Tired of Water? How About Ginger Ale?

We are pretty big water drinkers here. I am drinking quite a bit extra right now as I am pregnant and the weather is warmer. My two little kids drink quite a bit too and my farmer is finding out, after 3 years of marriage, that he is starting to not be able to make it through the day without his big water bottle. That is a huge success seeing as he barely drank water at all when we first were married. Dehydration can cause all kinds of problems in your body, so in my opinion it is a great to drink your weight in oz as a preventative health measure. In high school I read the book Your Body's Many Cries For Water it was a huge eye opener as to how many of the chronic diseases of our day are really brought on by not being properly hydrated. Our bodies are 65% water so it makes sense if we don't replenish our stores things start going wrong.

However even with how great it is to drink water it can be...well, a little boring at times. We do like to make some iced herbal tea with stevia or home-made lemon aid sweetened with just lemon juice and stevia or honey to switch it up sometimes. Recently I have been looking for a little something different, but has some health benefits as well. Enter the home-made ginger ale. It is refreshing and contains many health benefits from the fresh ginger.

• Anti- inflammatory/fights pain and swelling
• Anti-microbial and contains natural antibiotics
• Stimulates circulation
• Lowers blood cholesterol
• Helps with nausea and indigestion
• Can help with headaches
• A good source of potassium, manganese, silicon, Vitamins A,C,E, B phosphorus, sodium, iron, zinc, calcium, and beta-carotene.

So with that we decided to give this ginger ale a try from Nourishing Traditions. You can drink it as it is or mix with sparkling water to give it that soda "bubble", completely up to you! I have changed the amount of salt and added more ginger because that is how we like it :)

Ginger Ale
Adapted from Nourishing Traditions

• 1 Cup of Fresh ginger peeled and grated
• 1/2 Cup fresh lime juice (about 4-5 limes)
• 1/4 Cup Whey
• 1/2 Cup Rapurda 
• 2 Quarts water
• pinch of sea salt

Peel and grate ginger in the food processor and add the rest of the ingredients to a glass half gallon jar.

(If you don't happen to have the liquid whey on hand you can take plain yogurt and strain the whey out with cheese  cloth.)
Mix with a wooden spoon and let set on the counter for 2-3 days with a lid on.

When you are ready to have a glass mix it up and strain out a cup through cheese cloth. It will keep in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.

                                              Stay hydrated and healthy in the hot weather!
                                                              The Farmer in the Dell