Ashwagandha, Lavender, and Vanilla Herbal-Infused Ghee Recipe

This herbal ghee is calming, nourishing, and warming to the heart and body. It’s perfect as a pre-bedtime evening tonic blended with hot milk, water, or tea. It can also be taken by the spoonful or spread on top of toast anytime your spirits need soothing. **Note that infusing herbal medicines into ghee can increase their bioavailability (absorption), so you’ll want to be aware of this when formulating a dose that is right for you.

Serving size is between 1 Tsp. and 1 Tbsp. depending on need.

YIELD 1 pint

Equipment

• Small saucepan

• Mason jar with lid

Ingredients

• 16 ounces ghee - Make it fresh or purchase from a high-quality source such as Goddess Ghee.

• ¼ cup ashwagandha powder (Withania somnifera)

• 1 tablespoon lavender powder (Lavandula spp.)

• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean powder (Vanilla planifolia)

Directions

• Heat the ghee in a small saucepan over a medium flame (unless you’ve just made fresh, hot ghee) until it’s hot and translucent.

• Turn off the heat.

• Whisk in the powdered herbs and let them steep with a lid on until the ghee comes to room temperature (around 75°F). The ghee should start to turn from clear to opaque and become thicker but still be thin enough to pour.

• If the mixture cools too much (gets hard), you can put it back on a low flame until it’s warm enough to stir again.

• If you’re in a hurry you can speed up the cooling process by setting the saucepan in a shallow bowl of ice water and slowly stirring the ghee until it thickens. (Be careful not to get any water in the ghee.)

• Once the herb and ghee blend has cooled, use a whisk and whip the mixture until the herbal powders are suspended in the ghee. Then pour the herb-infused ghee into a clean, dry mason jar. Cover with a lid and place the jar in the fridge to continue cooling. This will help the herbs stay suspended in the ghee without separating.

• When the mixture becomes solid, you may take it out of the fridge and let it come back to room temperature. You’ll want to keep the lid on so that condensation doesn’t enter the jar during the process. At this point, your herbal ghee is “cured” and will stay solid below 80°F.

• Store in a cool, dark place such as the pantry or medicine cabinet.