Spiced Turmeric Milk – a Super Soothing Golden Elixir
Age is supposed to confer wisdom, but the main thing I notice these days is that my joints are a little creaky. I try to alleviate this by getting as much turmeric into my diet as I can. This is the first time I’ve made it the star of the show, however. Building on my recent success with hemp milk, I decided to combine these two oriental power houses to make spiced turmeric milk. If the hemp doesn’t get you, the turmeric will.
Turmeric (Curcuma longa) comes from the same Zingiberaceae family as ginger and is native to south Asia. Known as the Golden Goddess in some cultures, it has been used as a healing spice for thousands of years. Although the curcumin it contains is best known as a powerful anti-inflammatory, turmeric has many other benefits. I’m not going to list all of them here as there are plenty of more knowledgeable sources of information than mine. Suffice it to say it’s meant to be good for colds, digestion, poor circulation and arthritis. It’s also said to help prevent or treat many of the diseases which are so prevalent in our time: cancer, Alzheimer’s diabetes and IBS to name but a few.
I added a couple of other healing spices to my turmeric milk: cinnamon and cardamom. Not only do they have their own healing properties, but they taste good too. Cinnamon helps to control blood sugar and cardamom is a stomach soother. The last thing to go into the mix was honey. Honey is another ancient healer and contains trace amounts of many vitamins and minerals. I understand the Ayurvedic tradition is to drink turmeric milk before going to bed as it helps to promote sleep, but it’s also good as a morning pick-me-up.
The spiced turmeric milk turned out to be a lot nicer than I was expecting, delicious in fact. Taking one’s medicine has never been so pleasant. You can of course, use whatever milk you like, but the hemp milk gives it a nice nutty flavour that acts as a complementary backdrop to the spices and honey.
- 250 ml milk of your choice - I used hemp milk
- 1 cardamom pod - crushed
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp honey - I used manuka honey
- Warm the milk gently in a pan with the crushed cardamom pod. You want to get the milk hot, but make sure it doesn't boil, especially if using a non-dairy milk.
- When hot, whisk in the turmeric, cinnamon and honey.
- Pour into two small cups or glasses and sip slowly.
- Traditionally taken as a nighttime beverage.
Other recipes for drinks that include turmeric you might like
- Anti-inflamatory cherry smoothie via Strength and Sunshine
- Anti-inflamatory golden milk with pumpkin seeds via Franglais Kitchen
- Golden banana, turmeric & maple syrup smoothie via Kavey Eats
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Jenny Habbal-Goodsir
30th June 2016
Love the sound of this, but as I don’t drink straight milk, I think I will try it either with Kefir or yogurt!
Choclette
30th June 2016
I made mine with homemade hemp milk Jenny, but kefir should be fine too. Or coconut milk – see Nadia’s comment above too.
nadia
30th June 2016
I love golden milk! It has amazing anti-inflammatory properties and it tastes amazing too! Just a tip, the body needs fat to absorb turmeric so adding a little oil (I add 1/2-1 tsp coconut oil) and a pinch of black pepper helps with absorption 😉
Choclette
30th June 2016
Thanks for the tips Nadia. I’d heard about black pepper, but forgot it when I actually made it and blogged about it too. I should add that as a footnote. Wouldn’t there be enough fat in hemp milk to work?
Charlene Flash
30th June 2016
Looks wonderful, I didn’t realise turmeric has so many health benefits 🙂 x
Choclette
1st July 2016
Turmeric has loads of benefits Charlene, I only mentioned a few of them here 🙂
Catherine
1st July 2016
Such a delicious and healthy drink. It is amazing how healthy and tasty these spices are for us.
Choclette
1st July 2016
When I was young I wanted to be a herbalist Catherine. I sort of wished I’d followed through with it.
Angie@Angie's Recipes
1st July 2016
How nutritious and good for you!
Choclette
1st July 2016
And it’s really tasty too Angie, much nicer than I was expecting.
Aimee
1st July 2016
NEED to try this. Not only does it sound delicious and healthy but that colour is just beautiful!
Choclette
2nd July 2016
I’m with you there Aimee, the colour is beautiful.
Corina
1st July 2016
It sounds like a really soothing drink – great for bedtime!
Choclette
2nd July 2016
I want to get into the habit of making it at bedtime on a regular basis, but haven’t managed it yet.
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche
1st July 2016
I’m only 27 and some of my joints are already creaky! Definitely think I need this – sounds so comforting and soothing.
Choclette
2nd July 2016
It’s definitely worth a try Becca, though I think it needs to be drunk regularly to have any real effect.
Camilla @FabFood4All
1st July 2016
Lovely warming healing drink, might just drink it because it’s so cold right now!
Choclette
2nd July 2016
It has become a bit ridiculous hasn’t it? I’m almost back in winter clothes.
Cathy @ Planet Veggie
1st July 2016
I keep reading about the health benefits of turmeric – it really does seem to be a superfood!
Choclette
2nd July 2016
And it’s been known as a super spice for a very long time Cathy.
Heidi Roberts
1st July 2016
I am trying to add more turmeric to our food. I tried hemp milk but couldn’t really love it although the rice pudding I made was OK!
Choclette
2nd July 2016
I’m always on the look out on how I can add turmeric to foods – mostly it goes into our morning smoothie. Hemp milk is definitely an acquired taste, but I like the nutty flavour it has.
Nayna Kanabar
1st July 2016
I was brought up on this, any sign of a cut, bruise or sniffle and my mum would give us this to drink. Turmeric is indeed very good for your health.
Choclette
2nd July 2016
Your mother was a very wise woman Nayna 🙂