Anti-Inflammatory Ginger & Turmeric Syrup
This post was created in partnership with The Body Shop Portugal.
Hey guys! It's Rita here. Before anything else, I'd like to say we hope the year of 2018 is treating you all kindly. We're flooded with work as usual, working on a very exciting project we can't yet talk to you about. As freelancers, it's inevitable that we go through phases where there is little to no work to do and no clients coming up – which has us questioning whether we'll make it in life – or way too many projects on our hands and hardly any time to catch our breaths. Those are André's favourites – he's usually at his best when he's under pressure. I, on the other hand, have the tendency to crack. When under pressure, I get easily overwhelmed and start wondering about how great it would be to take a sabatical year, move to a deserted tropical island and live off fresh coconuts. Not bad at all, huh? Maybe we'll do it sometime, but for all the right reasons.
We were deep in one of those high stress phases when {The Body Shop} reached out to us, with a partnership proposal that sounded pretty interesting, right from the get-go. There's no way we can fit a new project in our calendar, was what we thought at first. But after reading their e-mail over and over, we realised that this was an opportunity we could not say no to. After moving a couple of things around in our agenda, here we are. We're inspired by a lot of things when it comes to creating new recipes, like travels, hip restaurants and family moments. But we're not at all used to turn our attention to the world of cosmetics when we're looking for fresh ideas. It's actually a pretty fun mental workout, and it was worth a couple of hours of heated brainstorm. And we must say, {The Body Shop} is surely and steadily working towards achieving our own goal of creating a more conscious, compassionate world. For all of the reasons mentioned above, we took their deal.
So, the first thing we noticed about the Firming Shaping Serum (from their skincare line Roots of Strength) was the deliciously fresh smell. This serum is said to hidrate and tone the skin thanks to it's three star ingredients: ginger, ginseng and ruscus. This is exactly what we're into: strengthening ingredients whose properties are as beneficial when applied topically as when included in healthy recipes. Since ginseng and ruscus are not the easiest things to come across to when shopping for groceries, we decided to focus solely on ginger and create a recipe that would truly showcase it's flavour and benefits. We paired it with another noteworthy root – fresh turmeric. These two rhizomes act as powerful natural anti-inflammatory agents. In certain situations, a syrup such as this one is as effective as ibuprofen! We added the lemon juice for a hit of vitamin C and black pepper to enhance the benefits of turmeric. Black peppers contains the molecule piperine, which enhances the bioavailability of curcumin – an important compound of turmeric – and maximizes its absortion in our system.
This syrup is a great way to help fight off any inflammation. It's particularly helpful if you're hoping to stay away from the common cold and flu during the winter. Keep it in the fridge, freeze it in icecube trays and add to smoothies, drink it by the spoonful and add it to your teas and lattes. And of course, let us know what you think of it! :)
GINGER & TURMERIC SYRUP
10 minutes | makes 2 cups / 500 ml.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup | 140 gr. fresh ginger, washed and roughly chopped
1/2 cup | 70 gr. fresh turmeric, washed and roughly chopped (sub for 1 heaped tbsp of turmeric powder)
1/2 cup | 125 ml. lemon juice
1 cup | 250 ml. rice malt syrup
1 tsp cracked black pepper
STEP BY STEP
Start by gathering, preparing and measuring all of the ingredients. This will improve your dynamic in the kitchen.
Combine the ginger, turmeric and lemon juice in a high speed blender and blend for a couple of minutes, until you get a smooth paste. You may need to stop and scrape the sides of the jug a couple of times during this process.
Place a clean cheesecloth of fine mesh sieve over a bowl and transfer the paste to the bowl.
Hold the cheesecloth tightly and squeeze the paste with your hands to extract all of the juice. This might take a few minutes, do it gently and patiently. Discard the remaining fiber.
Add in the rice malt syrup and black pepper and mix with a whisk or fork until combined.
Transfer the syrup into an airtight jar and store in the fridge up to 2 weeks.
This syrup can be included in milks, lattes, teas, juices, smoothies, yogurts, chia puddings, oatmeal... You name it! If it's to be consumed on its own, we recommend starting out with smaller doses, from 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon and finally working your way into drinking a full shot.
NOTE: Fresh turmeric may stain the plastics of kitchen utensils, tupperwares and blender jugs. To remove these stains, mix baking soda and water in equal parts and rub the paste in all the stained surfaces. Allow to dry for 15 to 20 minutes and wash as usual. If the stains persist, place the stained utensils under direct sunlight for a couple of hours. I still don't get this magic, but I can attest to it!
WE HOPE YOU ENJOY!
We'd love to hear how your creations turn out. Let us know if you give any of our recipes a go and tag your photos with #cocooncooksblog on Instagram so we can see them! xo
