Homemade Ginger Ale

Boy, I am bummed. Ever since I gave up HFCS, I miss soda. There is a certain craving that I get in the afternoon. I will start to feel like I need a little lift but I don't want to eat anything and only soda will do. My kids never even really got to drink soda, and even they miss it! What's a girl to do?

I recently found a great entry at a lovely gourmet blog called Spectacularly Delicious for a Homemade Ginger Ale. For all those who are limiting their refined sugar intake I altered the recipe slightly. But now I have a raving three-year old fan, and I kinda think that counts for something!

I took:
one cup of local honey
one cup of water and
one cup chopped ginger (I have never seen a local ginger, but I have to assume that's because my Northeastern climate isn't appropriate. I got mine at Whole Foods, not positive that it was organic, but I hardly think that matters considering that this is a post about homemade soda.)

I boiled everything together to get the honey dissolved. Since I am a lazy mama, I did not peel the ginger as the original recipe calls to do. And also since the intended audience was a three year little boy, I didn't let the syrup sit over night, I didn't want the syrup to be too spicy. I boiled everything together for only 3 or 4 minutes and let it cool and then chill in the fridge for about six hours. I mixed the syrup with a conventional seltzer to taste and made a "soda" that he was really happy with, without ever knowing the difference! Try it, it makes a great stand in for soda and my version has no refined sugar. (Please note that honey is not vastly different than sugar, I covered this in a previous post. Too much honey or sugar is not good for you, at least here I have control) I also like the fact that the flavors here are real, and the seltzer has smaller bubbles than normal ginger ale which I found refreshing. I also like that I can mix in as little syrup as I want to really control the flavors.Plus, drop in a shot of vodka and you'll have a nice cocktail. Mommy needs a cocktail.