If you've tried Golden Milk and liked it so much that you think you might want to have it again... and again, and again, this post is for you.
Like I wrote in my Golden Milk post, I have my GM almost almost daily, (especially this time of the year- cold, windy, too wet outside, too dry inside) and as someone who makes it so often I highly recommend spending a few minutes preparing this spice mix so that whenever you're in the mood for a little cup of this delicious drink all you need to do is warm up some plant milk and add a little bit of the the pre-prepped mix and voila, it's done:)
Some of you might immediately agree, but to others, I bet it might seems like a silly thing to do. After all, it only takes about a minute longer to add each of the spices into your drink separately, and what's a minute or so? You might be right. If you drink your GM once a month, I don't think it's worth the trouble of making the mix, but if you have it often or especially if you're aiming to have it often, for instance because you're trying to form a new habit of drinking your golden milk instead of snacking on junk food or drinking sugary drinks, like with any new habit formation- convenience is the key to success. Trust me, you need to make it easy for it to stick. And how can we make this easier? By having the mix prepped and ready to use anytime you feel like it. When forming a new habit, a mere minute out of your way can be so detrimental to the whole process, it can cause you not to do it at all.
So without further ado, here's how I make my Golden Milk Mix.
Golden Milk Spice Mix
Ingredients & Method
2 tbsp (6 tsp) of ground turmeric
4 tsp of ground cinnamon
3 tsp of ground ginger*
3 tsp of ground cardamom
2 tsp of ground nutmeg
optional: +/- 1 tsp of allspice**
Put all of the spices in one little jar, close the lid, shake well to mix it thoroughly and that's it!
Keep it at hand and add, depending on your taste, about 1/4-1tsp of it to your warm plant based milk along with a pinch of freshly ground black pepper, a little pinch of salt and, if you're not having your GM with any food then add a teeny bit of your fat of choice (for instance: coconut oil or, if you're feeling in need some extra warmth, a few drops of warming sesame oil). You may also wish to add some vanilla and/or a sweetener.
Check out the Golden Milk recipe post for info about the optional sweeteners and fat.
Check out the Turmeric post for info about why it's good to have some black pepper and a little bit of fat in/with your GM.
* Ginger: If you are someone who tends to be hot most of the time, you sweat a lot or if you know you usually have a lot of "fire" in your stomach, (you digest things quickly in your stomach, tend to experience heartburn, high acidity) I'd recommend using less of the ground ginger or omitting it all together. If, however you're often cold or your digestion tends to be varied or more on the sluggish side, by all means include the ground ginger as it will add an extra warming quality to your Golden Milk and will definitely aid your digestion.
* Allspice: I love adding a little bit of allspice in the cooler months, as it aids digestion and adds a little bit of the clove taste to the drink. I'm not a huge fan of cloves so adding the actual cloves, as beneficial as they are, is generally too overwhelming to me, but I find that a little bit of allspice is just right in the fall and winter time. It also works extremely well in this mix when you make this drink into a Pumpkin Spice Latte:)
I hope you enjoy this mix just as I make it, but if you find that there are spices you don't like as much, feel free to experiment and adjust it to your own liking. Like I wrote in the GM recipe post, it took quite some for my pallet to get used to the taste of turmeric, and when I first started I it really was more cinnamon'y than anything else:) So listen to your body and adjust accordingly!