Some foods are like decathletes, you can use them in countless ways. Cauliflower is one of these foods — showing up in everything smoothies and pizza crust. But some foods, regardless of their nutritional value, are trickier to find uses for. Enter turmeric.

Turmeric is a potent anti-inflammatory and mood booster. Turmeric can have positive effects on your weight, your cancer risk and risk of brain diseases. But we’ll miss out on these benefits if we don’t know what to do with this pretty orangey spice or if we only use it in a recipe here and there. Below find some ways to incorporate it into your diet on a regular basis. Oh and turmeric’s benefits are magnified if combined with black pepper. That’s why you’ll see pepper mentioned in many of these suggestions. Just don’t overdo it with the last one…

1. Golden milk

Golden milk (known more recently as a turmeric latte) is turmeric and other spices heated with warm milk, generally a dairy free milk. Although a stovetop is the traditional way to make this tasty drink, you can cheat and add water from a tea kettle to your spices and finish with a little coconut milk.

2. Turmeric Smoothies

Don’t confuse turmeric with curry powder. Turmeric is one of the spices in curry mixtures. On its own it’s not that strong. Try a quarter teaspoon in smoothies. Here's one of my favorite recipes.

__Sunshine Smoothie __ Serves 1

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup sliced, raw carrots
• ½ cup unsweetened, carrageenan-free coconut milk
• ½ large or 1 small (tennis ball-sized) orange, peeled and separated into segments
• 1 tsp coconut or MCT oil
• ¼ tsp ground turmeric
• ¼ tsp ground ginger
• ½ cup ice
• 1 packet or scoop of collagen, hemp or pea protein
• Optional 5 drops liquid stevia

DIRECTIONS

1. Add all ingredients, coconut milk first, to a powerful blender and blend. If needed, add additional coconut milk to thin it out.
2. Pour into a glass, feel instantly boosted by the sunshine-y color.

3. Eggs

If you’re an egg eater, turmeric is super easy to add to scrambled eggs or egg muffins.

4. Salad dressing

Please, please tell me you’re DIY for salad dressing. Most bottled dressings are sugar bombs. Plus, homemade is easy and so much tastier. I shake it up in a mason jar. Try olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, turmeric and optional Dijon mustard or lemon juice. Add an optional splash maple syrup or few drops liquid stevia to sweeten it up.

5. Hummus

Add a little turmeric to your hummus recipe, or add it to store-bought hummus.

6. Tuna Salad

I like making tuna and chicken salad with avocado mayo. A little turmeric (and also a little chopped red onion) adds that little something extra.

7. Cauliflower rice

I see lots of cauliflower rice on client’s food journals. One of my favorite iterations is coconut oil, chopped cilantro, chopped scallions, turmeric and black pepper.

8. Roasted veggies

If you’re like me, most cooked veggies get scattered on a sheet pan and topped with olive oil and salt? Maybe? Anything works: cauliflower, carrots, Brussels, etc. Try adding turmeric to the veggies, prior to cooking and toss with the olive oil.

9. Lemonade

You can make a turmeric lemonade with juice from ½ a lemon, ¼ tsp turmeric, stevia or monk fruit sweetener and water or seltzer.

10. Margarita

I love adding superfoods to cocktails. I do it for flavor and also like making cocktails as healthy as I can. I know the best amount of alcohol to consume is zero, but I have a few drinks a week. One must pick their pleasure, with healthy eating and I’d choose a margarita with tequila (or my fave mezcal), fresh lime, Combier or Cointreau and turmeric. I like the ratio of two parts (or 2oz — I make little drinks) booze to one part lime juice and ½ part liquor. No simple syrup invited. Shake this up with a couple pinches of turmeric. Cheers!