So far, I'm pretty fit, but sometimes my milk supply is low. So I looked up my herbal remedies book for natural ways to increase milk supply. I've long relied on Herbal Medicine by Dian Dincin Buchman for natural remedies. Not that I have anything against drugs, but with children and when breastfeeding, very often you can't use drugs.
I found that parsley and mint lessen the milk supply, which is useful when engorged. Dill helps promote milk flow. Now I happen to have dill growing in my backyard, so I went right out to pluck some.
Whenever possible now, I use dill as a substitute for parsley in recipes. This works out fine for non-Italian Western dishes: coleslaw, cabbage soup, and potato corn chowder. Dill also adds a fresh, sharp bite to spinach soup. It has a stronger, more astringent flavor than parsley, which makes it not so appropriate for Italian cooking. I find its strong, fresh flavor is best appreciated when it is added after cooking. My dill is 100% organic, so I just rinse it before sprinkling on soup or stirring into salad dressing.
Here in the Philippines, moringa, called malunggay, is the traditional breast milk supply booster. It grows plentifully in our neighborhood, so we use it frequently. Typically, it is added to soups like chicken tinola, white corn soup, and sinigang or monggo guisado. I've also put it into a grilled white cheese sandwich. All you do is put it in pan de sal with some kesong puti and grill in the toaster oven. This is a much quicker way of preparing it than making soup, though luckily Lucky Me now has a noodle soup with malunggay, N-rich. There are also other malunggay enriched products, which I buy occasionally, like malunggay pan de sal. This month's Yummy also has a recipe for an oven-baked omelet with malunggay, which I intend to give a try.
Sure, there are capsules and teas that make use of moringa, but I find taking it in food is much more pleasurable, not to mention cheaper. When I have time, I make squash soup with malunggay. I tasted such a soup at an Ateneo High School fair once and have since worked out my own version. Here's the recipe for this soup that is so nutritious and soothing it will surely help increase your breast milk supply.
Squash soup with malunggay
Boil 1/3 - 1/2 k of cubed squash in enough water to cover with about a dozen shrimp heads (or a shrimp broth cube) and 1/2 cup malunggay. When squash is soft, remove from fire and let cool. Puree in a blender then return to pot. Bring to boil and stir in 1/2 cup coconut milk and 1/2 cup cream (optional). Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
