt with breast milk gives your baby a good source of probiotics and calcium to help with their digestion and bone development. Here’s how to make Breast Milk Yogurt:
Ingredients:
- Breast milk
- 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
Instructions:
- Warm breast milk by placing the milk bottle in heated water. Make sure the water is warm and not boiled. Getting breast milk too hot will get rid of some of its nutrients!
- Shake the bottle well and pour into a bowl. Add the yogurt starter to the breast milk and stir to combine.
- Pour the mixture into a container, preferably with a lid, and place it inside an insulated cooler. Pour warm water (about 120°F) around the container, inside the cooler. Let the mixture sit for four to eight hours.
- Once the yogurt is set, add any flavors your baby loves like mashed fruit or cinnamon.
Breast Milk Baby Oatmeal
It’s super simple to make this comforting and nutritious breast milk oatmeal. I have a recipe for homemade oatmeal cereal for babies and all you have to do is use breast milk instead of water and you’ve got breast milk oatmeal. Super simple!
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup breast milk
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
Instructions:
- Place oats in a food processor, pulse for 15 to 30 seconds or until finely ground.
- To make 1 serving for a 5-9 month old baby: Bring breast milk to a simmer (don’t boil) and sprinkle in 2 tablespoons of the ground oats and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, if desired.
- Whisk continuously for 30 seconds and then occasionally for 3-5 minutes or until the mixture is thick and creamy.
- Add in mashed fruits or other ingredients for added flavor and texture if desired.
Breast Milk Smoothies
I started giving my babies smoothies very early on. They’re a great way to get tons of fruits and vegetables into your little one’s diet. Keep mealtime exciting by experimenting with different flavor combinations. Using breast milk as the liquid in your smoothie is a great way to boost the benefits even more. Here’s one of my favorite smoothie recipes with breast milk:
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup frozen strawberries
- 1 tablespoon frozen cauliflower
- 1/3 cup breast milk
- 1 tablespoon plain or vanilla yogurt (use whole milk yogurt)
Instructions:
- Place all the ingredients in a high powered blender and blend until smooth
Breast Milk Pancakes
Make your favorite pancake recipe for your baby and substitute the liquid for breast milk. Add your baby’s favorite toppings like fresh fruit, some maple syrup or honey and you’re good to go! Here’s a recipe for you:
Ingredients:
- 1 cup whole wheat pancake mix
- 1 egg
- 1 cup breast milk
- 1 tablespoon oil
Instructions:
- Whisk egg, breast milk and oil in a large bowl.
- Add pancake mix to wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Heat a large pan or griddle over medium heat and grease with butter or oil.
- Pour about 1 tablespoon of the pancake mixture onto the griddle, making as many pancakes as will fit and cook for 2 minutes.
- Flip the pancakes and cook for one minute longer and serve.
Lactation Foods to Increase Milk Supply
As a breastfeeding parent, you want to make sure you’re getting as much nutrition as possible so that your baby is also getting that same nutrition. There are many foods you can eat that are not only nutrient dense, but can help you boost your milk supply. Here are some foods known for their lactogenic properties, plus some Weelicious recipes that use these ingredients!
- Oats: Have a bowl of warm oatmeal for breakfast or make some of these Chocolate Chip Granola Bars to enjoy as a snack
- Brewer’s Yeast: Speaking of oatmeal, sprinkle brewer’s yeast on top of your bowl of oatmeal, or add to yogurt or smoothies.
- Dark Leafy Greens: It’s important to include leafy greens in your diet always, but they’re especially important when you want to boost your milk supply. Add spinach, kale or other leafy greens to salads, side dishes, soups or smoothies.
- Lactation Cookies: These lactation cookies are not only delicious, but have tons of ingredients that have lactogenic properties. So when that craving for something sweet hits, make this lactation recipe!
- Fennel: Add fennel into your recipes or roast it on its own as a side dish for dinner.
Adding breast milk to your baby’s foods when starting their transition to a solid food diet provides incomparable nutrition and health benefits! Whether you’re adding it to creamy purees, smoothies or even pancakes, you can feel good about knowing they’re getting a good start on their exploration with new foods. Let me know what you think of these recipes by tagging me on social media and leave any questions you may have in the comments below!
