Golden Smoothie

So let's talk about the oh-so-trendy Golden Milk. If you run in certain circles, particularly those involving a lot of yoga pants, you may have heard of this concoction. At it's base, it's an ages-old Ayurvedic medicinal drink meant to tame inflammation. With the recent resurgence in alternative medicine, the Lulu-clad crowd are rallying around things like turmeric, coconut oil, and the like. I'm by no stretch of the imagination a health nut, but I've always had a bit of a hippie bent, and I literally always have all of the ingredients in the house, so I figured I'd give it a try. As usual, I needed to put my own spin on things, and mine is served cold where tradition dictates taking this as a warm beverage. Without further ado, I give you-

The Golden Smoothie
It all starts with cashew milk-homemade, of course. This recipe makes 5 cups exactly if you do it right, and I use 1 cup per smoothie.

For cashew milk-
1 cup raw cashews, covered by at least an inch of water, soaked overnight

Drain and rinse cashews, then add to your blender with 1 1/2 cups of water and blend until smooth. Or not, if you like a chunky smoothie.

Add to that-
1 13.5oz can coconut milk (regular or low fat - but don't use that fake stuff in the carton that's like almond milk)
1 teaspoon honey, optional (I used manuka honey to be a super hippie)
1 TB ground turmeric, or 1 inch piece of fresh, grated
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger, or 1 inch piece of fresh
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground cardamom

Blend til smooth, pour into a storage container and refrigerate. This mix is your fairly traditional golden milk and can be imbibed as-is, or warmed.

To make your smoothie-
Combine 1 cup of mix with one small frozen banana, 1/2 cup of buttermilk (or regular milk), and 1/2 cup of kefir or yogurt (I recommend mango) - blend until smooth, and enjoy.

I don't know if it's had any anti-inflammatory impact, but I do know that it makes a great breakfast or lunch when you're in a rush or just don't feel like eating solid food. It has a fair amount of protein from the cashews and coconut milk, so it will keep you feeling full for a while. I'm sure a lot of folks wouldn't consider this a "health" food, but that's kind of subjective, and I do.