Instant Golden Milk
At this point most folks are familiar with this amazing beverage and for good reason! Golden Milk is a delicious, turmeric-based drink that’s a traditional home remedy in India, where it’s known as Haldi Ka Doodh, commonly drank for colds, flus, coughs, and congestion. It’s also often enjoyed simply as a nourishing and calming before-bed tea.
Turmeric has been touted to have every health benefit under the sun but here are a few that are true: It definitely decreases chronic, systemic inflammation when taken consistently over time. It’s a vulnerary herb amazingly healing for the skin and especially healing for leaky gut. Many folks with lots of inflammation have injured their guts taking NSAIDS long-term and could really use this healing combo of being anti-inflammatory and gut-healing! It’s a potent digestive bitter, helping us absorb our nutrients and digest our food better (the root of health) and hepatic, supporting liver health and proper elimination, and an alterative, which supports skin health and all of our eliminatory pathways. And it’s super potent antioxidant, helping fight cancer-causing free radicles in the body. In counties where just 1 tsp/day of turmeric is consumed (largely in food) cancer rates are upwards of 10x lower than in the U.S.! It’s pretty drying though so more than 1 tsp/day isn’t really recommended, or you can mix it with demulcent herbs, such as cinnamon in this Golden Milk🧡
I make what I call Instant Golden Milk balls by mixing turmeric powder with cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom powder and a pinch of black pepper. Then I mix it with a combination of raw honey and ghee (at a mix of about 75% ghee and 25% honey) until I have a dough-like consistency. I roll them into little balls, store on the counter in a mason jar, and then simply dissolve one into hot water/milk when I want a quick cup of instant Golden Milk! See the details for this recipe below! It’s loosely based on the classic Golden Milk recipe, but so many other herbs could be added to this kind of herbal paste preparation, like adaptogens, different spices, and so on- let your imagination and creativity go wild!
Instant Golden Milk
Ingredients:
Turmeric powder 1 part
Cardamom powder 1/8 pt
Cinnamon powder 1/8 pt
Ginger powder 1/8 pt
Black Pepper powder 1/8 pt
Ghee
Raw Honey*
*This recipe works best if the honey isn’t crystallized
Directions:
1. Start by making your powder portion. You can make 1 part equal whatever unit you want by volume, so, for example, if you make 1 part equal 1 cup then you’d be using 1 cup turmeric powder and 1/8th cup each (or 2 tbsp) for the cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, and black pepper.
2. Next, add in the ghee and honey at a ratio of approximately 75% ghee and 25% raw honey. Or- of you prefer- you can swap that ratio and use approx. 75% honey and 25% ghee. The most important thing is to not have them in equal parts, as this is considered a “poisonous” ratio in Ayurveda, however a 2:1 ratio of honey: ghee or ghee: honey is considered very medicinal.
NOTE: One pound of honey (1 cup) and ghee made from one pound of butter (the jar size that’s usually sold in stores) will be more than enough if you decide to make 1 part powder equal 1 cup.
3. Add a little of the ghee and honey at a time- using a ratio of 2:1 (75%: 25%)- mixing, and then adding more and mixing and so on. Keep adding in the ghee and honey until it gets a dough-like consistency that you can easily roll into little balls, about 1 inch in diameter. Don’t worry- your hands won’t be permanently stained yellow, but watch-out because it can stain your clothes! And remember, this is kitchen medicine- there’s no perfect consistency needed here for these to be medicinal
If you’re a measurements person, keep track of how much powder and honey and ghee it took for you get your desired consistency and taste (maybe you like less ghee and more honey, etc) in a kitchen journal.
4. Store in a jar rolled into little balls or as a paste. As it ages it will eventually harden, which makes the balls a bit more user friendly. These will keep for approx. 3-6 months unrefrigerated or about a year refrigerated
Dose:
For a daily medicinal dose of turmeric eat 1 ball/day or about 1 tbsp. No need to be refrigerated. These can be also dissolved into warm milk (any kind) or water to make an instant cup of Golden Milk- my favorite way to use this paste! Ashwagandha is a lovely addition too. For optimal medicinal benefit be sure to drink the powder that settles at the bottom your cup.
An alternate way to use this preparation is to use this as a spice base for a dish, simply leave-out the honey and melt on a pan and use as the ghee-spice base for whatever you’re making!
