If you are breastfeeding, you may be wondering what you can drink to boost your milk supply. These three lactation drinks all taste amazing and contain ingredients to help increase the amount of milk you produce.
One of the recipes is a copycat of the Starbucks Pink drink that is super popular with breastfeeding moms! Another lactation drink mix only requires 2 ingredients.
Some of the lactation drink recipes out there are not super tasty. Many of the lactation smoothie recipes I tried contained fenugreek and brewer’s yeast which were not my favorite flavors.
When I tested out a few different lactation recipes, I wanted to make sure that they tasted AMAZING! I liked to think of these lactation drinks as a great treat, and I looked forward to drinking them every day.
How Does A Lactation Drink Boost Milk Supply?
There are three main reasons why these lactation drinks may work to boost milk supply:
- Extra electrolytes
- Extra fluids and hydration
- Extra calories
One mom that I know swore that the Starbucks pink drink increased her next pumping session by 2 or 3 ounces. That seemed pretty incredible to me. But, it gets expensive going to Starbucks every day. So, I started looking for ways to recreate the Starbucks pink drink at home.
Electrolytes May Increase Milk Supply
It seemed pretty incredible to me, and I wondered why so many moms swore by these lactation drinks.
One reason why these drinks may work is that they contain coconut milk or coconut water, which contains electrolytes. The extra hydration from the electrolytes may help to increase milk supply.
Extra Fluids May Boost Milk Supply
A second reason why the lactation drink may boost milk supply is due to the extra liquid it provides. For some women, it is easier to drink a lactation drink. This can help to break up the monotony of drinking water.
If a mom is not already well-hydrated, drinking a sufficient amount of water and liquids can help to produce milk. This is because breast milk is mostly made up of water.
For example, many women producing around 30 ounces of breast milk each day. For this level of milk production, you need to drink at least an extra 30 ounces of water every day. This is on top of the normal amount of water that you drink daily.
A few studies have been conducted on the impact of increasing fluid and a mother’s milk supply. One study showed that milk supply increased with the amount of fluid that was consumed, but it was not by a significant amount.
The other study showed that milk production more or less stayed the same and did not increase just due to drinking extra water. If you are interested in reading these studies, there is are a couple of links below at the end of the article.
The conclusions that I came to after reading these studies are:
- If a mom already drinks enough water and liquids, extra water is unnecessary.
- Just drinking tons of extra water may not do much to boost milk supply.
- If a mom is dehydrated, then that can lower her milk supply.
- If a mom does not drink enough water or liquids, then drinking more liquid, such as a lactation drink, may help a mother to increase milk supply.
Extra Calories May Increase Milk Supply
The third reason why these lactation drinks may help to increase milk supply is due to the extra calories they provide. Breastfeeding burns a ton of calories. The extra calories in the drink can help to provide the fuel to produce more milk.
If a mom is not consuming enough calories, then the extra calories in the lactation drink may help to increase milk supply.
How Often Should You Drink Lactation Drinks?
Most women will want to drink a lactation drink at most once per day.
These lactation drink recipes below do not contain any supplements such as fenugreek or blessed thistle. The great thing is that they do not have the side effects of these supplements. Drinking a lactation drink more frequently will not cause problems from supplements.
That being said, these drinks do contain calories and may contain sugar depending on the ingredients that you use.
Because of this, it is a good idea for the majority of fluids you drink to be water. Think of a lactation drink as a special treat that you look forward to during your afternoon pumping session.
How To Make A Lactation Drink
I wanted to figure out how to re-create the Starbucks Pink Drink on my own, and I tried out several recipes looking for the perfect version.
After a lot of testing recipes to recreate the delicious strawberry drink, I came up with a few of my favorites. I have shared my top three recipes with you below.
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Lactation Drink Recipe (Starbucks Pink Drink Copycat)
This first lactation drink recipe tastes the closest to the authentic Starbucks Pink Drink. If you are craving a drink that is as close as possible to the Starbucks version, then definitely make this version.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup of Starbucks Instant Berry Refresher
- ¼ cup Tazo Iced Passion Tea
- 5 freshly sliced strawberries
- 1 ½ c coconut milk
Directions
- First, mix the refresher, passion tea, and coconut milk in a cup.
- Add the sliced strawberries and ice to fill your cup.
- Enjoy your drink!
Sometimes it can be difficult to find the berry refresher and passion tea in the store. I found that you can buy both online.
Here is a link to where I found the berry refresher.
Here is a link to where I found the passion tea.
2 ingredient Super-Simple Lactation Drink Recipe
This is my go-to recipe when I wanted a lactation drink that was very quick and easy. I would make this version if I did not have fresh strawberries on hand, but I still wanted a little boost from an afternoon drink. I was able to find both ingredients easily in my local grocery store.
Ingredients
- 1 c coconut milk
- ¾ c Ocean Spray White Cranberry Strawberry
Directions
- Mix the coconut milk and ocean spray in a glass.
- Add ice if desired.
- Enjoy your delicious easy lactation drink!
Strawberry Banana Lactation Pink Drink Recipe
This third recipe is also super simple because it only contains two ingredients. It is slightly less authentic because it has an extra banana flavor. The original Starbucks pink drink primarily only has the taste of coconut milk and strawberry.
I enjoyed this drink because it has some extra vitamins from the V8. I loved that when I made this drink, I got a few extra vegetables squeezed in during my day.
Ingredients
- 1 c coconut milk
- ¾ c V8 Splash Strawberry Banana
Directions
- Mix the coconut milk and V8 in a glass
- Add ice if desired
- Enjoy your drink!
Variations On The Lactation Drink Recipes:
If you have already tried these three lactation drink recipes, try out these variations! You might find that you enjoy them as much as the original.
Variations To Reduce Sugar and Calories:
- Swap out the coconut milk for a low sugar coconut milk or coconut water. This will help to reduce the sugar and number of calories in the drink.
- Swap the V8 Splash or Ocean Spray for ½ water and ½ juice.
- Try swapping the Ocean Spray White Cran-Strawberry for Ocean Spray Diet Cran-Lemonade, or another Diet flavor. This will also help to reduce sugar
- Try swapping the V8 Splash with another flavor of Diet V8 Splash
Other Variations on the Lactation Drink Recipes
- Blend the coconut milk with frozen strawberries and other ingredients. This makes a frosty smoothie similar to a Strawberry Frappuccino.
- Try swapping strawberry lemonade with the juice for a summery version of the pink drink.
I hope that you enjoy these lactation drink recipes. Be sure to pin this article on Pinterest to save it for later!
Recommended Reading:
- If you are looking for other things to do to boost your milk supply, this article has my top 18 ways to naturally boost milk supply
- This drink helped to increase my milk supply (hint, it is made from oatmeal!)
- Ever wonder how many calories you burn by pumping or breastfeeding?
References: