Energy Shots with Ginger and Turmeric

What do you do with a bountiful harvest of ginger and turmeric from your garden? Well, you could make energy shots. They offer a great non-caffeine pick-me-up when you’re feeling the winter blahs, and might just keep you healthy during the cold and flu season.

Energy Shot Ingredients

First, of course, you need ginger and turmeric. You could buy them at a store, but ginger and turmeric are fresher and tastier when you grow them yourself.

Since I usually have a couple of buckets of the spicy roots to deal with after each fall harvest, I first make a batch of delicious cauliflower pickles. Then I weigh out 1½ ounces of each root and put them together in a bunch of snack bags, which then get tucked into a 1-gallon zipper bag and stored in the freezer. Whenever I’m ready to make a batch of shots, I just pull out one snack bag already weighed and ready to go.

For the honey we generally use clover or any relatively mild flavored honey. When I feel we don’t need the extra calories, I substitute stevia. I also add a pinch of black pepper for a little more punch, and because it goes well with turmeric.

For the liquid, my husband and I both prefer orange juice over apple juice, although it’s a close call. But we can’t grow oranges here on our Tennessee farm. We do grow apples, so when I’m feeling especially frugal I use home-pressed apple juice instead of orange juice.

Nothing is sacred about the exact amount of each ingredient. Feel free to adjust any quantity according to your taste. Just toss everything into your Blendtec or other blender and turn on the smoothie setting. It’s that easy.

Energy Shots with Ginger and Turmeric

Pour into a clean jar and refrigerate. I can’t tell you how long it will last in the fridge, ’cause it never lasts long at our house. This recipe makes about 3 cups.

Benefits of Energy Shots

Besides being tasty, ginger offers a variety of benefits. Here are just some of the benefits, listed on WebMD: Ginger wards off bacteria and viruses (more than 200 viruses cause the common cold). Ginger helps ease sore muscle pain and arthritis swelling. And it helps lower both cholesterol and blood pressure.

Turmeric offers many of the same benefits as ginger. Additionally, according to Cleveland Clinic (among others), turmeric serves as a mood enhancer, helps reduce depression, and helps improve memory. Black pepper increases the bioavailability of curcumin, the active component in Turmeric.

Honey offers some of the same benefits as both ginger and turmeric. In addition, honey helps soothe a cough.

Orange juice is a good source of vitamin C, along with other vitamins and minerals. Oddly enough, apple juice offers many of the same benefits as ginger, turmeric, and honey, according to MedicineNet.

However, both types of juice are relatively high in sugar. So sometimes, especially after too much holiday enjoyment, I reduce calories by using stevia instead. Stevia contains practically no calories, and has several health benefits of its own.

As far as I’m concerned, though, all these benefits are merely added value. The awesome part is the quick boost you get from just a few swallows. And besides, energy shots just plain taste great.