By Jacqueline Alwill, Remedy Nutritionist
It may take no convincing to ask you to eat a few more berries, they’re sweet, delicious little bursts of nutrition but ginger on the other hand can be a touch trickier.
By contrast to the sweet delight that is the berry family, ginger is strong in flavour with a zing and kick. And, whilst we know berries are some of the richest known sources of antioxidants to protect our bodies from the effects of stress, illness and well, let’s face it life in general, our ginger nutrient factoids might be a little rusty.
So let’s refresh those and while we’re at it look at a few ways you can up both the ginger and berry nutrition in your every day.
Remedies for health
Ginger has long been used not only as an anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative spice (1) but as a traditional, natural remedy for health complaints such as nausea(2) and menstrual pain (3). Should these strike a chord for you, consider these simple remedies:
- Steep sliced fresh ginger in boiling water for ginger tea
- Slice ginger into chicken broth or fresh grated ginger cooked into chicken and vegetable soup
- Up the ante in a green juice with a kick of fresh ginger or ole faithful – beetroot carrot ginger celery combo
Drinks
Sore throat or uncomfortable gut shying you away from weekend social activities? Consider sipping on these delicious drinks to sooth the throat, support digestion and deliver quality live cultures and organic acids to your gut for overall wellbeing too.
Fresh ginger, honey and lemon juice with hot water, an oldie but a goodie for a sore throat
Remedy Kombucha Ginger Berry for a delicious burst of both berries and ginger or Remedy Kombucha Ginger Lemon for the lemon ginger zinger like an old school ginger beer, but better!
Snacks and treats
Ginger as a snack you say? Hell yay! Why not have a snack that promotes digestion (4) rather than the sugar filled number that ultimately makes you feel worse than good? My personal favourites:
- Avocado with lemon salt and fresh pickled ginger
- Choc ginger cookies (here’s a recipe)
- Remedy’s Ginger Berry booch contains organic acids, which can help aid digestion at your next meal
Meals
Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food right? Simple philosophy to live by, so consider each meal an opportunity to fuel your body for longevity! And, given ginger is rich in anti-bacterial, anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory nutrients go for gold with introducing it in your meals each day too.
Try these tasty inclusions of course washed down with a Remedy Ginger booch variety – Ginger Lemon or Ginger Berry:
- Ginger vegetable stir fry with lentils/chicken/fish/beef and cauliflower rice
- FODMAP friendly soup with carrot ginger herbs and crunchy seed snaps
- Prawn laksa, with ginger, chilli, lemongrass and zucchini noodles in place of regular rice noodles to up the nutrient ante.
Accompaniments
And last but not least, where ginger is so often used, not to mention one of the easiest ways to create both nutrition and flavour in your meals is with simple accompaniments and condiments for a meal AND to amplify your health… Consider these scrumptious numbers:
- Pickled ginger and cucumber for asian meals and salads (I love these in a nourish / buddha bowl)
- In a curry paste to spice up simple proteins or veggies
- Grated into marinades with tamari, apple cider vinegar, sesame oil and miso
- Golden Flax almond bread, combined with antioxidant rich berries and a touch of sweet for a Ginger Berry jam that will soon be your new breakfast fave. Read on for the recipe!
Ingredients
GINGER BERRY JAM
- 3 cups raspberries (can use frozen and defrosted)
- 3 teaspoons fresh ginger, finely grated
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon water
GOLDEN FLAX ALMOND BREAD
- 1 1/2 cups almond meal
- 1/3 cup golden flaxseed meal
- 4 free range eggs, whisked
- 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 ½ tbsp golden flax seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Method
To make the jam: combine raspberries, ginger, honey and water in a saucepan and simmer over a low to medium heat for 20 minutes. Set aside to cool. Store in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 weeks.
To make the golden flax almond bread: Preheat oven to 180C and line a small loaf tin (7x16cm) with baking paper. Combine almond meal, flax meal, eggs, almond milk, olive oil, baking power, flax seeds, and sea salt in a bowl and mix well. Spoon into lined loaf tin. Bake for 50-55 minutes. Cool in loaf tin for 10 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely. Serve with Ginger Berry Jam, a smear of coconut yoghurt if desired and a bottle of Remedy Ginger Berry Kombucha.
References
1: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3665023/
Anti-Oxidative and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Ginger in Health and Physical Activity: Review of Current Evidence
Nafiseh Shokri Mashhadi, Reza Ghiasvand,1,2 Gholamreza Askari,1,2 Mitra Hariri,1,2 Leila Darvishi,1,2 and Mohammad Reza Mofid3
2: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4818021/
Integr Med Insights. 2016; 11: 11–17.
Published online 2016 Mar 31. doi: 10.4137/IMI.S36273
PMCID: PMC4818021
PMID: 27053918
The Effectiveness of Ginger in the Prevention of Nausea and Vomiting during Pregnancy and Chemotherapy
Iñaki Lete1 and José Allué
3: https://bmccomplementalternmed.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1472-6882-12-92
BMC Complementary and Alternative MedicineThe official journal of the International Society for Complementary Medicine Research (ISCMR)201212:92
https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6882-12-92© Rahnama et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2012
4: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3016669/
World J Gastroenterol. 2011 Jan 7; 17(1): 105–110.
Published online 2011 Jan 7. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v17.i1.105
PMCID: PMC3016669
PMID: 21218090
Effect of ginger on gastric motility and symptoms of functional dyspepsia
Ming-Luen Hu, Christophan K Rayner, Keng-Liang Wu, Seng-Kee Chuah, Wei-Chen Tai, Yeh-Pin Chou, Yi-Chun Chiu, King-Wah Chiu, and Tsung-Hui Hu
5: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK92775/
Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects. 2nd edition.
Ann M. Bode and Zigang Dong.
