Baby has a runny nose. “Go get my ginger bug.”
My stomach hurts. “Go get my ginger bug.”
It’s shark week. I feel awful. “Go get my ginger bug.”
Wow! My wrist is killing me! “Go get my ginger bug.”
My whole body hurts. “Go get my ginger bug.”
I hate drinking water. “Go get my ginger bug.”
I feel like I’m catching a cold. “Go get my ginger bug.”
Oh, well, I don’t like ginger that much. “Go get my ginger bug.”
I’m worried about my cholesterol. “Go get my ginger bug.”
The doctor put me on more high blood pressure medication. “Go get my ginger bug.”
I feel like my brain is foggy. “Go get my ginger bug.”
That tastes like beer; I hate it. “Oh stop it and just go get my ginger bug!”
Shark week? That is hilarious! Back in the day, we used to refer to our monthly visitor as Aunt Flo being in town again. My girls, yes, they are the most dramatic people I know, and I love them for it. It keeps me in touch with their feelings so I can be supportive and empathetic. WHAT? HAHA! Not really, but surely it keeps me laughing!
Ginger has so many healing, medicinal qualities that are listed all over the internet and there is truth to all of them. While I won’t again list all those things here; I want to tell you how we use my ginger bug in this house and what the experience has been.
What the heck is a ginger bug anyway?
How do I make my ginger bug?
I would take you to Cultures for Health for those answers. No need to rewrite it all here. It is a good starting place.
I do maintain my bug with 12-hour feedings (2 tbsp. chopped ginger and 2 tbsp. cane sugar) when I want to use it and then if I don’t need it, I put it in the fridge to slow down the ferment and give myself a feeding break. Don’t I have enough people to feed on a regular basis? Now I have to feed a jar too? Ha-ha. It isn’t that big of a deal. You don’t need to write down a feeding schedule and be diligent; you will be able to tell when it is hungry and when it is full by its bubbly activity…kind of like a five-year-old boy. Inactive? Feed it. Bubbling? It won’t be grumpily begging you for food. See that?
Isn’t that a waste of expensive ginger root? 
We don’t have all that much money for groceries per week, so I thought ginger would not be something I could afford. Well, it is about $3.50 a lb. and a pound lasts a long time when you only use 2 tbsp. at a time. No worries. You can afford it.
As for waste, I thought about it too, but when my bug fizzled out a bit, I took the old ginger that has been fermenting for a month or two in the bug and dehydrated it. Consequently, when I want to have ginger powder for a recipe or drink, I can throw the dried ginger in the blender and have my own fermented ginger powder. Be sure not to dry it above 110 degrees, so you don’t kill all the beneficial bacteria that has been growing in it through the fermentation process, after all, that was a lot of work feeding that puppy. Truthfully, I have not thrown away any ginger root.
So, what do you do with your ginger bug?
There are a few tricks I use in this house to get these people on the ginger bandwagon. For colds and fevers, I used to get all crazed and run to the grocery store buying up every jug of juice and bottle of children’s Tylenol they had. “I have to wash that cold out with juice!” Hey, crazy woman, get some ginger. So, yeah, I got my ginger bug on.
I learned from the traditional cooking school I joined that having a ginger bug around is helpful for making all kinds of drinks. I have made ginger ale, raspberry ginger ale, and strawberry ginger ale. These can get a little hoochy if they sit out a while so if you don’t want the two-year-old buzzing, half and half it with water. Last night she had a bit of a cough, so I gave her some fermented raspberry ginger ale and added a bit of cane sugar, and she drank it up. No more crazy juice runs for this house. It really works. If you can make it palatable for the children, you can control the sugar they get and medicate them with food. I LOVE IT!
My dad, who is 84 and has lived with us for over 13 years, never gets sick so if he says he has a queasy stomach or diarrhea, I RUN to the ginger ale, pour him a glass straight, RUN back to him and tell him to drink it. Works like magic for him. Because of that “magic,” I’ve only had to use it once in fact and really, he is a healthy guy and doesn’t balk at my “yucky rotting ferments.” Ha-ha. Ok, so he did verbalize an objection to my water kefir, “I would only drink this because it is good for me,” but you can’t win ‘em all, right?
We also have non-water drinkers of which I am one. A bottle of water now and then is ok but to drink it all day is boring, and frankly, I don’t do it.
I don’t want to drink ginger ale all day, either, but I have found a way to add some of the bug to a LOT of water with some homemade apple cider vinegar and a flavor of my choice to make a nice and healthy water drink. I have felt the benefits of hydration, anti-inflammatory effects, and good digestion. Drinking it all day like this there is no problem with too much ginger or ACV taste as it can become overwhelmingly strong. It is a perfect drink for me. I also fill the sippy cup with this and baby girl drinks that throughout the day. My six-year-old also drinks it when her kombucha limit has been reached for the day.
It can be added to a warm tea, warm water and honey for sore throats and stomach aches or recipes that call for ginger. There are many probiotic drinks that can be improved by adding a shot of ginger bug. I have also taken the fermented ginger pieces out of the bug and put them in cranberry sauce, and homemade goat cheese spread at holiday time. The sky is the limit. So, if you remember not to heat it too much, you will be in great shape and feel the healing effects of your ginger bug.
The inflammation from my carpal tunnel has gone down significantly. I have much more energy now that the brain fog and lethargy have cleared up which I think has a lot to do with feeling bloated and draggy from eating without proper hydration. Everything works together. When you have more energy, your gut doesn’t constantly bother you, you actually feel like getting up and doing something, and the day is a better one not just for you but for everyone around you.
Get your ginger bug on!