I love ginger.
And no, I’m not pregnant. Every time I blog about something with ginger in it, the pregnancy rumors start a-flyin’!
For as much as I love ginger, I don’t think I’ve ever used ginger root! I gravitate toward ground ginger because it’s always available in the spice rack in our pantry. I’m not really a meal planner, so I cook on the fly and use whatever I have available and that has always been ground ginger.
Earlier this week, I bought ginger root because I wanted to incorporate it into a kale-based smoothie/juice. I still haven’t purchased a juicer but have been making green drinks based around Brittany’s green lemonade recipe. Since the pulp remains in the drink, it’s thicker and has more fiber than green juice and I love the way Brittany’s recipe can be adapted. I’ve added carrots, apples and oranges to her recipe and have loved every combination so far.
Today I added ginger to her original recipe and it was delicious and gone in no time at all!
Along with my green drink, I reheated leftovers from dinner from last night for lunch today.
In this bowl:
- Amberjack (Caught by my dad!) seasoned with Old Bay
- Zucchini sautéed in olive oil
- Mixed frozen vegetables (Carrots, corn, green beans)
A winning combination!
Question of the Afternoon
- Do you make green juice or green smoothies? What is your favorite combination?
When it comes to green juice, I love the addition of ginger, beets or carrots.
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I love juice with carrot, apple, celery and ginger root it is my all time favorite. The ginger gives it a nice kick and you get great immunity benefits from it (or so I’ve heard).
I looove green smoothies! I just add in a bunch of random frozen fruit and almond milk with spinach or kale, and I’m good to go. Ginger I’m not so much a fan of though… I wish I were when I was in my first trimester though because supposedly it helps a lot with nausea!
I do have a juicer but it tends to be a pain to use… a lot more difficult to clean than my blender. I use my blender a lot to make green juices… my favorite recipe is: peaches, mango, kale, spinach, mint, ice, some vanilla protein powder, and some greek yogurt… vanilla flavor or peach or mango! I use frozen fruit and fresh greens, but I’m sure you can do either one frozen or fresh… just might have to add more/less ice! 🙂
I’ve never used ginger before but always wanted to try it! It is such an interesting looking root!
Ginger, mint, coconut and mango with spinach or kale is a great one!!! Some crystalised ginger finely chopped on top and stirred through for a bit of chew!
Is never tried the whole juice thang but it sounds like I need to!
Mmm I do love ginger too. Such a lovely, spicy kick!
I’ve actually never made a green juice before, only green smoothies. Perhaps I’ve always just been afraid of a grassy taste, but after seeing so much love for them on blogs, I want to try!
Green smoothies! Love Blueberries, Spinach, peanut flour, chocolate protein powder and a bit of water!
I’m actually drinking one now! I’m doing a three day juice cleanse and the juice I’m drinking right now is: celery, ginger, kale, lemon, romaine lettuce, pineapple, parsley, and spinach. I get little hints of the pineapple which is really delicious!!!
I love ginger – I never knew it had anything to do with pregnancy, besides the whole helping nausea thing! Every time my husband and I go out for sushi, I order an extra side of ginger because I have to eat a piece after every bite of sushi, haha! 🙂
Gotta love ginger. I still use jarred ginger, but only because I don’t use it frequently enough to get more than one serving out of the root before it goes bad.
Today is my birthday and my hubby surprised me with a juicer! I’m so excited to get started:)
I love ginger. I keep it in a freezer bag in the freezer. It makes grating it so much easier, and obviously lasts forever. Use a fine mesh grater (I got mine at Ikea) – and it almost turns into a powder, or one that’s a bit larger for a thicker grate. I grate mine into curries, soups, stir fry, etc.
That is what I was going to suggest! I peel my ginger, and keep it in a plastic baggie in the freezer. Then just grate what I need right off the frozen piece. Or cut off a piece and steep it in boiling water for ginger “tea”.
Ive Never thought of using ginger in a smoothie. It sounds very interesting. My favorite green smoothie is using watermelon and banana and spinach with vanilla protein powder. It is so refreshing!
I used to hate ginger until I put it in a pasta dish a few weeks ago and voila! I LOVE it.
since you aren’t a meal planner and cook on the fly, could you talk about how you buy your groceries every week? Like how you buy general things that can be used without planning the whole week in advance or having to run back to the store?
I wish I had a lot of helpful tips to share, but Ryan and I usually just buy a lot of fruit and veggies and then varying kinds of protein and dairy and just hope it comes together. This means I’ll often have to go to the grocery in the middle of the week because I want something I didn’t think about buying earlier in the week. I have thought about trying to be more of a meal planner!
I have been receiving CSA organic produce boxes for the last month and have made some of the best juices of my life with this stuff. I made one with fennel, apple, carrots, cucumber, and lemon. Another one that was tasty was with beets, carrots, kale, and pear.
My favorite is kale/ spinach, pear, cinnamon, and almond milk! I also made an amazing one this weekend with mint, watermelon, strawberries, spinach/ kale, avocado, and almond milk. Yum! I love ginger flavor but I’ve never tried it in a smoothie (yet)!
Every morning, I juice 3 celery stalks, 1 lemon, 1 apple, 5 kale leaves, one-1inch slice of fresh ginger. Green, but still gingery and sweet! It’s my favorite go-to, wake me up green juice.
fyi…my FAVORITE breville juicier http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/1117274/?catalogId=47&bnrid=3120901&cm_ven=Google_PLA&cm_cat=Electrics&cm_pla=Juicers&cm_ite=Breville_Juice_Fountain_Compact_%7C_Williams-Sonoma&srccode=cii_17588969&cpncode=32-256612230-2
Everything is better in it’s fresh form — so much more flavor! 🙂
Looks like a great smoothie!
I love ginger in smoothies! There’s such a delicate balance with enough to taste it and too much that it drowns out the other flavors.
I love ginger too! I keep it in a freezer bag in the freezer and just cut off a piece when I need it and lasts so much longer.
I couldn’t help but laugh when I read the intro to this post, because as I type this, I’m eating a wrap with this delicious ginger dressing concoction I came up with last night and it is SO good! (Recipe to come up on the blog next Wednesday!) Like you, it took me a while to discover ginger root, since as a kid, I’d only really used the ground kind. I absolutely love the stuff though, and as is the case for many foods, fresh is SO much better! If you really want to get addicted, try the GinGins ginger chews by the Ginger People. They have chews and hard candies, and they’re great for travel if you get nauseous or if you have an upset stomach. They’re absolutely delicious (and addictive!)
Oh, and one more thing! I meant to give you a link to my favourite recovery smoothie – it’s got plenty of greenery in it, as well as ginger and some other superfoods to help decrease inflammation. I’ve had some great reader feedback on it, so I hope you enjoy it too! http://eat-spin-run-repeat.com/2013/05/13/my-favourite-post-workout-recovery-smoothie/
Both! After a workout I’m all about green smoothies, but I love to wake up with a green juice! 🙂
I haven’t made a green drink in a while though I want to get them back in my diet! To be honest I really need a new blender and maybe once it is in the budget I will make some better drinks! 🙂
I’m still trying to convince myself to like green juice. I think it’s much better freshly squeezed though!
We keep ginger root in the freezer in a ziplock bag! It keeps for a really long time. Sure, we get a little freezer burn on occasion, but I usually grate mine anyway, so it never changes the taste.
green smoothies! I love spinach, cinnamon, almond milk, frozen banana, chia seeds and either dark chocolate PB or avocado. The best tasting smoothie on earth!
I’ve been making the same green smoothie combo for a while now: apple, ginger, lemon, celery, kale, ice. This week I did switch it up by adding in cucumber and 1/2 avocado for a creamier consistency. Energizes me every time!
If you are a ginger fan, you need to try Angry Orchard- Apple Ginger beer. It’s AMAZING.
OMG I LOVE THAT BEER! 🙂 Good choice.
I third this statement! 🙂
Fresh ginger is my stir fry secret weapon! So much extra punch!
TIP: Keep the ginger in the freezer and mircoplane it over the stir fry at the end of cooking. yum!
I buy a lot of frozen veggies and put in microwave….but could I sautee instead and how? From frozen? Does that take a while and how much oil, etc? Thks.
Whoa! Must say, doesn’t get any healthier than this. Might have to try this, thanks.
I love green smoothies! I spend a lot of time convincing people that they really taste good. I would loooove to get a juicer but I know the good ones are out of my price range right now. Here is a link to one if my smoothie recipes! http://kristenione.com/2013/03/09/recipe-spinach-banana-almond-butter-smoothie/
My father-in-law got me hooked on green smoothies of kale, green apple, ginger, and water to get it all moving. So refreshing. I’ll add in some pineapple if I have it too. But fresh ginger is key! I keep it tightly wrapped up in the freezer and cut a small slice or two off for smoothies or meals.
I too started incorporating ginger into my green smoothies and I love the combination of apples + ginger. I feel like my body thanks me every time I drink up my favorite green smoothies!
Oh I didn’t even know ginger was supposed to mean someone is pregnant? Well, I mean obviously not hence your first statement but still – didn’t know that haha. Good to know! I love ginger too 🙂 It’s so good for you and it provides a great kick of flavor!
I also LOVE ginger! I make a juice in my juicer everyday and I add about 1/2 to 1 inch of ginger root to each juice I make; whether the recipe calls for it or not. I’ve found that it keeps my stomach from getting upset when I make a citrus-fruit based juice. I’m also a huge fan of Chimes ginger chews! Delish! 🙂 I have a great Ginger Vegetable Dip recipe for you that was my great grandmother’s recipe and its always a huge hit. My family makes it for holidays and football games. It sounds a bit gross when you read the ingredients (and everyone always questions me when they ask for the recipe – like I’m giving them the wrong recipe), but trust me when I say it’s really really good!
Ginger Vegetable Dip
2 cups mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip)
1 tbs plus 1 tsp green onion, diced
2 tsp powdered ginger
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbs plus 2 tsp soy sauce
Let stand overnight. Serve with an array of fresh vegetables. Enjoy!
LOVE fresh ginger! It’s great in soups and stir-fries. A couple tricks I’ve learned about it — 1) You can easily peel it without wasting a ton by scraping it with the back of the spoon. 2) It stores well in the freezer if you can’t use all of it at once.
And, you’ve just reminded me that I need to make a green lemonade smoothie again soon! Thanks for the link love lady! 🙂
I love ginger in my juice! For some reason, carrot juice gives me a killer headache.
Still don’t have a juicer either, so i make green smoothies! Still good! Plus i enjoy the creaminess
I love green smoothies!
I add lots of spinach, almond milk, apple or orange juice, a banana, strawberries, a handful of frozen fruit (usually from a mixed bag), and some greek yogurt.
I know you like curry, add fresh grated ginger to your curry dishes, it will definitely take them up a notch!
I can’t believe you don’t plan your meals. You are seriously a culinary genius!!!
I’ve never had green juice because, honestly, I’m afraid to try them. Why is it people think you’re pregnant when ginger is mentioned? Gosh, if eating ginger means you’re pregnant… I’d be screwed with how much sushi I eat every week!
I actually hate ginger now because I was pregnant! I tried to eat it when I was so sick and still don’t like the thought of it
OLD BAY IS THE BEST!
Ginger intimidates me! I wish I could find more ways to use it when I cook, but it’s powerfulness (is that even a word?! lol) scares me out of experimenting with it. Have you ever used crystalized ginger?! It keeps in the pantry nicely just like the ground ginger.
Pretty much all of my smoothies incorporate greens – my fav is spinach, but I also use kale a lot.