March 13th is National Ginger Ale Day.

We’ve been drinking ginger ale since early childhood—Mom gave it to us not as much as a soft drink, but as a palliative for stomach aches.

It still works!

In fact, ginger tea has been brewed for centuries, if not millennia, to aid with everything from indigestion to arthritis (it’s an anti-inflammatory).

Just steep slices of fresh ginger root in hot water. Here’s more from Web MD.

But back to ginger ale:

Fortunately for those of us who reserve our sugar calories for dessert, ginger ale manufacturers make no sugar added* versions in addition to the classic sugar-sweetened (or in the case of the three largest brands, high fructose corn syrup-sweetened†).
 
 
REED’S GINGER ALE AMPS UP THE SPICE

We like our ginger ale to sizzle with spicy ginger flavor.

The top national brands (Canada Dry, Schweppes, Seagrams) are too subtle in flavor for us. They use “flavoring” instead of fresh ginger, and there’s not enough spice.

That’s why we like Reed’s ginger ale: real ginger, more spice.

Before ginger ale there was ginger beer; and before the days of commercial sodas, Reed’s tells us, ginger beers were made at home with a large amount of ginger.

The company searched for a traditional homemade recipe, and found a Jamaican formula that uses all-natural ingredients that you might have in your own fridge: fresh ginger root, sparkling water, pineapple juice, lemon juice, lime juice, honey, cane sugar and spices.

If you want to test your palate, here’s how Reed’s describes the flavor:

 
Reed’s has no caffeine, gluten, GMOs or preservatives.

Reed’s Original Real Ginger Ale is sweetened with cane sugar.

Reed’s Real Ginger Ale Zero Sugar is sweetened with erythritol, reb A (stevia leaf extract), and monk fruit extract.
 
 
REED’S GINGER BEER

There’s no National Ginger Beer Day, but we would be remiss not to mention Reed’s Ginger Beer (it’s a non-alcoholic ginger beer).

Truth be told, we love ginger beer even more than ginger ale.

It has that much more power and punch: Yowza!

Reed’s brews it in three strengths, too: Original, Extra (two times the ginger of Original) and Strongest (three times the ginger).

Think of them as Spicy, Spicier and Spiciest.

The Strongest can take your breath away. We love it.

Reed’s Ginger Beer is what you want for your Moscow Mule.

Speaking of which, there are cocktail and mocktail recipes on Reed’s website.
 
 
> GINGER ALE HISTORY

> GINGER ROOT HISTORY

> HOMEMADE GINGER ALE RECIPE

[1] Add some sparkle with Reed’s ginger ales, regular and zero sugar (photos #1, #2 and #3 © Reed’s).

[2] Regular and Zero Sugar ginger ales are equally refreshing.

[3] Want something stronger? Reed’s ginger beer is made in three strengths of spiciness.

[4] Fresh ginger root (photo © Jan Schone | Stock Xchange).

 
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*No Sugar Added (also called Unsweetened) and Sugar Free are different terms. No Sugar Added means just that: the manufacturer has added no sugar or other caloric sweetener to the product. However, some ingredients contain naturally-occurring sugar—think of fruit and milk products, which have naturally-occurring sugars: fructose and lactose, respectively. These cannot be called Sugar Free.

Sugar Free (also called Zero Sugar and Sugarless) means that a product contains less than 0.5 g of sugar and less than five calories per serving.

†High fructose corn syrup, abbreviated HFCS, is a sweeter form of corn syrup made from corn starch. The process was developed in the 1970s and introduced widely into American processed foods in the 1980s. It’s 20% cheaper and easier to transport than sugar. HFCS is used by manufacturers as a substitute for ordinary sugar (sucrose) in soft drinks and other consumer goods—yogurt, frozen foods and foods where you don’t expect to find sweeteners, such as bread, pasta sauce and soup.

HFCS in beverages seems to have the effect of stimulating the appetite. This, coupled with the pure caloric content of beverages sweetened with HFCS, and the preference of children and adults for soft drinks over nutritious beverages (milk, juice), is thought to be a cause of increased levels of obesity in America.

Check out the different types of sugar.

Here are the different types of noncaloric sweeteners.

[1] Torching an avocado at Crown Shy restaurant in New York City (photo © Crown Shy).

[2] Charred avocado salad. Here’s the recipe from Food & Wine (photo © Victor Protasio | Food & Wine).

[3] Just peel and torch! (photo © Love One Today).

We have enjoyed many a grilled avocado.

But what if you don’t have a grill, or if your backyard grill won’t be out until later in the season?

Solution:

Have a kitchen torch?

Then you can easily make torched—also called bruléed and charred—avocados.

In its simplest form, you can:

 
 
CHARRED AVOCADO RECIPE IDEAS

Many of the recipes in which you use avocado can substitute a torched avocado for a bit of charred, smokey flavor.

This avocado burger recipe tastes even better when the avocado is charred.

More ideas for torched avocados:

 
You can even used charred avocados to make guacamole.
 
 
GET OUT YOUR TORCH!

Torching is easy.

But if you’d like a video showing the process, here it is.
 
 
> AVOCADO HISTORY

What could be better than ice cream and Bailey’s Irish Cream?

An adult milkshake that combines both.

We enjoy this shake for dessert. You can turn it into an ice cream sundae by pouring the Baileys over a dish of ice cream and then topping it with chocolate sauce.

Want something beyond dessert?

Here are 45 St. Patrick’s-themed recipes including breakfast, lunch, dinner, desserts, cocktails and snacks.
 
 
RECIPE: ST. PATRICK’S DAY MILKSHAKE

Ingredients Per Shake

 
Garnishes

 
Preparation

1. BLEND together the milk, Baileys and ice cream until you reach a consistency you like. Add more ice cream for a thicker shake.

2. SWIRL some chocolate sauce around the inside of a sundae dish or shake glass (or substitute what you have).

3. POUR the shake into the glass. Garnish with whipped cream, mixed nuts, mint, mini meringues, anything green and tasty you can find.
 
 
> THE HISTORY OF MILKSHAKES

> THE HISTORY OF ICE CREAM

[1] Sweet treat: a St. Patrick’s Day shake for grown-ups (photo © Baileys).

[2] The St. Patrick’s Day sprinklefetti mix from Sweets Indeed. Find it on Amazon (photo © Sweets Indeed).

*If you don’t like mint, you can substitute another flavor; but the shake won’t be green. If you substitute vanilla ice cream, you can soften it and mix with green food color; then refreeze to harden before scooping. Or, you can color the milk green for a lighter green color.