I'm always on the lookout for tasty drinks that are beneficial for the bod. Enter the beautiful beverage that is: Golden Milk.
Golden milk is a delicious concoction that essentially contains a milk alternative (in my version), a touch of sweetness, and turmeric, in its most basic formula.
Why on earth would you drink such a thing?
For one, it is actually extremely tasty! Most people associate turmeric (if they've heard of it at all) with curry, but it's not the strong savoury flavour in curry (that would be the cumin, coriander, etc.), it's the dry, aromatic, slightly spicy back-flavour of curry, that goes perfectly with sweet, creamy notes. I'm salivating just describing it.
Then there's the ritual of making the golden milk. I have had numerous patients remark on how much they appreciated the ritual of it, and I couldn't agree more. It's so enjoyable to make yourself (and others) this extremely healthy, homemade, exquisite infusion; to relish that nourishing self-care.
But beyond the flavour and the ritual, turmeric is AMAZING. It's one of my absolute favourite botanicals. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...
1. Potently anti-inflammatory- and since inflammation is the root cause of so many disease states, this makes turmeric very valuable for many people, from osteoarthritis to depression!
2. Improves liver function- could help regenerate liver tissue, inhibits phase 1 and stimulates phase 2 liver detoxification.
3. Anticancer
4. For digestion: stimulates digestive secretions (including bile), carminitive (relieves gas).
5. Stimulate circulation, and is warming.
6. Lowers cholesterol.
7. Antioxidant.
8. Stimulates blood flow in the pelvic area, can stimulate menses.
9. Contribute to blood sugar regulation and improve insulin sensitivity.
10. Anticoagulant (thins the blood).
So if you want an all-around "health-promoting" drink, golden milk is bound to be the best option!
So now that you know the "why", here's the "how"!
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Golden Milk Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1/2-1 c. Coconut milk (ideal because it already contains fat, but you can also use other alternative milks and add coconut oil to the turmeric in a 1:1 ratio). The more coconut milk, the creamier (and fattier).
- 1 c. Water
- 1-2 tsp Turmeric
- Black pepper (One twist of the wrist with the pepper grinder)
- 1 tsp Raw honey
- Chai (tea) bag (optional)
- Vanilla extract (optional)
1. Remove all white clothing! In fact, remove all your clothing. Okay, I kid, but do keep in mind that turmeric can, and will, stain all clothes forever. I am infamous for getting coated in it every time I contact turmeric. It sees stain potential and it attacks, I swear.
2. Heat up the coconut milk with the turmeric and cracked pepper, simmer for a couple minutes. Enjoy that aroma :)
3. Add the water and heat until boils, then remove from heat and let cool slightly.
4. Add honey (and a chai bag/vanilla extract, if you desire!). Enjoy!!
Notes:
- The beauty of raw honey is that it's raw, it has not been processed through heat. It maintains the drying and antimicrobial properties of raw honey. When you kill it with heat, it becomes more like a dead sugar, so that's why I cool the liquid a bit before adding the honey, and certainly why I don't add the honey while it's boiling. I don't know the exact temperature at which the honey would be damaged, so I just play it safe.
- Black pepper is somewhat optional (and I know it's a weird thing to add to a sweet drink), but it massively increases the absorption of turmeric (at a 1:100 ratio of black pepper:turmeric it increases absorption nearly 200%!), and you can't taste it in the drink, so I'd highly recommend its use!
- One of the most active constituents in turmeric is curcumin, which is fat-soluble. This means that it's impossible for the turmeric to enter your system in the absence of a fat, which is why coconut milk is a great combo, as it's high in healthy fat.
- You could make the whole thing with coconut milk (i.e. no water); it would be divine, and it would be like a thousand calories. It is healthy fat, though, as you can read about here.
- I'd highly recommend that you make your own coconut milk (see my blog for the merits of doing so!), but you could also use canned or boxed, the consistency will definitely be different though so you'd have to play around with ratios.