Two Simple Ways to Turbo-Charge Your Morning with Turmeric

Okay, I’m going to start by admitting I have a major crush on turmeric, so maybe my take on the golden wonder powder could be seen as a little biased.  But I don’t think so.  Turmeric is truly the gold standard of spices!

Turmeric has been used for thousands of years, and is thought to have been used originally in the Vedic culture in India for culinary, medicinal, and religious purposes.  Turmeric gets its intense yellow color from its primary component—curcumin.  Curcumin is a natural antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, and is responsible for most of turmeric’s health benefits.  Because of turmeric’s anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, it is hailed as beneficial in treating myriad chronic and acute diseases, from arthritis to cancer, and even dementia.  Turmeric has also been found to be antimicrobial, and is used in many cultures for wound care.  (For a deep dive into turmeric’s origins, uses, and clinical studies analyzing its benefits, check out this article from the National Center for Biotechnology Information).

One issue with turmeric (and curcumin) is that it’s not very bioavailable, meaning it doesn’t absorb well into the bloodstream, and so we could take in a lot of turmeric but potentially not reap all the benefits.  But combining turmeric with black pepper, which contains a compound called piperine, increases turmeric’s bioavailability. 

So…how can we up our intake of turmeric in a bioavailable way on a daily or weekly basis?!  One easy way is to start off your day with these two turmeric-centric (and delish!) recipes:

1. Turmeric and black pepper tomato toast
2. Golden milk smoothie

Turmeric and Black Pepper Tomato Toast

There are many, many ways to vary this simple little recipe to make it fit you, but I like to toast two pieces of my favorite whole wheat seed bread and top it with a healthy shmear of avocado, followed by a LOT of organic turmeric powder, freshly ground black pepper, and slices of tomato (preferably heirloom when in season, yum!).  I LOVE this breakfast, because I know it’s packed with fiber, healthy fat, a veggie, and the dynamic turmeric-pepper duo. 

Golden Milk Smoothie            

Instead of a morning cup of joe (or maybe in addition to, let’s be real mamas), add this smoothie to your breakfast or as a mid-morning snack.  Again, there are many ways to doctor this, but one of my favorites is:

• one ripe banana
• one tablespoon of Golden Milk powder
• one tablespoon of Chocolate Lover powder
• 12 ounces of soymilk or almondmilk (or milk of your choice!)

The golden milk powder I use most is made by Gaia, and contains not just turmeric root and black pepper fruit, but also dates, cardamom, ashwaganda, and vanilla bean, which are other superfoods that deserve their own post.  But this is just one brand of a turmeric blend powder among many that you can find in your local whole foods or other health food store, so enjoy perusing!

Chocolate Lover powder is made by Your Super, which specializes in organic superfood powder blends (visit www.yoursuper.com to check it out).  In addition to organic cacao, it offers the impressive superfood lineup of carob, coconut, chia seeds and lucuma for some natural sweetener.  But you can use so many other similar powders or blends, or just straight cacao powder to add some chocolatey goodness and a major antioxidant boost to your smoothie.  I don’t know about you, but I have a square of dark chocolate or two (usually at least 75% cacao) Every. Single. Night.  And I don’t even consider it an indulgence! It’s just plain good for you.

So, once you’ve decided on your personalized mix, toss all of these ingredients in your blender, and maybe add some nut butter or stevia for an extra punch, and enjoy! If you’re pairing this with your turmeric and black pepper tomato toast, you’re really covering all of your nutritional bases, because now you’ve added fruit and cacao to your already well-rounded, super food breakfast!

With a seemingly endless list of health benefits, turmeric really should be worth its weight in gold.  So go get your spice on and enjoy these simple ways to add turmeric to your routine! Bon appétit!