Almond Twist Moon Milk Recipe For Healthy Sleep & Skin

Almond Twist Moon Milk

Written by Lauren Arent (Lo Clark)

Owner of Bewitched Esthetics & Licensed Esthetician since 2013

February 10th, 2023

Disclosure: Bewitched Esthetics is supported by its audience. Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

Hello my darlings,

When I was a child and had difficulty sleeping my parents would make me moon milk. They didn’t call it that at the time, we called it what it was: warm milk. Moon milk is essentially heated milk with healing ingredients like spices and herbs. My favorite as a child was always amaretto milk (not the alcohol folks). To this day, the taste of warm amaretto milk will send me back in time. Now although my parents didn’t use the healing spices, they knew the traditional base compound of this elixir: milk.

Why Moon Milk

Warm milk has long been reported to aid in sleep. This is due to the tryptophan, melatonin, and serotonin, compounds that aid in helping you fall asleep. Tryptophan is supposedly the compound that lulls us to sleep after a big Thanksgiving meal (consuming large quantities of food produces insulin and insulin cleans out all amino acids from the bloodstream except for tryptophan) while melatonin has become a popular supplement for sleep aid and serotonin is the good feelings compound known for promoting happiness.

Synthetic Facts

Melatonin is a naturally occurring substance that has been turned into the ease of taking a pill. What most people don’t understand is when you take large amounts of the synthetic form: this can lead to nightmares. It should not be used regularly or relied on to promote sleep. Same concept applies for tryptophan. For while these compounds may aid in the first phase of sleep -helping you drift off into dreamland- they may also disrupt the other levels of sleep (ie. keeping you asleep and REM sleep) which are the crucial healing component of sleep.

Banned Substance

I’d like to give you a quick aside here: according to WebMD, in 1989 synthetic tryptophan was BANNED in the United States but as of 2001 this supplement was once more reintroduced. L-tryptophan is an essential amino acid found in animal and plant proteins but can not be synthesized by humans. Food for thought.

From the Source

So the best way, in my humble opinion, to promote sleep is through the occasional cup of warm milk. Ingesting these compounds from natural sources such as from food and herbs makes it far easier for the compounds like tryptophan and melatonin to safely permeate the blood brain barrier. Simply put, your body knows what to do with naturally occurring compounds and synthetic ones can often come with side effects.

Restful Herbs and Additives

Now. Another way to enhance sleep in this method is to add herbs such as chamomile and lavender, even calendula and skullcap. These are all calming, relaxing herbs. What you do NOT want to add to your moon milk is SUGAR. This will be counter intuitive to the ultimate result of sleep. You can however use a small amount of honey to sweeten your elixir. Check out my favorite bed time tea here!

What Milk Should You Use

Plant based milks are not the same as dairy, we all know this because a large amount of us are drinking plant based milks due to the effect of dairy on our bodies (allergies or inflammation). What you should know is that if you are using plant based milks you will not receive the same amount as cow’s milk but oat, cashew, and almond are fairly good substitutes. I used cashew milk in this recipe because it was fresh at The Mylk Box, my local plant based milk provider.

About this Recipe

Moon Milk is essentially tea made with milk instead of water. Meaning it is one of the simplest and tastiest things to make. I really hope you love this concoction I’ve made based on one of my mamma’s Christmas time pastry recipes: the Almond Twist. Although almond extract really brings the most forward flavor, cardamom and cinnamon are the strongest spice notes in this recipe as well as the hint of roasted chicory and chamomile. I add a few extra scoops of chamomile to really boost the relaxation as well as the anti-inflammatory properties for my elixir.

Ingredients & Benefits for the Skin

Almond: Vitamin E for skin softening & promotes healing, magnesium for hormonal balance & relaxation, rich source of healthy unsaturated fats & monounsaturated fats, gut healthy

Cashew Milk: magnesium for hormonal balance & relaxation, oleic fatty acid, rich in polyphenols & carotenoids antioxidants,

Chamomile: anti-inflammatory, gut healing, reduces stress & anxiety, anti-bacterial

Cardamom: high levels of antioxidants, fights cancer, anti-inflammatory, gut soothing, antibacterial

Chicory: gut balancing (prebiotics)

Hibiscus: anti-inflammatory, antioxidants, anti-bacterial

Apple: vitamin C for brightening, antioxidants, gut balancing, flush toxins from the skin

Orange: vitamin C for brightening, antioxidants, promotes collagen production