How to Make Tummy Tamer Candy with Ginger

An upset tummy is torture to a child. When they can't keep anything down it is even worse. A natural remedy for upset stomach is ginger, but getting spicy ginger into the body of an ill child can be a challenge. Enter Tummy Tamer Candy. Children love candy and rarely pass up the opportunity to make Mom and Dad happy by keeping some in their mouth. This recipe not only incorporates the beneficial properties of ginger but chamomile as well to soothe your child and send him on the road to recovery.

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1-1/4 cups brewed Sweet Dreams tea (or regular chamomile tea)
1 Tbsp. powdered ginger

Mix all of the ingredients in a heavy pot over medium heat and allow to boil until you reach the soft-crack phase. Stir constantly while boiling to keep from sticking. To determine soft crack phase, put a spoonful in a cup of cold water-soft crack strands will hold together while still being somewhat soft. If you overcook do not worry-it will still turn out but just be a bit harder to work with.

When it is ready pour it onto a well-buttered baking sheet. Any type of flexible metal pan will do, I personally use an aluminum pizza pan. Spread the mixture into a thin layer and let cool until it hardens.

After it hardens break it up into pieces and ask your child to suck on as many pieces of the candy as they wish.

Tips:

Any type of beneficial tea will work. I have used echinacea tea in this recipe as well.

You may have to adjust the ginger level up or down depending upon your child's tolerance for spicy flavors.

The ginger used in this recipe is standard ginger found in the spice section of the grocery store. You can grind fresh ginger to make this or make a ginger tea and eliminate the powdered spice but in my experience fresh ginger is too tangy for a young child and they refuse the candy.

When brewing the tea, give it a longer than normal steep time or use two tea bags to give it a rich concentration of beneficial herbs. You may even want to try two different types of tea bags at once like a bag of echinacea and a bag of chamomile brewing in the hot water simultaneously.

Warnings:

Verify that your child does not have an allergy to chamomile (or whatever ingredient you choose for the tea) before adding to the recipe. If the child does have an allergy substitute water.

Note:

This recipe is an original creation. It was created out of desperation one weekend several years ago when my daughter was unable to hold anything down including standard anti-nausea formulas. I asked her to keep a piece of the candy in her mouth and slowly her stomach calmed. Being a preschooler she was delighted to do such a pleasant "favor" for mommy! Since then I keep a batch on hand for whenever any of us has an upset stomach, and my daughter gave it the name so she could request it if we ran out.