ginger

Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antinausea, and immune-boosting, ginger root has a remarkable bounty of benefits. Ginger has been used for healing and therapeutic purposes since ancient times, and lucky for us, the flavor is also incredibly tasty when you get the balance right. If the concept of getting a dose of this root feels a little enigmatic to you, then keep reading for six tasty ways to get your ginger on right now.

1. Bake it: Gingerbread houses may be synonymous with the yuletide spirit, but the crunch and spice of these lightened-up gingerbread cookies are always in season. While there's no need to overload on a whole plate of these puppies, they're one yummy sweet treat.
2. Pickle it: Love the pickled ginger that comes on the side at your favorite sushi spot? Make it in the comfort of your own kitchen. Pickled ginger is a healthy addition to homemade sushi, but it is also incredibly tasty on salad, with stir-fry, and in a meat marinade.
3. Brew it: An ideal natural remedy to clear up congestion or the onset of a sore throat is fresh ginger tea. An upset belly can also really benefit from some gingerly love.

Keep reading for three more ways to get ginger in your diet.

For the first time this year, I saw signs of the new season at the farmers market: purple-green Spring onions and lush, shiny strawberries. I was so enthralled that I decided to toast the first berries with a timely cocktail.

This drink has a fruity-floral bouquet, with a clean finish from the mint and ginger. It's also not too sweet.

When I served it to my guy, he took one sip and said, "This might be the best cocktail you've ever made for me." The only downside? It has no trace of alcohol flavor, so I could have easily had five more. For the stellar recipe, read more.

Holiday indulgences got you down? FitSugar reader JuicyNoelle has a detox smoothie for you. She posted the recipe in our Healthy Recipe group.

Are you looking for ways to embrace a little holiday detox? If so, don't forget to incorporate a piece of ginger. Ginger is believed to fire up your body’s natural detoxification work. It also helps your body better absorb nutrients, and eliminate waste (cleansing divas believe excess waste equals excess weight). Toss a piece of fresh ginger into a stir-fry, a great salad dressing, or even a delicious smoothie.

Detox Orange Ginger Smoothie
Serving size: 1 (200 calories)

Ingredients
1 banana, peeled and frozen
1/4 inch ginger, peeled and minced
1/2 cup mango slices, frozen
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup water
4–5 ice cubes

For more on this recipe, visit JuicyNoelle's blog, Green Lemonade. Upload your own recipes to our Healthy Recipe group, and we may feature yours on our homepage!

While you want Thanksgiving tipples to be memorable and festive, make sure to keep them accessible enough for the whole family (including your less-than-experimental sister-in-law). One way I like to approach this is by placing a contemporary twist on an otherwise standby cocktail.

Much like a pear essence cosmopolitan mellows out the cosmo, here, ginger and maple syrup add a Winter twist to the classic World War I-era sidecar. It won't rouse any raised eyebrows, but do prepare yourself for a table full of compliments. For a timeless cocktail with a hint of sugar and spice, read more.

Ginger has been used for centuries as an immune system booster, thanks to its antibacterial and antiviral properties. In addition, ginger helps alleviate indigestion and other stomach upsets. Warming and soothing, ginger can also help alleviate respiratory problems like coughs, bronchitis, and asthma. Especially during the upcoming flu season, keep your family healthy with these five kid-friendly preparations of ginger. Get the recipes.

Ginger, the powerful herb used as a spice in many dishes, can also be used as a treatment for a variety of ailments. Whether dried, fresh, in juice form or as a powder in a pill, ginger has many therapeutic properties. Here are some to just name a few.

1. Cold Remedy: Drinking homemade ginger tea (which by the way, I'm addicted to), can help relieve congestion, that icky symptom of the common cold.
2. Soothes Sore Muscles: Two separate studies showed that participants who had sore muscles due to a variety of exercises and who took ginger supplements had a reduction in pain of almost 25 percent compared to the placebo group. This study demonstrated ginger's healing anti-inflammatory properties.
3. Motion Sickness: Put me in the back seat of a car and it's a nauseous nightmare. Several studies have found ginger to be effective against nausea from seasickness and other motion sickness related conditions. Taking just two capsules of ginger in powdered form can delay the onset of sickness about twice as long as antinausea medication. And not only that, but another study showed that ginger improved the symptoms of nausea and vomiting in pregnant women and is a low-risk effective treatment.

What else can ginger do?

There's no better time for lemons to star as the main ingredient in a dessert than now. The sunny citrus is in season, and if you love their bright and refreshing tartness, you've got to try this recipe for lemon ginger cheesecake. It's quite possibly the best cheesecake I've ever made! It's creamy, light, and fluffy with an intense lemon flavor that's accented by bursts of fragrant ginger. There are both crystallized ginger and fresh ginger in the batter, which results in a cheesecake that has a super thick texture. This cake is a stunning finish to a dinner party, so get the recipe now.

After a debaucherous and chaotic holiday season, kick-start a new year by restoring your system to its preparty state.

Ginger's reinvigorating, cleansing properties aren't just ideal for steeping in tea; they're also refreshing in a light, sparkling cocktail that clocks in at under 160 calories. Double the root's power by using both vodka and simple syrup that have been infused with fresh ginger root.

Who says happy hour can't be good for you? Drink to your health in more ways than one when you read more.

Since Thanksgiving is a celebration that brings together all ages, consider serving a nonalcoholic signature cocktail like these apple-ginger sparklers. Kids and adults who don't drink will enjoy the festive flavors of this fizzy concoction. It's a mixture of ginger syrup and sparkling apple cider with a cinnamon stick for garnish! To make it spiked, simply stir in a shot of whiskey or Absolut's new apple-ginger vodka. Interested in the recipe? Keep reading.

Around this time of year, I look for alternative uses of pumpkin puree. While I've stirred it into soups and cake batter, I've never seen it as a cocktail ingredient before. Naturally, when I read this recipe, I was very interested in how it would taste. It's a simple mixture of ginger-flavored vodka, lime juice, honey water, and pumpkin puree. The liquids thin out the dense, thick pumpkin, and the resulting concoction is a light, gingery drink with slightly sweet pumpkin undertones. It has a wonderful orange color and nice refreshing quality. I enjoyed it with kale Caesar salad, but it's perfectly drinkable on its own. Interested in the easy recipe? Read more.