Calming Chamomile and Lavender Latte
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Generally, my family looks for healthy recipes and we try to incorporate nutritious ingredients in our everyday meals as much as we can.
Personally, and over the last year, I have been interested in going further trying to find a more medicinal approach to everyday cooking. What can I incorporate into my everyday food to help prevent common diseases or illnesses? Which foods should we eat more of to support our digestive health? and even mood-boosting ingredients to help us during stressful times.
So, I took a couple of online courses on herbalism where I learned about some of the vegetables, fruits, herbs, and spices we can use in a more medicinal approach. I have also purchased several books on the subject and am currently beginning to incorporate what I have learned in my everyday cooking.
The first recipe I would like to share with you is this Calming Chamomile and Lavender Latte. This beverage is perfect to drink at night before going to sleep, and as all-natural ingredients used for medicinal purposes, the key is to be constant with their consumption because the benefits of these ingredients will be felt by the accumulation of their intake. This does not work like a pill.
This soothing beverage is made with milk, chamomile, lavender, and honey. You can find chamomile and lavender at your local spice and herb shop.
Milk: it contains tryptophan, which is an amino acid that is sleep inducing by being converted into the neurotransmitter serotonin. Elevated levels of serotonin improve your mood, which can keep you calm. Plus, the added calcium and magnesium contained in milk help lower blood pressure. It is even more calming if served warm because the temperature gives a soothing effect like hot tea.
Chamomile: a very popular herb used for medicinal purposes. It has been used for hundreds of years to help people calm down, relieve stomach issues, help with inflammation, and treat skin conditions. It contains many terpenoids and flavonoids that contribute to its medicinal properties. For its specific calming effect, it has been found that it may be due to the flavonoid apigenin that binds to benzodiazepine receptors in the brain.
Lavender: it also has different medicinal uses and has been suggested as an excellent natural remedy to treat insomnia and improve sleep quality. The aroma this herb gives while making and sipping the hot beverage is also calming.
Honey: This ingredient is added mainly for flavor purposes, to sweeten the drink. It is full of nutrients and antioxidants.
We will be sharing other recipes that benefit our well being in the future! We would love you to know if these types of recipes are interesting to you and if you give this one a try!
Helga
Calming Chamomile
and Lavender Latte
Recipe from The Foodies’ Kitchen
Yields 2 beverages
Ingredients:
2 cups of milk
1 1/2 tablespoon dried chamomile buds (or 2 tea bags)
2 teaspoons dried lavender buds
1-2 teaspoons honey
- Heat milk in a small pan over medium heat, until hot but being careful not to let it boil.
- Remove from the heat, add the chamomile and lavender and cover the pot. Let steep for 5-10 minutes, then strain the mixture into a mug. Sweeten with honey.
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This post is also available in / Esta entrada también está disponible en ESPAÑOL (SPANISH)
