Summer is the season that brightens the outdoors as well as our inner spirits. The time of the year where we look forward to the outdoors with picnics, hiking and camping with friends, fishing, swimming, sailing and barbecuing, as nature is calling!
After an especially harsh winter, most of us crave exposure to sunlight. Sunlight’s interaction with the retina cues the release of serotonin, the mood-elevating chemical essential to stimulate our cognitive functions. Several studies assert the positive interaction between our human body and serotonin caused by natural light.
Climate changes influence our health in many ways. Especially during summer, sunburns, heat exhaustion, dehydration are common side effects of too much humidity or an arid climate. With physical activity more available during the summer, bacterial infections and acute respiratory infections caused by summer viruses show an increased spreading rate.
For example, conditions like Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD) show a seasonal pattern, studies suggest, and peaks during both the winter and summer. Allergic reactions triggered by pollen, such as seasonal rhinitis and hay fever, are typical during the change of season.
This summer, with the help of some extra safety and health precautions, we at Nordic Oil wish you remain healthy, hydrated, and keep various infections at bay. Along with the help of your planning healthy seasonal recipes, we aim to empower you to absorb all the goodness of hot summer days.
In this blog, we have brought together three different types of buttermilk recipes. We hope to share our official summer drink with our readers, with an added twist. We turned on our creative instincts and will share our recipe for a glass of buttermilk with a touch of traditional Asian spices, infused with CBD.
Grab your aprons, set your serving glasses, let’s get to learn how to make three types of easy to infuse buttermilk with CBD.
*This recipe tastes best when prepared from yogurt made from milk. But, for those of you who prefer non-dairy products, you may substitute vegan yogurt. All the other ingredients mentioned in this recipe blend well with vegan yogurt, but the taste will differ.
If you have a sweet tooth, try out our favorite CBD Mango Lassi.
How to make spicy buttermilk? The recipe
Recipe 1: CBD infused spicy buttermilk
Prep time: 10 minutes, Mixing time: 5 minutes, Serves 2
Ingredients required:
- 1 cup plain unsweetened yogurt ( approximately 250 gms) or vegan curd
- 2 cups cold water ( sparkling or still)
- 1tsp ginger juice
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cumin seeds (white)
- 1 tsp jalapeno (finely chopped)
- ¼ tsp black pepper powder
- 1 tsp cilantro (finely chopped)
- 1 tsp mint leaves (finely chopped)
- Ice cubes (for ice bath)
- 2 tsp clarified butter (Ghee)
- 5-6 drops of CBD oil / (20-30 mg) CBD crystals or CBG crystals)
Materials required:
- Two mixing bowls
- One ladle
- Hand whisk
- Electric hand mixer or blender
- Mortar and pestle
- Serving glasses
Preparation:
Using a mortar and pestle, coarse grind the cumin seeds and keep ready. Buttermilk tastes best when served chilled, so it’s a good idea to make use of an ice bath to prepare buttermilk to help retain the temperature.
Make an ice bath by filling ice cubes and water in a large bowl and place the other empty bowl on top. To this, add the yogurt and whisk well to make it smooth. Transfer the rest of the ingredients (ginger juice, lemon juice, salt, jalapeno, black pepper powder, cilantro, and mint leaves) to the bowl and blend well.
Mix until you see that all the spices are evenly mixed in with the curd. Pour two cups of cold water into the mixture, and use a ladle to stir well.
Heat a small pan and melt the butter, add the coarsely grounded cumin, give it a quick stir, remove from heat and pour it into the buttermilk. Infuse CBD oil or CBD/ CBG crystals and stir well once again. Your spicy aromatic buttermilk is ready. Pour into a tall glass with some ice cubes and serve chilled.
Recipe 2: CBD infused mint-ginger buttermilk
Prep time: 5 minutes, Mixing time: 5 minutes, Serves 2
Ingredients:
- 1 cup plain unsweetened yogurt ( approximately 250 gms) or vegan curd
- 2 cups cold water ( sparkling or still)
- 2 tbsp mint leaves (finely chopped)
- 1 tsp ginger (finely chopped)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 5-6 drops of CBD oil / (20-30 mg CBD crystals or CBG crystals)
Materials required
- Electric blender
- serving glasses
Preparation:
Make a fine paste of the mint leaves and ginger in a blender. Add yogurt, salt, CBD oil/ CBD/CBG crystals, and blend again. Blend to ensure the ingredients are mixed well with the yogurt.
The last step is to double it and bring it to buttermilk consistency. Add water and give it a quick blend. Pour into a tall glass, add some ice cubes and serve.
Recipe 3: CBD infused cumin buttermilk
Prep time: 10 minutes, Mixing time: 5 minutes, Serves 2
Ingredients required:
- 1 cup plain unsweetened yogurt (approximately 250 grams) or vegan curd
- 2 cups cold water (sparkling or still)
- 1 tsp cumin (white) (roast and grind to a fine powder)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 5-6 drops of CBD oil / 20-30 mg CBD crystals or CBG crystals
Materials required
- Pan
- Electric blender
- serving glasses
Preparation:
Advanced:
Roasting cumin seeds accentuates their taste, aroma, and flavor. Moreover, roasting and grinding a larger quantity of cumin is easier and saves time. So you can grind 50 grams in one shot and store the leftovers for later use.
Place a pan on the stove and bring to medium heat. Add 50 grams of cumin seeds and begin to fry them.
Next, the seeds will begin to expand, sputter, and turn aromatic. Continue stirring carefully for a few more seconds until all seeds get fried evenly. Watch over the cumin to make sure it does not get over roasted or burnt.
Remove from heat and allow to cool. Grind to fine powder, transfer the powder into an airtight container, and store. You can use this cumin powder as a topping on soups, salads, and pasta.
Preparing CBD-infused cumin buttermilk is simple. First, add yogurt, CBD oil/ CBD/CBG crystals, and blend. Next, add salt, cumin powder, water, and whip once again. Pour into a tall glass, drop some ice cubes and serve.
Health Benefits of spices
Mint:
Mint belongs to the Lamiaceae family of aromatic plants widely used as culinary herbs, including tulsi (basil), rosemary, oregano, and thyme. Mint is a natural coolant, helps in digestion, prevents gas formation in the stomach, and combats flatulence.
Mint is a storehouse of iron, potassium, manganese, Vitamins A, C, and B-complex, therefore consuming mint in the form of leaves, paste, oil, or juice strengthens one’s immunity. Also, mint has strong antiseptic and antibacterial properties that provide relief for stomach troubles, including irritable bowel syndrome.
For respiratory conditions, mint’s properties work as a potent anti-inflammatory to ease congestion in the throat, lungs, and bronchi.
Pepper:
Valued as the king of spices, pepper is known for its distinct flavor, taste, and medicinal properties. Pepper has anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anticonvulsant and neuroprotective properties.
Piperine, the major active component of black pepper when combined with curcumin enhances its bioavailability by 2000% and delivers multiple health benefits.
Ginger:
A medicinal plant that is widely popular all over the world is ginger, due to its potential for curing a multitude of unrelated ailments including arthritis, sore throat, constipation, indigestion, vomiting, hypertension, sprains, cramps, fever, infectious diseases, etc.
Further research on the constituents of ginger and its potential medicinal values for treating several diseases is in progress.
Cumin:
Cumin is a rich source of dietary fiber. Similar to mint, cumin also helps combat flatulence and gas formation. A study reports that cumin has 45 different metabolites which exhibit anticancer and antimicrobial properties.
Additionally, references from the Indian Ayurvedic system of medicine share that cumin seeds occupy immense medicinal value for treating digestive problems. This has also been asserted in another study.
The presence of phenolic content in many plants is abundant in all cumin varieties, including black cumin, and bitter cumin. Therefore, cumin is a fundamental nutrient for the daily human diet due to its antioxidant and many other health benefits.
Jalapeno:
The strong and spicy pungent flavor in jalapeno peppers is due to capsaicin, the chemical present in all chili peppers. Jalapeno peppers are a rich source of vitamin C, vitamin E, and K. Research has found that capsaicin contains anti-bacterial, analgesic, anti-diabetic, and anti-cancerous properties.
Effects of buttermilk on health
Key takeaways from a study on the effects of buttermilk on health:
- Buttermilk is an excellent remedy for exhaustion, diarrhea, and in handling irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Since it contains 50% water, it aids digestion and is mild on the stomach.
- Heat and sweat during summer tend to deplete the homeostasis of water and electrolytes in our body.
Electrolytes are vital to keeping us hydrated and helps balance acidity. In this case, buttermilk is one of the best drinks loaded with electrolytes and helps fight heat and loss of water. Also, it helps control heat-related issues including, prickly heat and tiredness. - Not getting enough vitamins? Quickly whip a glass of buttermilk with any of the above recipes, and consume daily to overcome symptoms such as weakness and anemia associated with vitamin B and vitamin D deficiency.
- Buttermilk is an excellent probiotic drink that defends against infections in the urinary tract. Additionally, its rich lactic acid bacteria helps to strengthen the immune system by fighting off harmful bacteria.
- We spend a lot of time outdoors during summer and tend to indulge in foods that might not be friendly to our stomach. Consequently, food poisoning, diarrhea, and indigestion are common in this season. Instead of consuming antibiotic pills that eventually wipe out healthy bacteria in the intestines, switch to buttermilk to help maintain normal gut flora and support digestion.
- Buttermilk is a natural way to treat ulcers, according to several case studies. Ulcers erupt when acids attack the mucous lining in the stomach, and gradually move up the esophagus creating heartburn. A glass of buttermilk neutralizes the acids and gives an instant cooling effect.
Benefits of CBD in buttermilk
As CBD is highly lipophilic, this means that it blends well with fatty substances. Therefore when we want to add CBD to our drinks, we need to ensure that we choose the right ingredients for the CBD to mix and become more bioavailable.
In this buttermilk recipe, our choice of fat is yogurt. Moreover, in the first recipe, we used clarified butter and cumin powder to season the buttermilk, where butter is also a great choice to combine with CBD. You can substitute the CBD oil for CBD/CBG crystals, which also blend well with butter and yogurt. If you skip using butter, you may find a layer of CBD oil floating on top of your buttermilk.
The Nordic Oil blog covers several topics about the use, benefits, and effects of CBD in detail. In summary, CBD users believe in and experience a multitude of health benefits by incorporating CBD into their lifestyle.