Sunshine Milk Recipe

Doesn't it just make you smile when the sun beams on a winter’s day? If I’m home, you’ll see my dart off into soak up as much as I can...until the gloomy cloud cover rolls in. Between the bursts of sunshine, winter is chilly!

You might not have had the chance to thaw out in tropical paradise, but there's still a way you can warm up. You even get to detox your liver, beat period pain AND soothe your gut at the same time.

I'm talking about sipping your way through a turmeric milk latè. Its one of my fav winter warming bevvies and is a nourishing alternative to a cup of coffee. 

You too can try out my simple 'Sunshine Milk' recipe below and feel the warmth it brings to your day. But first, let's chat about why turmeric is a super spice for your health. 

The Benefits Of Turmeric 

The warming spice of Turmeric (also known as Indian Saffron), is from the Ginger family. It’s active ingredient is a flavonoid called Curcumin hence the yellow colouring that brings colour to dishes (and hands) along with the incredible actions of turmeric in your body.

Boasting anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects, turmeric is very healing for your gut. Turmeric can help ease icky nausea, belching, flatulence, and abdominal pain, plus helps support conditions involving pain and swelling of the joints in arthritis, headaches and dreaded painful periods. 

Part of the reason this healing spice helps with monthly pain, is its ability to support health circulation and therefore prevent blood stasis. Turmeric can also prevent abnormal blood clotting. Powerful, I know.

The liver doesn’t miss out, as turmeric supports liver and gallbladder function. The powerful liver detoxification actions of this spice are enhanced due to its ability to increase Glutathione levels – the body's master antioxidant. 

Whats glutathione? Well your body has an in built mechanism to protect you against the toxins you breathe on a daily basis. Glutathione plays a major role, working to bind to toxins, allowing them to form into water soluble substances, so they can be excreted as waste, via your urine or bile. Important stuff!

Being a strong antioxidant, turmeric also helps protect your body against early ageing, by buffering dangerous free radicals. Ooo yeah. 

As heightened cholesterol levels in the body can be driven by inflammation, regularly consuming help to normalize cholesterol by dealing with the root cause. Another reason for helping support cholesterol is turmeric’s heart protective antioxidant properties.

So how do you incorporate this humble spice into your day? Let me introduce you to a winter warming cup of turmeric goodness... Sunshine Milk. 

SUNSHINE MILK

What you’ll need:

Turmeric Paste

1⁄4 cup filtered water

1/8 cup (2 tablespoons) turmeric powdered spice

Pinch ground Black pepper (piperine in black pepper aid curcumin absorption)

Sunshine Milk

1⁄2 tsp turmeric paste (up this t 1 tsp for a more intense turmeric taste and medicinal actions)

1 cup milk (coconut*, almond or other nut milk)

1 tsp coconut oil or ghee

1 tsp raw honey or real maple syrup (optional)

Super boost additional extras: 1 tsp collagen powder and/or 1 tsp MCT oil

*Note: If you are using a thick coconut cream, like Ayam brand, you will only need 1 tablespoon of thistles a cup of water. 

What to do:

To make the paste, pour half of the water into a saucepan over medium heat.

Add turmeric and continually stir as the mixture heats up and thickens.

Slowly keep adding the remainder of the water as you stir, so the paste remains smooth.

Store in a glass container, the paste lasts for 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

To make the Turmeric Milk, add turmeric paste to a saucepan over low heat.

Stir in the milk, as well as the coconut oil or ghee.

Then stir in the optional sweetener, collagen and/or MCT oil and whisk. Alternatively use a brother for a frothier texture.

Once warm and mixed well, you can drink the milk warm, or use cooled as a base to my Sunshine Milk smoothie, as a milk for muesli or porridge.

If you want to make a creamy dressing to add to salads or a sauce for cooked meats, use dairy kefir in place of coconut milk.

After more recipe inspiration? Find age appropriate meal ideas in my baby health guide, Thriving Bubba; pregnancy specific nourishment within my online program, Path To Glowing Mumma.