What’s Turmeric Milk and How it Can Change Your Life

Turmeric milk or “Golden Milk”, as a lot of people call it, became a vast wellness fad starting back in 2016 and has slowly but surely built a large following – not just in wellness groups but amongst everyone. This magical alternative to milk gets its name from its main ingredient, turmeric, a spice known in India and mainly used in Asian cooking.

By itself, turmeric can be treated as an ingredient for curing ailments or raising immunity. When added to milk, as either a form of powder or from the turmeric root itself, it gives milk that golden glow and infuses the liquid with all of the healthy benefits that turmeric possesses.

Milk, in general, stands out because of the level of calcium it provides to the body; turmeric milk offers anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. These properties can help the body in many ways, from helping clean the liver to curing a common cold, alleviate joint pain and even helping fight free radicals, one of the leading contributors that lead to cancer. And all that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

But how can turmeric milk be so helpful? Surely there’s to be more to it right?

Well, there is actually. One of the chemical ingredients that give turmeric its healing properties is curcumin which is fat soluble. Hence, by adding turmeric into milk, it ensures a faster and better absorption of curcumin into your body.

Turmeric Milk is the best way to go if you’re looking for a healthy spice to be added to the usual milk you drink. Let’s not just talk about Golden Milk and let’s go through with how you can start making your turmeric milk!

Basic Turmeric Milk Tea

Prep Time: 10 Minutes | Cook Time: 5 Minutes | Total: 15 Minutes

Ingredients:

1 (1 1/2 inch) piece fresh turmeric root peeled and grated or turmeric powder

1 (1/2 inch) piece fresh ginger root, peeled and grated

1 tablespoon honey

1 cup of milk of any kind (regular milk, almond milk, you name it)

1 pinch ground turmeric (optional)

1 pinch ground cinnamon or pepper (optional)

Method:

It wouldn’t be fun just to drink regular turmeric milk, so we’ve decided to add ginger, honey and cinnamon for added flavour.  The pepper is optional but do note that pepper helps boost the level of curcumin absorption, just make sure not to go overboard with it.

Start off by combining your turmeric powder or root and ginger root along with the honey, now make sure to mix and ground them all together.

Once that part is done, grab your milk and heat it in a saucepan over medium heat until it begins to bubble. Then reduce the heat to low and transfer two tablespoons of milk onto the turmeric mixture you made earlier until it turns into a paste-like mixture.

Now, grab your mixture and put it in alongside the remaining milk, while making sure to set the saucepan to medium-low. Don’t leave it alone here as you have to make sure to stir it continuously until thoroughly mixed. We’d also recommend throwing the ingredients into the blender to make sure they’re appropriately combined.

Our milk tea is ready for drinking, just pour it into a mug and throw in any leftover turmeric as well as the cinnamon and pepper (depending on what you chose) and you’ll be ready to go.

Feel free to make a large batch and refrigerate it so that you can enjoy chilled turmeric milk whenever you like!

Turmeric “Milk”shake

We’re not about to leave you with just milk though, for those looking for something a bit sweeter, you can also enjoy a tasty Turmeric Milkshake. It comes with all the significant benefits of turmeric but this one takes away all of the dairy and cream, it’s still delicious though.

Ingredients:

1 cup canned full fat coconut milk

1/2 cup almond milk

1-2 frozen bananas

2 teaspoons ground turmeric

1 tablespoon almond butter

1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

2 tablespoons chia seeds

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of ground cinnamon, adjust to taste

Pinch of sea salt, adjust to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, adjust to taste

Directions:

So guess what? There isn’t anything complicated about this recipe. Like most milkshakes, once you have all of the ingredients, simply throw them in the blender and leave them there until the milkshake becomes smooth. How much you season it and what toppings you use are all up to you, so let your creativity flow.

There are a lot more benefits and think you can do with turmeric milk, which all help in showing why it managed to become so big. Even when it comes to recipes, you’re able to add other ingredients or also use it to make different types of beverages of desserts just like with any other kind of milk. The sky is the limit, so go out there and try your hand at your unique recipes.

Photo Credits: Nutrition Stripped, Food NDTV, Delightful Vegans, Madeleine Shaw