Turmeric is one of the latest
whole food “wonder-ingredients” trending in the media. You have
probably read or heard about medicinal and therapeutic uses for turmeric. If
you do a little research you will find a plethora of articles and videos
touting turmeric’s health benefits. According to this blog
article written by Dr. Josh Axe, turmeric can provide many health
benefits, and based on research, might even outperform some common medical
procedures and medications.

You can do some easy research to decide if turmeric  is
something you would like to add to your personal wellness protocol.
If you do, you will need to figure out how to get it into your
daily, or at least weekly routine. The easiest way would be to find a high
quality turmeric supplement. But incorporating dried turmeric root and even
fresh turmeric root into your diet can be not only easy but a fun culinary
adventure. I put together 5 delicious and practical culinary uses for
turmeric that you can start incorporating into your healthy
lifestyle.

Before you start using turmeric in your kitchen, there is a
caveat. You want to make sure you take the extra step or two
necessary to make your turmeric bioavailable in whatever way you are using
it. Otherwise, you are only getting the culinary benefits, with minimal
bioavailability and therefore only a bare fragment of any health benefits.
Our liver kind of stands in the way of the bioavailability of the
turmeric we ingest, unless one of two things occur: first, if eaten with
black pepper, or second, if eaten with fat. The compound in pepper called
Piperine actually counteracts what happens
to turmeric in the liver, therefore making the turmeric more bioavailable. Or
when eaten with fat, the turmeric is absorbed through the lymphatic
system into the blood stream, bypassing the liver altogether. Dr. Michael
Gregor of nutrition
facts.org explains this in detail.

5 Delicious,
Bioavailable Uses for Turmeric

I thought I would try to take the guess work out of the
bioavailability part, by putting together a short list of ways you can get
turmeric into your regular diet, enjoy it, and know that your body is
actually absorbing the good stuff. I encourage you to explore both dried root
in spice form, and fresh turmeric root, which is popping up more and more in
grocery stores. Some of these ideas mention curry powder. Curry is not a
stand alone ingredient. It is made of a combination of ingredients, two of
which are turmeric and black pepper. So in a way, you are getting the
turmeric with the black pepper already blended for you. Here are 5 great tips
to get the ball rolling:

1) Enjoy A Turmeric Spice Latte

Warm some almond or cashew milk on the stove and mix in some
turmeric, raw honey, and a pinch of black pepper. You don’t need a lot of
pepper to activate the bioavailability of the turmeric. And the fat in the
nut milk will help as well. I love using the Turmeric Spice Blend from CYH Teas. It makes a
delicious turmeric latte. If you have a milk foaming device, you can heat
your milk that way to make it more of a true latte. Here is a
recipe:

• 2 cups (homemade) almond
  milk
• 1 tablespoon raw
  honey
• 2 teaspoons Turmeric
  Spice Blend
• small pinch of black
  pepper
• pinch of grated ginger
  Heat milk on stove or using a milk foamer. Stir in spices and honey. Serve
  with a pinch of pepper, cinnamon, or pink peppercorns on
  top.

2) Sprinkle Over Your Ice Cream

I am not necessarily saying you should start eating ice cream all
the time just so you can get some turmeric into your diet. Even vegan and
other “healthier” ice creams can be loaded with sugar, processed
soy and other not so healthy stuff. But, if you are going to have some ice
cream, try sprinkling some turmeric or even some curry powder over it. This
works especially well with vanilla ice cream. After the ice cream melts a
little, you can mix the spice in and it adds an awesome boost of flavor and
spice that works nicely with the sweet creaminess.

3) Add to Your Morning Oatmeal or Breakfast
Pudding

Turmeric mixed with a little black pepper can be sprinkled over
oatmeal, or mixed into your recipe of overnight oats or chia pudding. If your
overnight oats are made with coconut milk, you also have the fat present. Nut
milk also contains fat but not as much as the coconut milk. So, by adding a
pinch of pepper to your sprinkle, mix, you are giving it that bioavailable
boost.

4) Introduce Coconut Curry Sauce to Your Dinner.

This does not have to be complicated. A can of organic coconut
milk and a couple teaspoons of curry powder, with maybe a little extra dried
or ground fresh turmeric, can be added to a stir fry, soups, or even used as
a poaching liquid for fresh wild caught salmon. Add some garlic and ginger, a
squeeze of fresh lime, and be pleasantly surprised with how easy and
delicious it is.

5) Add Fresh Turmeric Root to Your Morning
Smoothie

A great way to get turmeric in its whole, unadulterated, most
nutritious and complete form, is by just eating the root. Fresh turmeric root
contains natural oils, which make it more bioavailable on its own, but if you
add it to your smoothie with coconut milk, hemp milk, or nut milk, and
perhaps a spoonful of cashew butter or a handful of macadamia nuts, you also
get the fat. Here is a good recipe:

• 1 cup cashew milk
• 3 pieces whole, fresh turmeric root
• 1 banana
• 1 scoop vanilla chai
  protein powder
• 1 tbsp. cashew butter
• 6 ice cubes
• 1 optional pinch of black pepper
  Place ingredients in a high speed blender and blend on smoothie
  setting until smooth and well blended.

Enjoy your turmeric-spiced culinary adventures!