Coconut oil

I tried the Golden Milk recipe for insomnia, by Terry Ryan

Ah yes, the Golden Milk…its name derived from the yellow color from the focus ingredient, turmeric. (Also know as Golden Tea!). I believe I saw the recipe on Facebook sponsored by the Paleo Mom.

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I looked up several other sites that had the Golden Milk recipe and some were slightly different. I decided to go with Paleo Mom’s because it was the first one I saw and well, looked good so let’s give it a try.

Who is it for?

If you have insomnia, you may want to check this recipe out. I have suffered with insomnia for years…should say HAD suffered. It no longer is a monkey on my back.

Check out my book: How I Kicked Insomnia to The Curb

Occasionally, I will have a short bout of insomnia; but nothing as bad as not being able to sleep for days in a row. But sometimes, I have a difficult time falling asleep or waking up in the wee hours of the morning wide awake. I will admit, in times of stress when I really need a good night sleep, and I am having an insomnia spell, I will take an Ambien, a prescription sleeping pill. But the hopes of finding a NATURAL REMEDY got my interest, so I tried the Golden Milk.

The 7 ingredients are: (You don’t have to run around. Purchase all the ingredients by clicking on the links below through Amazon. They are affiliate links so I do get a couple of pennies when you order this way. Keeps the web site up and running.

• Water (from the Ganges River…only kidding. Just good ole H20)
• Turmeric
• Coconut Milk (use unsweetened)
• Coconut oil
• Ginger fresh
• Peppercorns
• Stevia

I wrote down the list and briskly determined what I had and had not in my pantry and off the to the grocery store I went.

I used Organic Turmeric spice
Organic cinnamon spice
Organic Coconut Oil I found at Trader Joe’s
McCormick whole peppercorns
Organic fresh ginger root that I had purchased at the local organic farm (Jessica’s located in Sarasota)
Stevia…sugar substitute youcan pu rchase in any grocery store now

The procedure…

Take 1/2 cup of water and put in a saucepan on med heat. Add 1/4 cup of turmeric. Cook down until you have a turmeric paste. Spoon into a spare jar you have saved from the last time you used pasta sauce. You can store this in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. This is the hardest part (after you have shopped for all the ingredients).

I sprinkled more cinnamon on top.

Now take a saucepan, add 2 cups coconut milk (for the purpose of full disclosure, I used organic almond milk which is fine), 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 tsp of coconut oil, 1 tsp of chopped ginger, 4 to 6 whole peppercorns, and 1 teaspoon of the turmeric paste. Simmer that all together for about 5 mins, then strain into two mugs and add a packet of Stevia for sweetness…but I bet a spoonful of raw honey would be good too!

I shared this concoction with my better half, and we both liked it. The turmeric wasn’t overwhelming and the ginger and cinnamon gave it a nice taste.

ZZZZzzzzzzz   And…I slept like a baby. Deep sleep like back when you were 10 years old and it’s snowing outside and you’re snuggled under a down comforter. Must admit, I had some wild dreams but not sure that was related to the Golden Milk.

The science behind all the ingredients: (All the ingredients must be used for the formula to work. Oh and take before bedtime.)

Turmeric fights inflammation. See my post on turmeric HERE

Ginger offers strong antioxidant capacity and has similarly enjoyed a long history of use in folk medicine where it is traditionally used to ease stomach upset or to ease the symptoms of colds.

Cinnamon is one of the most beneficial spices on earth, giving it antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti-microbial, immunity-boosting, cancer and heart disease-protecting abilities.

Peppercorns contain a good amount of minerals like potassium, calcium, zinc, manganese, iron, and magnesium.

Coconut oil help provide your body with the necessary building blocks to manufacture sleep hormones.

Stevia is just for taste. A natural sweetener.

I have read reviews and I think the Millennials were protesting about all the ingredients/steps. Millennials are forever in a hurry and simmering something in a saucepan isn’t their idea of a good time. However, and to my surprise, I found this in the heath food store.  Just a couple teaspoons in water and hocus pocus…Golden Milk. Do I think this will work as well as making it from scratch?  Probably not, but if you hate the idea off mixing up all the ingredients, then give this a try. Click here to purchase.

The easy way to make the tea.

Thanks for reading,

Terry Ryan, Health Blogger

My view while writing this blog…