If you lay sleepless, tossing and turning at night, you’re probably dreaming of an insomnia-fighter that’s also an anti-stress potion—and Moon Milk, may be just the bedtime elixir that you’re craving. If you’ve seen this trendy drink all over Instagram and Pinterest, you’ve probably noticed that Moon Milk has been a hit with many wellness professionals and registered dietitians like us, and you may be wondering if it’s worth the hype. We’re always fans of delicious, cozy, comforting night time drinks and even more so when they offer health benefits (remember our 5-minute Golden Milk and our Vanilla Turmeric Golden Milk?) and Moon Milk is no exception. Its’ an anti-stress, calming bedtime drink that stems from Ayurvedic traditions that combine certain health-promoting herbs and/or spices and adaptogenic herbs (herbs, roots and mushrooms that help your body to better cope with stress) with warm milk to create a tincture to help with sleeplessness. We all can use a little less stress and more sleep in our lives– plus both stress and too little sleep tend to make the pounds creep on!
For us, when we haven’t slept well, we can’t get away with it the way we did back in college. Now, we just don’t feel as sharp or upbeat when we’re exhausted. So when we can’t sleep, we have a number of things we turn to—we take magnesium supplements (this isn’t for everyone as some get diarrhea because it relaxes everything, including the digestive tract, but those who use it feel it’s worth it!), we practice deep breathing (this one knocks us right to sleep when we do it!) and lately, we’ve been loving our Vanilla Turmeric Golden Milk either this new creation—we drink them about 1-1/2 hours before bed, as we’re winding down.
With every day stresses and too little sleep facing so many people, we knew we had to make our Moon Milk an easy-to whip-up tea recipe, that adds no hassle to the day, while combining anti-anxiety and relaxing benefits! So our Blue Moon Milk has a unique twist.
While all Moon Milks offer an array of adaptogenic herbs to help your body to better cope with stress, some Moon Milks add a lot of ingredients. This means more time spent measuring and preparing, while others add a good deal of calories (and right before bed) that can lead to a growing waistline, thanks to their coconut oil or sweeteners, like honey.
We wanted to keep the measuring and the calories to a minimum while keeping the anti-inflammatory and other benefits to a maximum, so we brewed a chamomile tea bag in unsweetened vanilla almond milk to step up the calming compounds even more, since chamomile tea also has been shown to bring on relaxation. We added in antioxidant-rich blueberries, which mop up free radicals caused by pollution, daily living and stress and protect against their damage. The blueberries are also responsible for giving the drink its’ gorgeous blue/purple hue—and its’ natural sweetness. This creamy bedtime latte is lightly spiced with cinnamon, and a pinch of nutmeg, which are both known for their antioxidant properties, and sweetened with a touch of vanilla extract and a drop of liquid stevia, all, giving it a warm, and lightly sweet flavor. We also included our new favorite adaptogenic herb, astragalus root extract, since it’s known for its’ stress relieving and immune boosting benefits! (We got ours at Whole Foods, but you can get it at most health food stores).
This blue milk will relax your mind and mellow you out as you drift off into a restful sleep. This sleepy tea is easy, vegan and weight-loss friendly!
Our favorite part about how this tastes? We love how the chamomile has a subtle sweet flavor that blends nicely with the natural sweetness from the blueberries and cinnamon. And then with the light nutty flavor of the astragalus root extract, that seals the deal, we’re in a dream world. 😉
From a weight loss standpoint, this drink is perfect for staving off nighttime overeating, especially if you’re someone who tends to overeat due to emotions like stress, anxiety or sadness, since it will calm you down and relax your nerves. Plus, the warm drink takes time to sip, so if you enjoy it rather than a high calorie snack, for only 44-calories a serving, it can even help you to lose weight.
Blue Moon Milk
Makes 1 serving
Ingredients
● 1 cup (8 oz) unsweetened vanilla almond milk (We also love the unsweetened vanilla coconut milk too!)
● 1 chamomile tea bag
● 1 full dropper of astragalus root extract (optional, but recommended)**
● 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
● pinch ground nutmeg
● 1 oz frozen blueberries, wild or conventional*
● liquid stevia to taste, preferably organic, optional
● 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
*In this recipe we used Wild blueberries but both are great.
Instructions:
1. Remove string and tag from tea bag. Place in small saucepan or pot and pour almond milk in and heat to medium high.
2. Add blueberries, nutmeg and cinnamon and lightly whisk until the milk turns a blue/purple-ish color.
3. Add vanilla extract and vigorously whisk again for 30 seconds.
4. Add the astragalus root extract, if using, into your cup.
5. Strain the blueberries from the milk and reserve the chamomile-infused blueberries to toss in a smoothie, or just snack on as is. Pour Blue Moon Milk into a cup, add stevia, if using and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
1. You can use any milk or sweetener of your preference (keep in mind it may change the nutrition facts). If you want to add maple syrup or honey instead of stevia, we recommend using only 1 teaspoon.
2. If you know you want to add stevia, you can add it with the vanilla extract and whisk it in. We prefer to make ours unsweetened. This way, if you like it without the sweet, you don’t have to use it and can always add more.
3. Be sure to remove the string and tea bag tag if there is one attached to the tea bag before brewing.
4. The astragalus root extract has a natural earthy, nutty flavor which blends well with a dash of nutmeg and cinnamon. This is optional, however it does have immune boosting and stress relieving properties.
5. If you want a more frothy and foamy drink, feel free to either whisk more and more vigorously or use a blender and blend for 20 seconds.
Nutrition Facts: Servings 1 cup (8oz): Nutrition info per serving: 44 calories, 3 grams fat, 0 grams saturated fat, 115 mg sodium, 4 grams carbs, 1 grams fiber, 2 grams sugar, 1 grams protein
** While astragalus is safe and helpful for most people, consult with your doctor before using Astragalus if you have certain health problems like blood disorders, diabetes, or hypertension as it may affect blood sugar levels and blood pressure.
- ● 1 cup (8 oz) unsweetened vanilla almond milk (We also love the unsweetened vanilla coconut milk too!)
- ● 1 chamomile tea bag
- ● 1 full dropper of astragalus root extract (optional, but recommended)
- ● ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ● pinch ground nutmeg
- ● 1 oz frozen blueberries, wild or conventional*
- ● liquid stevia to taste, preferably organic, optional
- ● 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- *In this recipe we used Wild blueberries but both are great.
- Remove string and tag from tea bag. Place in small saucepan or pot and pour almond milk in and heat to medium high.
- Add blueberries, nutmeg and cinnamon and lightly whisk until the milk turns a blue/purple-ish color.
- Add vanilla extract and vigorously whisk again for 30 seconds.
- Add the astragalus root extract, if using, into your cup.
- Strain the blueberries from the milk and reserve the chamomile-infused blueberries to toss in a smoothie, or just snack on as is. Pour Blue Moon Milk into a cup, add stevia, if using and enjoy!
