Anti-Inflammatory Recipes: Warm Drink Edition!

 

Who said anti-inflammatory recipes had to be boring? I say, they can be a seasonal delight! Between party hors d’oeuvres, celebratory cocktails and oh-so-tempting sugary sweets, the holidays can do a number on your digestion and immune system.

Well, nothing soothes your soul (and your gut!) like anti-inflammatory recipes that are versions of your favorite hot holiday drinks!

I’ve put together five anti-inflammatory recipes supercharged with powerful ingredients like turmeric, ginger, reishi mushrooms and cacao to help reduce inflammation, shrink belly bloat, and keep you healthy and happy all season long. These anti-inflammatory recipes will have you sipping way past Winter season.

Anti-Inflammatory Matcha Green Tea Latte

This nourishing tea provides a crazy abundance of health benefits! Samurai, the noble warriors of medieval and early-modern Japan, drank Matcha Green Tea before going into battle due to the tea’s energizing properties. Drinking Matcha Green Tea has been shown to increase metabolism and help the body burn fat about four times faster than average. Matcha is also a powerful detoxifier capable of naturally removing heavy metals and chemical toxins from the body. And that’s just a few of the health benefits—and it tastes super yummy! One of my favorite anti-inflammatory recipes.

Ingredients:

1 TBS organic matcha powder1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1-2 tsp raw honey or a few drops of vanilla stevia to taste)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Sprinkle of cinnamon or nutmeg

 

Directions:

1. Heat almond milk on stove top and blend in the matcha powder using a whisk.

2. Stir in honey (or stevia) and vanilla extract.

3. Sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg if desired.

 – 

Winter Cold Inflammation Buster

The ingredients in this yummy warm drink are superhero cold fighters! The cinnamon and nutmeg are warming and will balance the blood sugar, while the cayenne pepper stimulates the metabolism and internal heat. Turmeric and ginger have anti-inflammatory properties and settle the stomach. So drink up and take a detour around the winter cold and flu season!

–

Ingredients:

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp turmeric
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
Freshly grated ginger (I use a microplane zester to grate fresh ginger)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp honey or 1-2 drops of vanilla stevia (to taste)

 

Directions:

1. Heat almond milk in saucepan, add all ingredients, then use a whisk to blend until frothy.

    

2. You can also use a blender, just make sure you leave an air opening so the liquid doesn’t explode!!

 –

Mushroom Hot Chocolate Latte Recipe

Reishi mushrooms, an edible type of medicinal fungus, has been used for various healing abilities for thousands of years — it is a true “superfood.” These shrooms are strongly anti-inflammatory and tied to longevity, better immune function and mental clarity. Studies have repeatedly shown that reishi mushrooms have antioxidant abilities that help to strengthen the body’s defenses against cancer, autoimmune diseases, heart disease, allergies, infections and more.

Ingredients:

½ tsp reishi mushroom powder
2 tsp raw cacao powder (not cocoa, raw cacao!)
Pinch sea salt
Dash of cinnamon
2 cups unsweetened almond milk
1 TBS coconut butter or coconut oil
1-2 tsp of raw honey (to taste)

 

Directions:

1. In a small pot, heat almond milk until simmering point.

2. Add in the rest of the ingredients and whisk until blended and frothy.

NOTE: You can also blend all ingredients in a high speed blender, just make sure you leave an air opening, so the hot liquid doesn’t blow the lid off of your blender!

 –Now the next two recipes you’ve hopefully seen before in my blog, and they are sure-fire warm and cozy + immune boosting favorites!

Anti-inflammatory Morning Lemon, Ginger & Turmeric Tonic
(Makes 10 Servings of Concentrate)

This tried and true daily drink will remove toxins, enhance your digestion, increase antioxidants and boost your immunity. When I started drinking this every morning and it helped my digestion tremendously! You can drink this tonic warm or cold and throughout the day if you like, but I recommend drinking a warm cup of tonic every morning to get your day going—literally!

This Morning Lemon, Ginger & Turmeric Tonic will make you beautiful from the inside out. So, now you can sip your way to glowing skin and a healthy bod!

Ingredients:

6 cups of purified water
Juice from 6 organic lemons
(1) 6” piece of fresh ginger
1 ½ tsp ground turmeric
2-3 cinnamon sticks
½ tsp cayenne pepper (add more if you like it spicy!)
Add 1-2 tsp raw organic honey or organic maple syrup to your cup of tonic if you need a lil’ sweetness.

 

Directions:

1. Peel the ginger and slice into thin slices.

2. In a large pot, add the water and ginger slices and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 15 minutes.

3. Add cinnamon sticks, ground turmeric, and cayenne. Then simmer for another 10 minutes. Stir the mixture a few times.

4. Remove from heat, let it cool down and add the juice of 6 organic lemons, then strain into a large mason jar or two.

5. Store this concentrate in the fridge for up to one week.

6. Add about ¼ cup of the concentrate to 6 ounces of water. Add 1 tsp raw honey or organic maple syrup if needed.

7. Then sip and beautify your bod!

 –

My Perfectly Healthy Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe
(Makes 1 latte – double or triple recipe to make more!)

The good ole’ Pumpkin Spice Latte has a somewhat mystical quality surrounding it. Coffee lovers go nuts for it, but I’ll be honest, I’m not a fan. Now, I love me some pumpkin + espresso combo, but this infamous concoction you can grab at your local Starbucks is way way too sugary (50 grams of sugar in one cup!!), syrupy, dairy-laden and artificially flavored for my taste. And for the less than 2% of real pumpkin in this drink, I know we can do better!

So, with that in mind, I want to share my version of this magical, seasonal beverage – My Perfectly Healthy Pumpkin Spice Latte. It’s a lighter alternative that’s naturally sweetened, dairy-free, and less pricey than buying the coffee house version. Plus, it’s damn delicious!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup unsweetened almond, cashew or coconut milk (check out this homemade cashew mylk recipe!)
1-2 shots of hot brewed espresso (or 3/4 cup of hot extra strong brewed coffee)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 TBS organic pumpkin puree
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground ginger
Pinch of ground nutmeg
1 TBS organic maple syrup—do this to taste, you can always add more later (you can also try vanilla stevia, raw honey or blackstrap molasses as well!)

 

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth, creamy and frothy. Make sure to leave a little air opening in the lid, or the hot liquid will blow the lid off!

2. If the temperature is not warm enough, pour ingredients into small saucepan and heat until the desired temperature is reached.

3. Serve warm with a little cinnamon sprinkled on top—and in you want to get a ‘lil fancy, try some homemade whipped coconut cream! See recipe below.

NOTES:

1. Keep in mind that if you let your latte sit, you’ll have to stir again as the pumpkin puree will settle a bit at the bottom of your mug. It’s totally normal.

2. You can also use 1 teaspoon of pre-made no-sugar pumpkin pie spice instead of the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg mixture above.

 

Whipped Coconut Cream

This is a super easy, dairy-free alternative to the artificially sweetened, chemical laden whipped cream cans in the grocery store. Enough said!

Ingredients:

1 can of organic full-fat coconut milk without guar gum in the ingredients
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 TBS organic maple syrup, or a few drops of vanilla stevia
Hand or stand mixer, you can also put a lil muscle into it and whisk the hell out of it!

 

Directions:

1. Chill a can of full-fat organic coconut milk in the fridge overnight. I actually keep a few cans in the fridge at all times because I usually forget to do this the night before I want to make the yummy stuff. Make sure the coconut milk does not have guar gum listed in the ingredients!! This will keep the coconut milk from separating, and you actually want the coconut milk to separate, so say no-no to the guar gum.

2. Take the chilled can of coconut milk out of the fridge and turn the can upside down, then open the can. The cream and water will have separated, so pour the water into a mason jar to keep for smoothies in the morning.

3. Then scoop out the coconut cream that has formed at the bottom of the can (which is actually the top 😉 into a mixing bowl and beat on high until soft peaks form.

4. Once the coconut cream has thickened, add vanilla extract and a bit of sweetener (I like maple syrup or vanilla stevia) and beat on high speed again.

I hope you enjoyed these five amazing anti-inflammatory recipes! Drop your favorites in the comments.

– 

LOVE + happy sipping!