Lactation iced tea

This post is unrelated to what I normally post about but I wanted to make this into something I could pin on Pinterest.

As a breastfeeding, working mother I always have worries about my milk supply and making sure I have enough pumped milk for my baby while we are apart. I am also tandem nursing my 24 month old occasionally as well and worry about maintaining my supply for two. I have used lactation teas in the past with what I assume to be success as I have successfully nursed two children past age two and still been able to donate more than six gallons of milk to a milk bank. Yes, I was blessed in the supply department.

 I like lactation teas, my favorite being this one from Earth Mama Angel Baby. But I don’t always feel like drinking a cup of hot tea. Especially during our hot Florida summers (and springs and falls). Years ago I found a recipe for making my own iced tea as our local, ubiquitous sweet tea can sometimes be too sweet and not refreshing. My own tea tastes lighter and not as sweet. I can drink it like flavored water and feel good about what I’m drinking.

The combination of being home on maternity leave during the hot late summer and being gifted with a huge amount of Mothers Milk tea by Traditional Medicinals to our local La Leche League group for World Breastfeeding Week led me to do some experimenting. And I found a tea that is easy to make, tastes good and feels like it does the job. Like when I wake up in the morning after drinking a few glasses the day before I am so full I have to round up the toddler to take a hit to be more comfortable. I can easily tell whether I’ve had tea the day before. I like to add an extra teabag of a fruity flavored tea because I find the cardamom flavor of the Traditional Medicinals a bit strong. So far I have tried Country Peach Passion by Celestial Seasonings (which is my go to for regular homemade iced tea- delish!) and Orange & Spice by Bigelow because that's what I have on hand, but other flavors will likely work equally well.

My recipe is 6 cups of water, 6-7 tea bags and a tablespoon of sugar or so. It's that simple. Here it is in steps:

Boil 3 cups of water and pour into a pitcher

 Add 6 bags of Mother's Milk (or another brand) tea to steep

Add an additional bag of a fruit/herbal tea if desired

Steep for 10-15 minutes (I do 15, do less for a less strong flavor)

Remove tea bags

Add sweetener of choice to taste- I use 1 TBS of sugar to give a barely sweet taste. The trick is to dissolve the sweetener in the hot tea

Add 3 cups water/ice

Drink as desired. I often drink the entire pitcher during the course of a day to stay hydrated.

*no one paid me any money or gave me any products to encourage me to post this recipe, nor do I benefit from the links. It's all out of my own goodwill*

This post and recipe originally appeared on the blog Oh the Life of a Pilot's Wife