When it comes to healthy, healing drinks, Turmeric milk (“golden milk”) is tops on the list, given it’s potent anti-inflammatory health benefits.

Colder weather is starting to take hold, isn’t it? And while it may not be as cold in SoCal as it is on the East Coast (I feel for you guys), it’s still pretty darn cold for me. Nighttime temps in the 30’s, yep that’s cold. So today I thought I’d whip up a recipe for a super healthy, healing and warming beverage – turmeric milk.

Have you heard of turmeric milk (aka “golden milk”)? It’s been seriously taking the world by storm over the last year. So much so that Google made “turmeric” a top trending word of 2016 (and yes, I’m just getting around to making a recipe with it in December – I know, I know).

Turmeric is also a potent antioxidant, can fight free radicals (hello aging) and can even help stave off the common cold. All because it fights chronic inflammation that may otherwise be suppressing your immune system.

But here’s the thing. You don’t have to take turmeric pills to get those health benefits, just drink turmeric milk! Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine have been prescribing turmeric milk for centuries…and I say why mess with something that’s worked for centuries? Even better, warming turmeric milk is soothing and relaxing before bed, like a chamomile tea, so you may even get an awesome night’s rest. Oh, and one last bonus – no gagging on pills. I totally suck at taking pills.

Watch the video above to see just how easy it is to make turmeric milk. Today, I’m using coconut milk, but you can also use almond milk or cashew milk. To that, just add some ground turmeric, a pinch of black pepper (which helps your body absorb the curcumin), a sprinkle of cinnamon (another natural anti-inflammatory) and your sweetener of choice. Then, bring to a simmer for 10 minutes to let the flavors all meld and enjoy. It really is that easy.

Once you make it a time or two, feel free to get creative. Sometimes I’ll add ginger (another fave herb) and if I’m using a nut milk, I’ll always add coconut oil. Coconut milk has quite a bit of fat, so I tend to skip the coconut oil when I’m using coconut milk, but fat is most definitely needed to help the absorption of all the healing compounds. Another benefit of coconut oil (and come to think of it, maybe why you should add it either way), is that coconut oil helps the turmeric milk froth it up (remember the lesson learned from my sexy superfood hot chocolate?).

The moral of the story is turmeric is good for you, it’s loaded with health benefits and it’s popular for a reason. So whip up a batch and do like I did on these photos, sprinkle some extra cinnamon and a fresh vanilla bean on top.

Enjoy!

Golden Beet, Carrot and Turmeric Smoothie

Chai Spiced Coconut Milk

Sexy Superfood Hot Chocolate