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A milky treat that will put you to sleep.
By StyleCaster — Last updated on Mar 24, 2023
Sparkling water and rosé are all the rage when it comes to the cooler drinks in town, but when you want to snuggle up and get cozy, colorful and warm moon milk is where it’s at.
We were first drawn into the trend with turmeric-spiced golden milk, but there’s another colorful concoction in town that’s ready to give you the best beauty rest of your life.
It’s called pink moon milk, and it’s as tasty as it is gorgeous. But it’s more than just a drink — it's the perfect bedtime beverage.
What is pink moon milk?
First, we need to know what moon milk is. Moon milk is made from a mixture of warm milk, honey, spices, and adaptogenic herbs that was passed down through the Ayurvedic traditions. The pink coloring comes from the red juices used within the recipe.
Pink moon milk is a “functional” food, meaning its ingredients have certain properties that affect the way you feel.
In this case, it’s tart cherry juice — which is one of the few foods that naturally contain the sleep hormone melatonin. So instead of taking a supplement, you can simply sip a little pink moon milk before bed.
Combined with creamy almond milk and honey or maple syrup, the tartness of the cherry juice is perfectly mellowed to become a luxurious before-bed drink. This is because pink moon milk is a natural source of melatonin.
Ashwagandha powder is an optional ingredient that can be added. This powder (when added) makes moon milk have incredible benefits including a positive influence on the endocrine, cardiopulmonary, and central nervous systems.
It also contains powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. It’s considered to be an adaptogen by herbalists, meaning it helps balance the body, normalize its processes, and protect against stress, causing sleep to come more naturally.
It's basically an aesthetically pleasing sleep tonic that can help adults with their anxiety and stress before bed. Interested in trying it for yourself? You can make your own.
Pink Moon Milk Recipes
Recipe adapted from Heartbeet Kitchen
The most essential elements of this recipe are tart cherry juice and nondairy milk (cow’s milk is harder to digest, especially right before bed).
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Total time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 6 ounces almond milk
- 4 ounces unsweetened tart cherry juice
- 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon ashwagandha powder
- Dried culinary rose petals
Directions
1. In a small pot over low heat, bring the almond milk and tart cherry juice to a temperature around 140 degrees F (just below scalding), boil for around 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Remove it from heat, and whisk in honey and ashwagandha.
3. To make it really frothy, pour the contents into the blender and blend on high for a few seconds until you get the desired texture; however, this step is optional and can cool off your mixture.
4. Top with rose petals and drink warm.
Recipe adapted from County Hill Cottage
Prep time: 2 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Total time: 7 minutes
Ingredients
- 6 ounces milk of your choice
- 2 ounces tart cherry juice
- 1 teaspoon shatavari powder
- 1/2 cinnamon
- 2-3 cardamom pods
- 1/3 teaspoon beet powder
- 1 teaspoon agave syrup or honey
Directions
1. Mix all the ingredients (with the exception of the agave syrup or honey) together in a small saucepan.
2. Warm the mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes until the milk is warm and the beet powder has dissolved.
3. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a cup to filter out the cardamom pods.
4. Add in your sweetener of choice (agave syrup or honey) and enjoy it warm.
You can add variations to these recipes. For instance, you can add a tablespoon of collagen peptide powder for another benefit or 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder to make chocolate-cherry moon milk.
Not a fan of warm, milky beverages? Try making mulled tart cherry juice, simmering it gently with herbal tea, honey, cinnamon, and orange slices instead.
The next time you want to reach for that bottle of Tylenol PM, think again. Maybe a mug of pink moon milk is all you need to send you off to dreamland.
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Justina Huddleston is a writer who has had bylines on MSN, Yahoo, Huffington Post, Mashed, Business Insider, Salon, SheKnows, and others. Follow her on Instagram.
This article was originally published at StyleCaster. Reprinted with permission from the author.