International Day of Happiness: Three Bright Green Moringa Recipes

March 20th is the International Day of Happiness — a UN observance, running since 2013, built on the fairly reasonable idea that well-being belongs in the conversation about how societies are doing, not just economic output.

The research on what actually moves the needle is consistent and unromantic: sleep, daylight, movement, and time spent with people you like. Food is a smaller lever than the internet suggests. But cooking something bright green and eating it with someone else covers two of those four, which is a better return than most single ingredients can promise.

So here are three recipes. They're colourful, they're quick, and they all start with the same jar.

What moringa is

Moringa is the leaf of Moringa oleifera, a fast-growing tree native to the Indian subcontinent and long known as the "miracle tree." Ours is hand-picked and solar-dried on family-run farms in Sri Lanka, then milled into a fine powder.

The dried leaf is a source of vitamins A, C and E and of B vitamins including B6, along with magnesium, calcium, iron and potassium, and it contains all nine essential amino acids. B6 and magnesium are both nutrients your body uses in ordinary nervous-system function — worth knowing as composition facts, and worth not over-reading.

A practical note before you cook: moringa powder tastes green and slightly peppery. It likes acid, fat and sweetness, and a little goes further than you'd think. Every quantity below is deliberately modest.

1. Bright Green Morning Smoothie

Serves 1 · 5 minutes

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup spinach
• 1 tsp moringa powder
• 1 tbsp almond butter
• 1 cup almond milk
• Juice of half a lime

Blend the spinach and milk first until there are no flecks, then add everything else and blend again. The lime is not optional — the acid is what turns "grassy" into "fresh," and it's the single biggest difference between a green smoothie people finish and one they don't.

2. Moringa Date & Almond Bites

Makes about 12 · 15 minutes, plus chilling

• 1 cup pitted soft dates (soak 10 minutes in warm water if they're dry)
• 1 cup almonds
• 2 tsp moringa powder
• A pinch of sea salt
• 1 tsp vanilla, optional

Pulse the almonds to a coarse meal first, then add the dates, moringa, salt and vanilla and process until the mixture clumps when you squeeze it. Roll into balls and chill for an hour to firm up. They keep in the fridge for a week.

The salt matters more than it looks — without it the dates read as flatly sweet and the moringa has nothing to push against.

3. Bright Green Soup

Serves 4 · 30 minutes

• 1 onion, 2 cloves garlic, 2 sticks celery, all chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 large potato, diced (for body)
• 4 cups chopped kale or spinach
• 2 tsp moringa powder
• Juice of half a lemon, salt, pepper

Soften the onion, garlic and celery in the oil without colouring them. Add the broth and potato and simmer 15 minutes until tender. Add the greens and cook just 2 minutes — long enough to wilt, short enough to keep the colour. Blend, then stir in the moringa off the heat, with the lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Adding the moringa at the end rather than boiling it is the whole trick: heat dulls chlorophyll, and a soup that's simmered with green powder in it comes out olive rather than emerald.

Making a day of it

If you want to mark March 20th properly, the recipes are the smaller half. Eat one of them outside if the weather allows, or with someone whose company you enjoy — daylight and conversation are the parts with the evidence behind them.

And if low mood is persistent rather than passing, that's a conversation for a doctor. No food is a substitute for that, and anyone suggesting otherwise is selling something.

Browse our organic moringa powders and herbal teas, or find more ideas in our recipe collection.

We value your safety and encourage you to practice safe food preparation habits. Please visit our Food Safety resource for more information before recreating any of our recipes.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Always talk to a healthcare professional before making changes to your diet, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or managing a medical condition.