Calm down before bed with this nourishing and delicious chocolate chamomile moon milk. Perfect for kiddos, and for adults, too! Fits into paleo and full GAPS diets.
Moon what?
I’ve never really been one for jumping on bandwagons. In fact, I usually wait until the craze has died down to try whatever’s new and exciting to everyone else. When I first heard of moon milk a couple years ago, I brushed it off as something probably having to do with worshiping the moon or something like that. The recipes I saw seemed delicious enough, though, so I decided to dig a little deeper.
It turns out moon milk is called such because it helps calm you down and sleep more restfully. Moon milk is simply warmed milk, steeped with adaptogenic or relaxing herbs, and sweetened with honey.
Nothing to do with worship of moons. Everything to do with sleep. Which I am alllll about.
A traditional drink.
Though it’s only recently become popular in the US, moon milk has been used for hundreds of years in India. And in many countries (including the US) warmed milk has been a common bedtime drink for children and adults alike for years. It’s known to help with sleeplessness, anxiety, and insomnia. Plus it tastes good…
Since the only dairy milk my family drinks is milk kefir, I make this chocolate chamomile moon milk with dairy-free milk, like almond milk or my homemade coconut milk. It might not be quite as traditional, it does have the same effect on my kiddos. If your family can handle dairy, raw or organic milk is a delicious option that is more traditional.
Relaxing herbs.
Traditionally, moon milk contains herbs like ashwaghanda and turmeric, but lavender and chamomile are also used. Since I always make this for my kiddos, I use chamomile because it’s mild and very relaxing. Chamomile has been used for hundreds of years to treat insomnia and it’s also commonly used for its calming effects. This is because chamomile contains the flavonoid apigenin, that binds to benzodiazepine receptors in the brain. Chamomile has also been shown to help calm colic in infants and eczema, as well.
Historically, chamomile has been used to treat everything from colds, teething pain, colic, eczema, and indigestion to restlessness, anxiety, and irritability. It’s the perfect soothing herb for babies and children who can’t calm down enough to fall sleep.
Just a note for those with allergies: Since chamomile is in the Asteraceae family (i.e. daisy) it shouldn’t be given to anyone who has an allergy to other plants in the daisy family.
More nourishing and delicious drinks.
If you’re needing more drinks to nourish your body and calm your spirit, here are a few more of my favorites. They’re all paleo/primal and mostly GAPS-friendly, too. I’m including a food more moon milks from some of my blogging friends, in case you’re on the lookout for those, too. 😉
- Nutrient-Dense Raw Milk Tonic for Little Ones (or big ones!)
- Cardamom Moon Milk from Calm Eats
- Hot Carob
- Moringa Moon Milk from Moon and Spoon and Yum
- Golden Milk Hot Cocoa
- Mineral-Rich Electrolyte Smoothie
- Nourishing, Honey-Sweetened Horchata (note, this one is *not* paleo or GAPS, just traditional)
- Anti-Inflammatory Golden Milk
- Iced Blueberry Cardamom Moon Milk from Moon and Spoon and Yum
- Blueberry Elderberry Water Kefir
- Anti-Inflammatory Banana Peach Smoothie
In the recipe card I’ve linked to some of the products from my affiliate partners that I like to use. Purchasing through these links won’t cost you anything extra. Thanks!
Chocolate Chamomile Moon Milk
Free from grain, gluten, dairy, and refined sugar, with egg-free option.
Ingredients
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons organic chamomile (or a chamomile tea bag)
- 2 fresh, organic egg yolks (optional, but so nutritionally valuable!)
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons MCT oil, or coconut oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- a few dashes Himalayan salt
Instructions
Heat the the chamomile and 1 cup of the coconut milk until simmering. Remove from heat, strain into a liquid measuring cup, and set aside.
In blender, combine the remaining ingredients. Pulse a few times to ‘whisk’ the egg yolk.
With the blender going on low, remove the lid and slowly pour in the coconut chamomile tea (if you go too quickly you’ll get scrambled eggs in your moon milk!).
Serve warm.
Note
If you don’t want to serve this chocolate chamomile moon milk warm, you can chill the coconut-chamomile tea beforehand and make it cold. It does have more of a calming effect when served warm, though.
Raia, this looks SO lovely. Wonderful herbs + chocolate … + all that lovely honey and fat. Plus a better night sleep, can’t wait to try it. Beautiful.
Thanks so much, Megan! I hope you (and/or your kids) enjoy it! 🙂
Um, yes, please!! I l already like making chamomile lattes so this would be all the more delicious!
Chocolate makes good things better. 😉 Haha! I hope you enjoy it, Katie Mae!
This looks incredible!! My kids would adore this moon milk.
Thanks, Mary! I hope they get to enjoy it!
Wow, so many great ingredients in one drink. Definitely have to try this, especially with the egg yolks!
Thanks, Donny! I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
We could all use some calm right now. Thank you for this super creative way to enjoy chamomile. I love egg yolk addition.
Amen, Stacey! And drinking chocolate is definitely helpful when we need to calm down. Ha!
This is the first I’ve heard of Moon Milk — LOVE the idea, will definitely give it a try
I hope you enjoy it Jennifer!
I’m on a brand new discovery of Moon Milks as my littles are in a rut with their sleep patterns. I’ve been making Tart Cherry Moon Milk, the past 2 nights but both kids said it was too sour for them. If I put chocolate in, I think it’ll be game over and we’ll have a winner. However, doesn’t chocolate have caffeine in it? Not a judgment or criticism. I’m just a newbie trying to get sleep for the whole family.
It does! Kinda seems ironic in this recipe, eh? Hahaha! But honestly, I’ve never found the amount in this moon milk (or even in my hot chocolate recipes) to be enough caffeine to affect my kids’ sleep. The calming chamomile and the soothing warmth do the trick. 🙂