Golden Milk Goodness – Healthy & Yummy!
Turmeric & Spice Cold Buster, Immunity Booster & Inflammation Soother
I have recently been laid low with a summer cold virus – sneezing, coughing, aching muscles & bunged-up sinuses. Although I was careful to get plenty of rest I also like a positive opportunity, so I decided to put my experience to good use & share some of the natural & herbal remedies that I have been using – hence this recipe for Golden Milk. For some basic information see this Guardian article on Golden Milk or follow the links below highlighted in green.
I was introduced to the idea of regularly drinking Golden Milk by Dietitian Dalia Maori, at the January meeting of the Aroma Supergroup Aromatherapy group. I hadn’t heard of it before but having investigated further it seems to be very popular. This is mainly due to it’s powerful ingredients, in particular Turmeric, & the active ingredient within it, Curcumin. These are both powerful anti-inflammatories which can aid our immune response to disease & improve our digestive health. For this & my recent use of Golden Milk to help to combat a summer cold please see my blog all about Colds, Disease, Inflammation & how things like Golden Milk, essential oils & herbs can help.
Colds, Disease, Inflammation Blog
These days I also like to have Golden Milk before bed for some warming comfort or during the day as a healthy alternative to tea or coffee. However, having been quite addicted to it in the beginning I now tend to limit it to a cup a day as it’s made with milk & therefore has more calories than herbal teas – be warned, it is delicious! 🙂
I prefer making Golden Milk with fresh Turmeric (available from most ethnic food shops) which actually produces a less vibrant yellow colour than when using dried
Ingredients
There are so many variations to Golden Milk, this is simply my favourite recipe. Most of the other ingredients are optional, so experiment a little to see what you prefer. The main point though is to have Turmeric & Curcumin, so I would recommend keeping this & also Black Pepper, as it’s active ingredient Piperine significantly helps you to absorb the Curcumin.
- 1 cup/mug of Coconut milk (traditionally it’s Coconut milk, but feel free to use Coconut & Almond, Almond, Hazelnut or whatever else you fancy)
- 1 tsp Coconut Oil (you can vary this to your own taste or leave it out if you prefer)
- 1 cm fresh Turmeric (grated) or 1 tsp Turmeric powder (I prefer fresh but if using dried try to get organic)
- 1 cm fresh Ginger (grated) or ½ tsp of Ginger powder (I prefer fresh)
- ½ – 1 tsp of Cinnamon powder, or use a Cinnamon stick
- 1-2 Cardamom pods cracked, alternatively remove the seeds & add them, or use ½ tsp Cardamom powder
- Grated Nutmeg – as much as you like
- Black Pepper – grind as much as you like; alternatively you can add 3-5 whole black peppercorns & strain out
- ¼ tsp All Spice
Method
- Simple to make!
- Put all the ingredients in a saucepan & gently heat (do not boil)
- If using fresh Turmeric, Ginger, whole Black Peppercorns or Cardamom seeds you may want to strain before drinking
- Pour back into your mug & savour the flavour
Drink down the Golden Milk Goodness & feel yourself loved from the inside out
– so warming & comforting, but also a really easy way to make yourself better & improve your digestive & immune health
Find out why Golden Milk is considered so beneficial by reading my blog on Colds, Diseases & Inflammation here
