A Delicious Remedy

Queasiness, nausea and general stomach sickness are an unfortunate symptom of pregnancy.  And even if you're not actually puking on the regular, it's no fun to be perpetually nauseous.  In comes GINGER!  Ginger is a natural cure for nausea.  I'm sure you spent a few childhood days home from school sipping flat ginger ale and snacking on saltines at the direction of your mother.  There was some scientific reasoning behind her advice.

Three ways ginger settles your stomach and reduces nausea:

1. Dilates your blood vessels.  This makes you feel warm, reduces inflammation (it can be used as an anti-inflammatory) and alleviates headaches.
2. It increases the production of saliva and digestion enzymes, which helps remove irritants from entire digestive tract (stomach through bowels), speeds up the digestive process and eases nausea.
3. It is a serotonin blocker, which also reduces nausea. 

This is what ginger looks like.  It's a root.  And it's a little fugly.

via Great Way Weekly

Here are a few delicious foods and drinks to give you a quick dose of ginger:

• Ginger ale or ginger beer - make sure the ingredients actually include ginger and not just artificial flavoring.  If you've never heard of ginger beer it's a more potent flavored soda with a more potent kick of ginger, it also tends to be sweeter.
• Ginger tea - Make your favorite tea and let a few slices of raw ginger steep in the water while it cools enough to drink.  Or, make some ginger tea from scratch: 5 slices of raw ginger, boiling water, splash of lime juice, squeeze of honey.
• Candied ginger (aka crystallized ginger) - Most grocery stores carry this (see below for an Etsy vendor that does!), probably near the dried fruit.  It's just what it sounds like: ginger and sugar in tiny chewable pieces.  The consistency reminds me of dried pineapple and taste is sweet and spicy.
• Ginger snaps - Cookies!  Buy them or make them, just remember to look on the package if you're buying because not all ginger cookies are actually made from ginger.  Shameful.  I found a recipe on Epicurious.com for Double Ginger cookies, which are made with both ground ginger and crystallized ginger.

Etsy vendor Harmless Color makes crystallized ginger (below).  These delicious morsels can be eaten as is or added to muffins or scones for a tangy (nausea reducing) kick.  Sarah, the incredibly cool woman behind Harmless Color, donates a portion of all of her sales to NGO Living Water International.

by Harmless Color

by Harmless Color


Above - 2 ounces of
crystallized ginger

Left - 4 oz. package of
crystallized ginger

This 100% natural ginger lollipop is made by Sweet Lollipop Shop and comes in packs of eight.  The photo alone has me craving a lollipop.