An Ayurveda-inspired recipe for winter wellness: TURMERIC MYLK with CBD drops
If you’ve heard or seen photos of the ever popular Golden Milk (which we’re calling Turmeric Mylk here), you should also know that it’s based on a traditional Indian drink called haldi doodh which has been an Indian household staple for many generations.
What we’re whipping up now in Western culture is a very loose variation of the original recipe which was intended as an Ayurvedic tonic for medicinal purposes and which, by many accounts, isn’t always very tasty.
The age-old way to make haldi doodh is to slowly brew fresh turmeric in cow’s milk in order for the fat to draw out turmeric’s essential oils. In our fast-paced lives, it’s rare that we’d make time to correctly brew haldi doodh, so the recipes you’ll find online (and here) are shortcuts and adaptations of the real thing.
Turmeric Mylk is great for winter months and seasonal changes because if you run cold like I do, turmeric — in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) — is used for its warming properties and helps improve blood circulation.
Turmeric contains curcumin, a chemical compound in turmeric lauded for its anti-inflammatory effects, and for this reason, we advise against making Turmeric Mylk with animal milk as dairy is highly inflammatory*. Capisce?
Now let’s move on from the incredibly useful and interesting information and discuss the ingredients.
The obvious MVP would be turmeric in whatever form you can get your hands on and some type of plant milk. Water is fine too but will dramatically impact (NEGATIVELY) both satisfaction and potency levels. All of the spices aside from turmeric listed in the list are optional and is whatever you either have on hand or prefer. However, the spices — namely clove and black pepper — and coconut oil serve more purpose than just tasty complements. They make turmeric more bioavailable. Which simply means, the oil and spices help your body absorb turmeric faster.
To make this drink the perfect evening or nightcap, we added half a dropperful of Dhyāna 1000mg CBD drops to each serving. Our CBD drops are made with MCT coconut oil and have a very mild flavor; undetectable when added to the recipe. You can also skip the CBD drops as it won’t affect any flavor or health benefits.
Serves: 2-3 small servings (intended to be small and potent)
1 1/2 cups oat milk (or any plant milk)
1 tbsp freshly grated or ground turmeric
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp cinnamon (optional, but recommended)
1/8 tsp black pepper (optional, but recommended)
1/4 tsp cloves (optional, but recommended)
1/4 tsp ground or fresh ginger (optional, but recommended)
maple syrup, honey, or sweetener of your choice (to taste)
Dhyāna 1000mg CBD drops (optional, but highly recommended (JK, no getting high off CBD here))
some fresh mint leaves, torn (optional, but recommended)
tiiiny pinch of sea salt (to taste) (optional, but also not)
Directions are simple:
1. Heat up coconut oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add turmeric, ginger, clove, and cinnamon and stir frequently, letting the oil and herbs marry for 45 seconds to 1 minute.
3. Add plant milk and stir occasionally, letting the milk come to a small boil. Turn heat to low. Let simmer for 2 minutes.
4. Add black pepper and a pinch of salt to taste.
5. Turn off heat and add maple syrup. Stir.
6. Serve and add your desired amount of CBD drops.
7. Finish off with fresh mint leaves (really livens up the joint).
8. Sip mindfully and enjoy.
In the middle of writing this entry, I drifted off and made myself a cup of this thing. I’ve had variations of Turmeric Mylk / Golden Milk and I gotta say, this recipe knocked my socks off. It’s smooth, rich, and turns a cold, wet night on its head. So please, if you haven’t taken that time to yourself lately, or happen to be craving a sweet and healthy punch in the mouth, body & mind… try this recipe. We’d love to know what you think.
*A great read on “dangers of dairy” here.