Hi friends,
There has been a rush of more turmeric related products on shelves and fridges at the grocery store. One turmeric concoction that seems to be going through a mega spotlight moment is Turmeric Milk.
I would like to share with you a few health benefits and some turmeric brews to play with. Of course there are tons more options out there, these are more or less basic recipe ideas. Please feel free to always add, remove, substitute as you prefer.
Let’s start off with the basics. Turmeric Milk is traditionally not vegan, usually vegan versions use coconut milk or almond milk (that doesn’t mean you have to follow the herd). Often this is a drink consumed at night, between the good fats from nuts plus the warming, soothing, and comforting effects of turmeric make this one of those go to drinks to calm down. Turmeric is a root so it does make sense!
If you are interested in creating alternative milks at home please check out my previous post, Alternative Milk Options Recipes, sharing several different varieties including almond milk and coconut milk. I have several posts where I have scattered information on turmeric that you can browse through if you are curious.
Turmeric is known for being a healing, cleansing and warming spice. It is a root that looks similar to ginger except it is thinner, has more of a finger-like appearance, and it is orange in the instead (turmeric and ginger should always be peeled for recipes). One may use turmeric for cold/flu symptoms, scratchy throat, stomach pains or/and stomach bug, to heal a wound including cuts, scrapes, burns since it is antibacterial and anti fungal. Please note, turmeric does stain knives, cutting boards, your hands, clothes and so forth.
Where I live, recently, it has been extremely difficult to find fresh turmeric root. The fresh root is always preferred but if powder needs to be used instead that is still excellent! At least you are using turmeric!
If you want to make your own Turmeric Milk and just use my recipes as a soundboard or rough recipe outline PLEASE make sure you use peppercorn. Turmeric milk is high in antioxidants, anti inflammatory compounds, healthy fats (especially when using coconut milk), but also manganese and iron (found in turmeric). In traditional recipes, which include peppercorns, actually enhances the absorption of curcumin (the main component found in turmeric) in our bodies. The ingredients in this recipe actually work in a synergistic fashion, which is fascinating! There really is a science to food, what combinations work best together. So the fat from the milk of course, turmeric, and peppercorn in my eyes are the most important ingredients. The rest is more for possibly creating a more grounding drink and to make our taste buds interested.
I think it’s about time we hit to the juicy bit! Here is my version of a tradition Turmeric Milk with a Vegan twist. If you would like you can warm up your milk of choice before adding the spices, note the milk will separate a bit and that is natural.
Raw Vegan Turmeric Milk (Golden Milk)
Recipe makes 1 cup, 1 person
1 cup of your preferred milk
1 teaspoon of your preferred sweetener, I use coconut nectar or liquid stevia. Commonly local honey is used as the sweetener.
A dash of salt
A dash of freshly ground peppercorn
*optional this gives a creamy texture if you find alternative milks to be too watery* 1 teaspoon of coconut oil, a non-vegan traditional option would be Ghee
1 teaspoon turmeric powder (that’s what I had around if you have fresh please use it and use about a teaspoon as well)
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon or 1 cinnamon stick freshly grated
*optional* a dash of powdered ginger or if fresh about a pinky nail size of grated ginger
Some other fun additions: 1 teaspoon raw cacao or carob, 1 teaspoon cayenne powder, 1 teaspoon Earth powder by Health Force, 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon orange oil, 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or half a fresh vanilla bean.
May be you are thinking about turning this into a smoothie?
FANTASTIC idea. Here are some options; 1 frozen banana, 1 cup frozen strawberries, 1 cup frozen mango.
I have a foamer wand that I like to use for concoctions like this to make it look like a latte, or any other type of more fattening treat. Make this pretty, play with making a design on the top, use your favorite mug, make enough to share with friends and never be scared to try out something new!
Here are a few images of my almond milk process.
Jinkies this post turned out to be larger than I expected. Thank you all for taking the time to stop by my site and read my jibber jabber. I hope you all make some bomb diggity concoctions this Fall and Winter that make you feel happy, playful, warm and overall taken care of. Much love❤ and raw power😉
xx Jess
