On my birthday this year I received the best present - I sold my first ad through Passionfruit Ads! (If you haven't checked out my ad page, click here.) My goal for this blog is to, first, communicate with other mamas and families, but also to make a bit of cash on the side so that I can spoil Lemon. We currently pay one of my paychecks to Ashley, our nanny, so any extra money we make is spending money for us, helps us get through to the next month and usually we use it to do something "fun" as a family. I was so excited that I sold an ad I told everyone I knew! (And maybe I shouldn't be writing this, but anyone that reads my blog knows I am pretty straightforward in everything I write so I have decided to just share it all. There's no shame in keepin' it real!)
My first ad came from an awesome company called Mrs. Patel's and their website is mrsmilk.com (how cute is that?!). Anhoni Patel wanted me to review her Fenugreek Bars, Milk Water Tea and Munch Crunch products - they all help moms increase their milk supply. Just a week earlier, as Lemon was signing "please" after I knew my milk was out (after she nursed) right before bed, I considered taking fenugreek again just so I'd have enough for her when she wants it. We have been going strong for 16 months and now she nurses about 3 times a day but always wants more before bed and I know she is only getting about 2-3 ounces (so we supplement with almond milk). So, just in time, Anhoni bought an ad and here we are!
Anhoni Patel lives in San Francisco with her husband and two children. She started Mrs. Patel's in February and is passionate about helping new and nursing mothers. Man, she definitely shares my passion because I had a tough go of it there in the beginning and shared a lot of it on here. I wanted to give up nursing a thousand times but am so happy I stuck with it and I love that she is a mom wanting to help other moms too (you know I love this!). Her products are Indian treats based on recipes passed down in her family for hundreds of years and are based on basic Ayurveda principals (see below). She was inspired by her mother, who made these for her when she gave birth to her own children, and wanted to do the same for other mothers - helping to boost their milk supply and helping them with postpartum healing.
Her company offers a 20% discount on all new orders and they have a loyalty program for women who have made 3 orders and plan on ordering more. Their Chai Spice tea (my favorite kind of tea is chai) is the only milk making tea on the market with a unique set of flavors and neither of their teas include fennel or fenugreek (common milk boosting herbs). But, each of their Fenugreek Bars do contain 5% pure ground fenugreek (the equivalent of 2-3 capsules of fenugreek pills). In the beginning of my nursing journey, I took Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle to boost my supply (3 Fenugreek 3x daily and 2 BT, 2x daily) and it totally helped me. But, the downside to taking the pills is that you smell like maple syrup but when eating her bars, you don't!
More information about her products:
"Based on the tenets of Ayurveda (a system of medicine native to India), our ingredients have been used by nursing mothers in India for thousands of years. Our products are ideal for mothers who have recently given birth, those experiencing difficulties with their milk supply and those pumping, working mothers who want to maintain their supply and keep breastfeeding."
Their fenugreek bars (that come in a gluten-free, vegan option as well):
- Increase milk supply and aid in joint healing.
- Eat one a day in the morning.
- Each bar contains 5% fenugreek.
- Unrefrigerated can last 1.5 weeks, refrigerated 2-3 weeks. If transferred to a sealed container in the fridge they can last 1+ months and if frozen up to 3 months.
- The regular bars contain wheat, dairy and nuts.
- The strongest lactation they offer, also a postpartem detoxifier.
- There are two kinds - Herbal Blend and Chai Spice.
- Neither of their blends contain fennel or fenugreek.
- Caffeine free.
- Steep for 5-7 minutes and take with milk and sugar.
- Doesn't need a strainer since it is a heavier, lose tea.
- Best taken after meals because it aides in digestion while increasing milk supply.
- Can sprinkle it on salad, yogurt or eat on its own.
- There are no known side effects.
- There is no need to continually take the products after your milk supply has been boosted.
- If you have a good milk supply you may not need their products because you do not want to overproduce. You can also cut the servings of each product in half.
- Cannot use when pregnant.
- All products come in a 10-12 day supply.
- Shipping to the US.
I tried the gluten free/vegan pack and liked them. They are a bit spicy, definitely seedy and you can taste the fenugreek. I did not religiously eat one a day but when I remembered I ate one, and towards the end of that last couple of bites it gets pretty spicy (not hot, just spicy). The bars are the size of a regular serving of a dessert bar (like a lemon bar) but have a very different, distinct flavor to them, not like a dessert but more like an herbal/health bar. You can definitely taste all of the herbs and I would recommend the chocolate over the regular for a sweeter taste.
Anhoni ended up sending me the regular pack of Fenugreek bars (not gluten free) and then the gluten free pack so I gave the regular pack to a mama of a 9 month old baby, my friend Crystal. She reported back that she didn't notice much of a change her supply but had a good supply to begin with. She said, "They definitely taste healthy and compared to other things I've tried, they're good. A healthy snack for a nursing mama."
I also tried the Chai Tea and the Munch Crunch and preferred the bars over both of them. They had too much of an earthy taste for me and the Munch Crunch was still too seedy even with yogurt. I did not try it with a salad, however (as is also suggested) and am thinking that its earthy flavor would have gone better with greens. I also think that if you put the Crunch in a smoothie that would be good too, that way the seeds would get blended in and you wouldn't be crunching on them. (I understand it is a "crunch" but I'm not a fan of crunching on seeds.) The tea was heavy so I put it in loose and let it seep but it still ended up tasting not very "chai" to me and had more of an herbal, earthy flavor that I wasn't really a fan of.
Did this work to boost my milk supply? I am not sure, as I am nearing the end of our nursing period with my babe. But, are these Fenugreek bars a great alternative to taking the supplements? Yes! I wish I would have known about something like this in the beginning, I would have jumped all over it (I would have tried anything!). I would suggest the bars if you are looking to try one of these products because they were definitely the most tasty of the three. And, they are a great alternative to the other supplements and teas out there, for sure.
Thank you, Anhoni, for letting me try your products, I had fun! I hope that you visit mrsmilk.com if you are interested in ordering, reading more about her products and supporting this mama on her semi-new business venture. And if you are a new, nursing mama, hang in there and try anything - it is SO worth the journey!!!
Please note: I received a free product to review, but the opinions expressed above are 100% my own.
I just found your blog via Insta! Love. And funniest thing - I'm quite literally eating a Mrs. Patel's bar WHILE reading this post above. We are big fans and definite believers here!
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