Winter has
finally come to Florida. In Central Florida,
we’ve had nights in the 30’s with wind chill down to the 20’s. For many people this means staying inside in
an attempt to stay warm, but my husband and I are both very happy to start bonfires
and cozy up next to them with the hot beverage of our choice. For my husband, it’s always coffee, though I’ve
never been a big fan myself. Hot tea is
good, but I’m picky about my teas (I’m a tea snob…what can I say?). So my hot beverage of choice has almost
always been hot chocolate. However, I
have been slowly switching over to something else (and dragging my husband with
me). The beverage I’ve been consuming
can be served warm or cold (though I prefer it warm) and has amazing medicinal
benefits.
Golden milk is not
necessarily a “milk” at all. The
traditional recipes call for coconut milk, coconut oil, honey, and turmeric. I like to spice mine up a little, with ginger
and black pepper. Other people like to
add a touch of cinnamon and cayenne, or use maple instead of honey to sweeten
it. You can also choose to make it with
regular milk, or any non-dairy milk of your choice. I tend to jump between using coconut milk,
cashew milk, or regular milk. The basic
recipes start off with adding a paste to your “milk” and cooking them together,
so I’m including a basic turmeric past recipe, I usually just make it all at
once without making the paste. Keep in
mind that turmeric can be very bitter if not cooked long enough. Don’t be afraid to cook it a little extra if
you feel you need to.
Turmeric is a
close relative of ginger and has many of the same medicinal properties. However, the most notable thing about
turmeric is called curcumin. Curcumin is
most notorious for its anti-cancer properties.
It has been proven to actually prevent blood flow to tumors. Without the blood flow, the tumors can’t
grow. Curcumin actually helps to modify
the genetic code in cancer cells and destroy them, as well as helping to
prevent healthy cells from mutating into cancer.
Coconut Milk
contains lauric acid which is not commonly found in nature. Lauric acid is used by your body to make
monolaurin, which actually helps destroy certain, lipid-coated, viruses. Some lipid-coated viruses include HIV,
herpes, influenza, and measles. So
coconut milk actually helps your body fight off these diseases.
Coconut Oil is
necessary for these recipes because turmeric is fat-soluble. This means that the beneficial compounds in
turmeric can only be used when certain fats are present. Coconut oil contains the healthy fats needed
for our bodies to be able to use turmeric.
Basic Turmeric Paste
½ cup Turmeric Powder
1 cup Water
1 ½ teaspoons Black Pepper
5 tablespoons Coconut Oil (warmed up into a liquid)
Combine all ingredients, except the coconut oil, in a pot and cook,
stirring, until they form a thick paste (about 7-10 minutes). Remove from heat and whisk in the coconut oil
until fully incorporated. Refrigerate
and hold up to 2 weeks.
Golden Milk from the Paste
1 teaspoon Turmeric Paste
2 cups Coconut Milk
Honey to taste
Combine all ingredients, stirring or whisking to combine. Heat until just under boiling. Once heated and combined, you can serve it
hot or cold.
Golden Milk with Ginger
1 tablespoon Coconut Oil
1 inch Turmeric, freshly grated or sliced (or 1 teaspoon dried powder)
1 inch Ginger, freshly grated or sliced (or 1 teaspoon dried powder)
1 pinch Black Pepper
2 cups Coconut Milk (or milk of your choice)
Honey to taste
Combine the coconut oil, turmeric, ginger, and black pepper in a pot on
the stove. Cook them together, on low-medium
heat, about 7-10 minutes. Add in the
coconut milk and a little honey. Raise
the heat to medium-high and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring
continuously. Remove from heat and
cover. Let sit 10-15 minutes. If you need more honey, now is the time to
taste and add it. Strain and serve, warm
or cold.
Golden Milk with Cinnamon
1 tablespoon Coconut Oil
1 inch Turmeric, freshly grated or sliced (or 1 teaspoon dried powder)
1 inch Cinnamon Stick (or ½ teaspoon dried powder)
1 pinch dried Cayenne powder
2 cups Coconut Milk (or milk of your choice)
Honey to taste
Combine the coconut oil, turmeric, and cayenne in a pot on the
stove. Cook them together, on low-medium
heat, about 7-10 minutes. Add in the
coconut milk, cinnamon stick, and a little honey. Raise the heat to medium-high and simmer for about
5 minutes, stirring continuously. Remove
from heat and cover. Let sit 10-15
minutes. If you need more honey, now is
the time to taste and add it. Strain and
serve, warm or cold.
Like all of my
recipes, these can be modified to suit your needs or taste buds. Some options, instead of using milk and
honey, use bone broth and serve warm.
This makes a savory beverage, or a great soup stock. Try adding Chai spices like cardamom and
clove, along with both cinnamon and ginger, to make a Golden Chai Milk. Have fun!
Experiment! And let me know what
you think in the comments below!
Resources:
Epicurious: Golden Milk Turmeric Tea: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/golden-milk-turmeric-tea
Fresh Bites Daily: Golden Milk: http://www.freshbitesdaily.com/turmeric-milk/
Gimme Some Oven: Golden Milk (hot or iced): http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/golden-milk-turmeric-milk/
Mercola: What is Golden Milk?: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/09/21/golden-milk.aspx
Wellness Mama: Turmeric Tea: https://wellnessmama.com/223/turmeric-tea-recipe/
