My Elixir Staple Ingredients (that I always have on hand)

Hello!

If you follow me on my instagram, you have probably seen my (almost) daily elixir drink blends on my stories. I find that I often list what’s in them without actually going through each one and explaining why I use them, their benefits, and how to get them. I wanted to make this blog post in hopes of inspiring some of you with your elixir creations and giving you some insight on some amazing ingredients.

What is an elixir? Why do I try to drink them daily?

Basically, I like to think of an elixir as a nourishing (and often medicinal) drink that can include healing ingredients in it. Elixirs can be hot or iced, although I usually make mine hot. You can add pretty much anything to elixirs: herbs, spices, nut milks and/or butters, tea bases, medicinal mushrooms, different fats, adaptogenic herbs/roots, matcha, ect. Elixirs can be energizing, relaxing, stress-reducing, or brain fueling. Depending on what ingredients you use, you can drink these pretty much anytime during the day (within reason, obviously, don’t drink stimulants at night lol). I try to include these in my diet every day. I change up the ingredients for them at times depending on what my body’s current needs are. However, there are some specific ingredients I always have on hand because I tend to add them to every elixir I make, even if I switch up an ingredient or two. I mean, sometimes I do go for a basic matcha tea or a tea + mushroom powder blend but, I usually like to make my drinks as nutrient-dense as possible.

Disclaimer: I have provided links for almost all of the ingredients below so they are easy to find for you if you want to get yourself any 🙂 This post is not sponsored in any way but I am an affiliate for Harmonic Arts and Amazon. Basically, this means that if you DO purchase anything through the provided links, I get a small % back which helps support me on this blog. As I always say: any review, recommendation or opinion is allll mine and I will continue to be completely honest and transparent about how I feel with products. I will let you know if I don’t like something and I will never promote a product that I don’t already use or completely stand by.

Now, for the fun stuff: here are my ‘elixir staple ingredients’:

What are my elixir staple ingredients? 

Elixir “base”
I use a few different options for my “base”. My favorite one would be DO matcha tea. I make my matcha like normal (hot water + 1-2 tsp matcha powder). You can whisk the matcha separately with hot water then add the rest of the ingredients and blend OR you can just add it along with the other ingredients and blend on high together. Another base option you can use is chaga tea. If I use chaga, I’ll make a bigger batch and drink it throughout the week. For this, I simply add filtered water with a few chunks of chaga in my slow cooker and let it “cook up” for a while until the color is dark and it smells earthy. If you don’t have time and/or don’t want to make a big batch, you can always buy chaga tea bags and make individual cups too. Simply add this tea (strained) to your blender and add the rest of your ingredients and blend on high. My other favorite elixir base is Lee’s Provision teas. Any of them would work! I use mainly the ‘Original’ and ‘Gold Rush’ flavors but the ‘Pink Chai’ also tastes delish.

MCT oil
I love adding MCT oil (medium-chain triglycerides) to my elixirs to help increase my energy levels and mental focus. I find it also helps improve my mood when I drink it. MCT oils are special because they are digested easily and can be sent directly to your liver. They are more easily absorbed by your body as well. I started out with just half a teaspoon when I first included this in my smoothies, coffee, matcha, and elixirs. Now, I use about 1-1.5 tsp. Caution: if you use too much when you first try it out, it can make your stomach hurt. A tip for buying MCT oil: there are some brands that include palm oil in their MCT oil blends. Personally, I avoid palm oil at all costs because there are major issues for sourcing this oil in an ethical way. I won’t get into it here but I highly recommend you read about it from a trusted source and think about whether you want to support the sourcing of this specific oil. There ARE some brands that have ethically sourced palm oil, but I would definitely research it and make sure they’re legit. I use Alpha Supreme MCT oil that is just coconut oil. I bought an aggressively large bottle when it was on sale at the local health store here that will probably last me 2 years! (Side note: anyone else stock up on unnecessary items because “when they’re on sale, you save money by buying more?” Just me? I did this with collagen once too. And grass-fed butter. They were 2 for $12!!! THAT IS INSANE. So naturally, I bought many)
One of my other favorite fats to add to elixirs is ghee! Specifically, Lee’s Provision in the flavors: Plain Jane and Brown Butter. I am absolutely obsessed with her products and became even MORE obsessed when I realized how effing un-real it tastes when I added her ghee to my elixirs. Game-changer. I try to add in 1-2 healthy fats in each drink I make to help support my hormones and brain #healthyfats

Collagen
To nourish my hair, skin and nails and help support my gut health, I like to add collagen to my elixirs. If you’re worried about tasting it, I’ve got great news: YOU CAN’T TASTE IT! I add 1 scoop to my drinks and I can’t smell or taste it. #thankgod. For the last 5 months or so, I’ve been using Organika Collagen and love it. I was previously using Bulletproof but I found I wasn’t seeing and feeling the same results as I was with Organika, so I switched back.

Coconut butter
I add this to every single elixir I make. Not only does it make them extra creamy and delicious, but this butter is SO good for you! Coconut butter (which comes from the coconut meat) can help boost energy levels, support your immune system, give you some extra fiber, and actually can provide your body with some iron. I like to add 1-2 scoops to my drinks before blending. I have been using Nutiva Coconut Manna for a while now and haven’t bothered switching it up because I love it so much.

Medicinal mushroom powders
I have become obsessed with medicinal mushroom powders over the past few years and I love discovering new ways to use them. Currently, I love adding them to elixirs. You can use straight up mushroom powders OR you can use a ‘drink mix’ powder. My go-to for this (as you have probably seen in my instagram stories!) is Four Sigmatic. They carry individual drink mixes. I LOVE that they do that because it gives you a chance to try out different flavors and see which one you like before committing to a full box. They have a wicked Lions Mane drink mix as well as a great chaga elixir mix. Now, which mushroom you choose, depends on what you’re body might be needing at that time. I have a few different kinds on hand and use the one I think my body needs that day. For example:
If I am feeling stressed out and ‘rattled’, I use this Reishi powder.
If I am needing an energy boost, I use Cordyceps powder (New Earth Organics).
For some strong brain power, I turn to Lions Mane powder.
I also have a 5 mushroom chocolate blend from Harmonic Arts that I use for “overall body health” as well.
Now, I am not telling you to go out and spend all this crazy money and buy all of these different mushrooms but I do recommend trying out maybe 1 or 2 kinds depending on what your body needs. You can buy some smaller bags they sell at health stores and I know Harmonic arts (one of my top brands for mushroom powders) is a company that sells smaller bags as “trial sizes”. Disclaimer: I feel the need to explain that I bought a few of mine but I have also received a few bags as “swag bags” from workshops I have gone too (thanks Light Cellar!). Don’t feel pressure to spend your life savings on 10 different kinds 🙂

“Super food Blends” from Harmonic Arts
These powders basically helped me discover the beautiful world of elixirs. These were the first things I tried out and they made me fall in love with these healing drinks. They are literally ALL delicious so I recommend any of them. But, I would have to say that Golden Mylk, Elevate, and Activate are my top choices. With these, I started out just adding a scoop of them to warm almond milk and blended it up. You can add a bit of sweetener and a pinch of sea salt if you want. These powders are amazing for someone who is new to elixirs!

Ashwagandha Powder 
I love to take this for stress, mild anxiety and thyroid support. I started to see a difference after only a few months when I took this (almost) every day. I noticed a difference with stress levels on a day-to-day basis and how my body and mind dealt with daily stress. When I add this ashwagandha in my elixirs, I tend to add just a little bit of honey as well because I find the flavor of this is quite strong. Totally up to the person though! The bag I have linked is on the bigger size but i’m sure you can find a smaller one at health stores if you’re not wanting to commit to that size just yet!

There ya have it. My main ‘elixir staple ingredients’. I like to have these on hand at all times because they are my faaavorite ingredients for elixirs potions!

Other honorable mentions that didn’t make the ‘must-have’ list but I still add to elixirs when I have them on hand:
Purica – complete 360 stress relief & immune support powder (a blend of 8 mushrooms + ashwagandha powder)
Almond butter – this one might seem odd but have you ever made a creamy sweet cacao elixir? Add some almond butter to it – tasty AF.
Cacao powder (not cocoa powder)- I like to add 1-2 tbsp of this rich, nutrient-dense powder to elixirs sometimes. Its high in antioxidants, iron, magnesium, and calcium… amazing right?
Spirulina – a power house green super food. I only add a small amount of this if I add it to elixirs.

I have also provided my recipes for a few elixirs:
Marcy’s ZEN matcha elixir
Creamy cardamom elixir
Delicious chaga elixirs – 2 ways

I hope this post gives you some serious elixir inspiration! Let me know your thoughts if you have tried any of these in your drinks ♥ Happy Thursday!

Marcy xx