Kerala has its share of superfoods that are recommended for breastfeeding women. But these are not exactly mouth-watering. Nor are they easy to prepare.

With many mothers, especially working women, complaining of inadequate breast milk to feed their infants, the Women and Child Development Department has come up with nutrient-dense lactation cookies that help increase milk production and meet the nutritional requirements of nursing mothers. The Niravu lactation cookies have been developed as part of the Sampushta Keralam project in connection with the ongoing World Breastfeeding Week observance till August 7.

Made using wheat flour, ragi flour, green gram, ‘nendran’ plantain powder, jackfruit seed powder, moringa powder, cumin, fenugreek, carom, sesame, brown sugar, and butter, the cookies promise an improvement in terms of taste, without added colours, flavours, and preservatives.

They have been developed at a very low cost by the food science and technology wing of the Haryana-based National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management under the Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries.

An amount of ₹14.18 lakh has been spent on the project, department officials say. The composition of the cookies has been determined keeping in mind locally available and low-cost ingredients. The distribution of the cookies has been piloted in Thiruvananthapuram district. A month’s supply of cookies (four cookies coming to 100 gm a day) will be distributed to 1,615 breastfeeding women in this phase.

Cartoon as tool

Cartoons too are being used by the department, in association with the Kerala Cartoon Academy, as a tool to create awareness of the importance of breastfeeding. Issues related to women and children, such as rights and nutrition, too will be highlighted using cartoons in days to come, say officials.

A host of programmes, including a webinar, are being held in connection with World Breastfeeding Week.