My “Copycat Perfect Bar” has gone viral! But I wanted to make a recipe that benefited a breastfeeding mama. Here is the best lactation protein bar recipe that is healthy and no bake. It is ready to eat in five minutes!

Breastfeeding mamas are always looking for ways to incorporate extra calories to benefit their milk supply. Did you know the breastfeeding mother needs around five hundred extra calories every day to keep her milk supply adequate? My lactation bars will fit that need. Here is the best lactation bar recipe that is healthy and no-bake.

Two common struggles a breastfeeding mom may face are staying adequately hydrated and fed. With my first baby, I did a good job with hydrating, but I didn’t always think about extra calories. Because of this, I would wake up at 4am every morning starving. My baby would be sound asleep, but I was unable to go back to sleep because my stomach felt so sick due to hunger. My body let me know quickly it needed more than I was giving it.

I learned to keep bars by my bed so I could eat and quickly get back to sleep. My husband would poke fun at me: “I knew it was 4 am because I could hear the wrapper on those Larabars!”

It is not the time to cut calories while we are breastfeeding. Our milk supply will suffer greatly if we are attempting to lose too much weight too quickly. The pregnancy weight usually will naturally drop away as we nurse and take care of our babies, but it does take time. We didn’t grow a belly overnight and we won’t lose it overnight!

Once your healthcare provider has cleared you for exercise, it’s safe to begin incorporating that into daily life while continuing to take in healthy calories to meet milk supply needs. Here’s a good, basic exercise routine for your core to get you started.

The Best Lactation Bar Recipe (Healthy and No-Bake)

The first time I tasted a Perfect Bar, I loved it. I’m a huge peanut butter fan! But they can be pricey. And once my kids fell in love with them too, I knew I needed to come up with a homemade version to better fit the budget. After some trial and error, I created a bar that my family loved. (And you guys did too.)

As lactation cookies and bars have become more popular in the last couple of years, I decided there also needed to be an option that a new mother could make from the comfort of her own home. These are great to have on hand for those quick calorie needs. The lactation bars take around five minutes to prepare. Keep them refrigerated until ready to eat.

As you already know, I love peanut butter, but I know not everyone does. You can substitute almond butter, sunflower butter, or any nut butter instead of peanut butter. The more natural and drippier the better. My favorite to use is Kirkland’s Organic Creamy Peanut Butter (from Costco), but any kind will work well.

I do recommend you go with an organic variety of nut butter. Conventional peanut butter is one of the top foods in our market that has the highest number of pesticides. Once I learned that I replaced our peanut butter with organic and never looked back. We can’t always buy organic, but this is one I don’t skimp on.

The Best Lactation Bar Recipe (Healthy and No-Bake)

These bars are great postpartum. They are considered “clean” with no refined sugar and honey as the natural sweetener. Packed with protein, these give moms an energy boost, and they help meet her daily calorie intake. But best of all, they taste soooo good!!!!

I used Booby Body Protein Powder in this recipe because the ingredients benefit a mom’s milk supply and it contains zero refined sugar. Booby Body Protein Powder doesn’t have the best flavor when drinking on its own, so using it in this recipe is a great way to get the benefits without the taste. If you don’t mind a little extra sugar, two other great options are Milk Dust Protein Powder and Milk Drunk Protein Powder.

Need a good, everyday protein shake? Here are The Best Protein Powders for Breastfeeding Moms.

The Best Lactation Bar Recipe (Healthy and No-Bake)

In a large bowl combine your peanut butter and honey together. Stir well. Add the dry milk powder and protein powder. Mix until completely smooth.

Press mixture into a 9×13 pan with clean fingers. Lightly press chocolate chips into the top of the bars. Feel free to mix a few tablespoons of chocolate chips into the batter if you would like. Cut the bars into squares or rectangles or any shape you please, and place them into the refrigerator.

These bars can be eaten immediately but will have a softer texture. For a firm, “Perfect bar” texture that you may be used to, refrigerate for at least thirty minutes before consuming. This lactation bar recipe can also be mixed in a food processor if you don’t want to stir by hand. Optional: add a little bit of sea salt sprinkled on top to really bring out the flavor.

Nutritional Facts:

For one bar, cut into squares similar to the photo above, the nutritional content is approximately: Calories: 165 per serving, Total fat: 10g, Saturated fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 5mg, Total Carbs: 12g, Fiber: 2g, Sugars: 9g, PROTEIN 8g

These bars are perfect to grab when you’re sitting down to nurse your baby. They aren’t crumbly, so no messy crumblies dropping on baby! The Best Lactation Bars are also great to have on hand when hunger cravings hit.

Mom Tip: Make a pan in your spare time and keep them on hand for healthy snacks. It will keep you from grabbing chips or cookies to satisfy painful hunger pains. They tend to satisfy the sweet tooth as well.

Don’t miss these 12 Other Ways to Increase your Breast Milk Supply as seen on Fox News. Lactation specialist and mother-baby nurse approved!

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Author

Rachel is a Postpartum Nurse of 15+ years. She is also a Spinning Babies® CPE, Childbirth Educator, Published Author, and Recipe Creator. Rachel's passion is to encourage and empower women in all things related to motherhood.

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