New Years Resolutions

Every year I say I'm going to make a New Years resolution and stick to it. Every year, without fail, I fail. Usually before Valentines day. I get a summer cold, or something else comes up and there goes my resolve. This time, I'm hoping it is different. My approach is different and hopefully my outcome will be different too. In the past, I have made all-sweeping statements such as "I'm going to exercise more" or "I want to lose weight". This time, I'm am making a plan. I want to lose some weight, which is nothing new, but how I am going to go about it is new. I have a plan and I am making myself accountable. I also have 2 beautiful little people as motivation. My daughters deserve a healthy and energetic mum to play with them, run around and jump and go swimming and bike riding with them. My plan is multifaceted. I will be exercising more - swimming at least once a week and doing wiifit for at least 10 minutes every evening at least 4 days a week, smaller portion sizes with meals, not buying chips, biscuits, chocolate, lollies when I go shopping, not shopping when I'm hungry, having little, achievable goals and drinking more water. If I feel hungry, the first thing I do is drink a glass of water and wait a few minutes. Why? I have realised that a lot of the time when I think I feel hungry, I'm actually just thirsty. My silly brain confuses my body. I have started my Resolution a few days early, just to give myself a kick on. I figure, with my multipronged approach is going to make me less likely to fail. If I have a naughty day, food wise, I still have my exercise. If I don't feel up to exercising one day, I will be sure to eat well. I won't let little problems turn into complete failure. I will get down to my pre-pregnancy weight. I would really like to be down to the weight I was in my last year of highschool, but that is a long way off. Little steps.
Here we go!

Oat Lactation Cookies

Adapted from original recipe by Noel Trujillo on www.food.com

This recipe is not only delicious, but useful. The oats, linseed and brewers yeast are galactogogues - substances than increases breast milk production. Oats need to be real rolled oats – not the instant kind. Linseed is also known as flaxseed. Brewers yeast is also known as “nutritional yeast”. You can use as little as 2 tablespoons or up to 4 tablespoons full of yeast – the more yeast, greater the effect on your milk production, but it also is rather strongly flavoured. When I first made this recipe, I started with just 2 tablespoons of yeast. I quite liked the yeasty flavour so the next batch I made I put the full 4 tablespoons of yeast. Both the linseed and yeast can be found at most health food stores.

Ingredients:

· 1 cup (about 125g) butter
· 3/4 cup caster sugar
· 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
· 4 tablespoons water
· 2 tablespoons ground linseed
· 2 eggs, lightly beaten
· ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
· 2 cups plain flour
· 1 teaspoon baking soda
· ½ teaspoon salt
· 3 cups rolled oats
· 2-4 tablespoons brewer's yeast

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Mix the linseed and water and let sit for 3-5 minutes.
3. Beat butter, sugars well.
4. Add eggs and mix well.
5. Add linseed mix and vanilla, beat well.
6. Sift together flour, brewers yeast, baking soda, and salt.
7. Add dry ingredients to butter mix.
8. Stir in oats
9. Roll into balls and squash into circles onto baking sheet.
10. Bake for 12 minutes, or until golden brown and firm around the edges
11. Let set for a couple minutes then remove from tray

It is recommended that you eat one of these cookies a day to boost and maintain breastmilk supply. I found them a really convenient snack to munch on while feeding my baby girl. They are relatively easy to throw together and won't take too much time away from your new bub. Something I have been doing is baking these as a gift to bring when visiting a mum with a new baby. They have always been well received. They were also very popular at ABA meetings.

Revelation

I have come to a revelation. I am not a housewife. While my kids still live at home I will never be a housewife. Why, you may ask? Because I am a mother. A stay-at-home mum, to be precise. My kids come first. Always. The house can fall down around me, the laundry can pile sky high and the dishwasher can never get emptied. As long as my kids are happy, healthy and cared for, the rest is completely irrelevant.
Now, if you will excused me. I have to go. AJ just woke from her nap and sounds hungry.