This month in celebration of Endometriosis Awareness, we're partnering with the talented Jessica of This Endo Life to bring you healthy, delicious recipes that our endo and period pain-friendly.
Turmeric has been essential in reducing my pain levels. A combination of ginger and turmeric supplements gave me my first pain-free period in years. I now use the two daily, and find that when I don’t, I notice a difference in my inflammation levels. Placebo? Maybe, but if it works, I’m all for it. However, there is mounting evidence supporting both turmeric and ginger - go have a look at my section on supplements for further info.
That’s why these two spices are at the core of my latte. I’ve used powders here rather than fresh ginger and turmeric root, as ginger has been found to be more effective for pain in the dry form and I also wanted to save you time and mess in the morning! The spices can sink to the bottom of your cup, so if you’d prefer to use less powder, you can swap the cinnamon powder for a cinnamon stick and use cardamom pods instead - you just may not get such concentrated flavours. You can also add a few extra boosters such as lion’s mane and cordyceps to help fight fatigue in the morning, and/or ashwaganda, which improves endurance under stress and can reduce the harmful effects of stress.
I often find when a turmeric latte isn’t flavoured with other spices, it can be a bit too pungent and that’s especially noticeable when you don’t add sugar to your drinks. If you’d like a bit more sweetness with this, you can try adding some Troo inulin syrup for a dose of fibre, monk fruit powder, or stevia drops. If you like your turmeric latte with a shot of coffee, you can add one to two teaspoons of chicory root granules.
A good way to make this process easier, is by making a big batch ahead and refrigerating for the rest of the week!
Serves 1
Ingredients
250ml/1 cup nut milk
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼-½ teaspoon ground ginger (depending on how much heat you’d like it to have!)
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon vanilla extract, powder or a scraping of fresh vanilla pod
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
Pinch of ground clove
Pinch of ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon coconut butter
Pinch of ground black pepper
Optional: Your preferred serving size of lion’s mane, ashwaganda or cordyceps. 1-2 teaspoons organic instant chicory root granules.
Method
If you have time, briefly blitz all the ingredients in a blender to ensure they’re well combined and frothy.
Add to a saucepan and heat on a low-medium heat, whisking occasionally, for about 5 minutes.
Pour into a mug and enjoy.
If you’d like to learn more about managing and reducing your endometriosis symptoms, or would like support with making changes to do so, you can book in a free consultation call with Jessica to discuss your symptoms and challenges, and find out how her one-on-one endometriosis health coaching programme could help you. Jessica is currently offering £300 off her regular programme price in honour of Endometriosis Awareness Month, as well as single two-hour one off sessions throughout March. Head to her site to book in.
Jessica Duffin is a women’s health coach specialised in endometriosis. She is the founder of blog and podcast This EndoLife, and is a writer at Endometriosis Net and Endometriosis News.