HOMEMADE SIMPLE SYRUP

Aug 30

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The Specific Carbohydrate Diet allows only honey as a natural sweetener since it consists of monosaccharides, meaning single sugar molecules. Single sugar molecules do not need to be broken down by enzymes in order to be absorbed into the bloodstream and thus they don’t linger inside the intestines feeding present chronic inflammation. Once you remove the complex carbohydrates from your diet, the supply for chronic inflammation inside the gut is cut off and bad bacteria, parasites, and yeast cannot flourish anymore. Over time, the inflammation diminishes and eventually disappears, meaning the intestines are healing. This method will cause some unpleasant symptoms described as Herxheimer reactions, or die-off reactions, and is part of the healing process.

So once you enter fully into the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, you will encounter sweetening with honey, dates, and fruit only. Unfortunately, honey as a sweetener has one disadvantage - it does not dissolve very well in cold liquids. For lemonade or cocktails, you run into the problem that the honey sits at the bottom and the rest of the mix does not taste sweet at all. This is easily resolved by making simple syrup. The honey is added to water and then slowly heated until it dissolves completely. Once incorporated, the syrup lasts for up to one month in the fridge. We love using it to sweeten lemonade, iced tea, or cocktails, but it also works great in salad dressings, marinades, homemade ice cream, and hot beverages.

Picking the right honey can make a big difference in the taste of this natural sweetener. A darker honey comes with a stronger “honey” taste. If you only want the sweetness but not the honey taste, I recommend picking a lighter colored honey like acacia honey, black locust honey, or clover honey.

You can use the syrup for my perfectly sweet and sour lemon sorbet or homemade margaritas. Also not on the blog yet but one of our summer favorites, homemade lemonade. Simply mix lemon juice with sparkling water or filtered water, honey syrup, and add some ice. This homemade refreshing and, most of all, healthy beverage has been our summer staple - make sure to give it a try!

MAKES ABOUT 2 CUPS
INGREDIENTS
1 cup honey
1 cup filtered water

INSTRUCTIONS
Add the honey and water to a small saucepan and heat slowly at medium heat until all of the honey is entirely incorporated. Let cool completely.
Keep refrigerated.

You can use this simple syrup to sweeten cold or hot beverages, cocktails, marinades, or salad dressings.

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