Two years ago I gave up drinking commercial sugary drinks including soda pops. I tried to go off sugar completely, but this is not an easy task. Every where I went I was confronted with foods with added sugar. At times, I took the food offered to me by family and friends, so as not to be rude. I am still trying to control the sugar in my diet. When I cook with sugar I use cane sugar. This is a non-GMO sugar made from the sugar cane plant. The rest of the white sugar in the USA is made from GMO sugar beets. Here is a recipe that I make to help with soda pop cravings. It is all natural and has the wonderful herbal benefits of fresh ginger and the sugar used in the recipe is ate up by the natural fermenting process which adds the fizz to make the pop! In the end very little sugar is left in the drink.
Recipe
- 1/2 cup Ginger Bug*
- 2 inches fresh ginger
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice or lime juice
- 1/2 tsp sea salt or pink salt
- 8 cups pure water, no chlorine added
- 1/2 cup organic cane sugar
Heat 3 cups of the water and add the grated ginger, sugar and salt. Stir until dissolved. Place into a large glass container with the rest of the water. Add the squeezed lemon or lime juice and the ginger bug. Stir with a wooden spoon. Cover with a piece of waxed paper or cloth for 2-3 days until it becomes fizzy. Strain, bottle and cap. It will continue to become fizzy as long as you leave it at room temperature. Place it in the refrigerator to slow down the ferment. Enjoy.
A ginger bug is the start of many natural fermented beverages. The mixture of sugar, ginger, and water captures wild yeasts and beneficial bacteria, which can then be used to add a probiotic boost (and fizz) to herbal sodas like ginger ale -cultures for health
Make your own ginger bug
You will need a glass quart jar with a lid. Mix together 3 tablespoons grated ginger, 1/2 cup cane sugar with 2 cups pure water. Stir until dissolved. Let this set in a warm area for 5 days. Each day add another tablespoon of grated ginger and one tablespoon cane sugar. Stir with a wooden spoon or shake. At the end of the 5 days it is ready to use.
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