Phase: Stable phase, and fine in small amounts most of the time. Ginger is settling for many people. Keep the honey light.
Ginger earns its place in this glass. It gives the drink a genuine grown-up kick, the kind that makes you forget there is no alcohol in it, and ginger is one of the gentler, more settling flavours you can reach for. I am not selling it as medicine. I am saying it tastes great and it is easy on the system.
Makes: 2 glasses, plus a jar of ginger syrup for later · about 55 kcal a glass, no fat
Ingredients
For the ginger syrup (makes extra, keeps about a week in the fridge):
- Fresh ginger, 50 g / 2 oz, peeled and sliced thin
- Water, 120 ml / 1/2 cup
- Honey or sugar, 3 tbsp
Per drink:
- Ginger syrup, 2 to 3 tbsp
- Lime, half, juiced
- Sparkling or still water, 250 ml / 1 cup, chilled
- Ice, and a lime wheel to garnish
Method
- Make the syrup: simmer the ginger, water and honey in a small pot for 8 to 10 minutes until fragrant. Let it cool, then strain out the ginger. Keep the liquid in a clean, labelled jar in the fridge.
- To build a drink: fill a glass with ice. Add the ginger syrup and lime juice.
- Top with water. Stir once. Garnish with a lime wheel.
Fat note: Zero fat. The honey or sugar is the only thing to keep an eye on for blood sugar, so go light and dilute to taste.
Safety note: Culinary amounts of ginger like this are fine for almost everyone. If you take blood-thinning medication and want to drink ginger drinks daily in larger amounts, just mention it to your pharmacist, since very high ginger intake can in theory affect clotting. An occasional sparkler is not a concern.
Stepan’s Rule: Make the syrup ahead and keep it in the fridge. A jar of ginger syrup turns plain water into a real drink in ten seconds, any night of the week.
Patient experience, not medical advice.
For the food side of the party, the PancreasZen book has 75 tested recipes with the fat already worked out.