Apple cider vinegar(ACV) has so many health benefits – it can help you lose weight, improve your blood sugar, lower your cholesterol, and more. But how do you get more of it into your diet? Proponents of using ACV as a health tonic recommend just drinking it, but that can be bad for your teeth, plus it doesn’t taste that great.
Fortunately, there are plenty of easy and tasty ways to incorporate apple cider vinegar into your diet. You can make salad dressings with it, put it in your tea, add it to your breakfast smoothies, and more. Here are some clever ways to sneak more apple cider vinegar into your diet.
Make Salad Dressings with It
Are you worried about the spate of recent produce recalls? Lots of ACV fans claim that adding the vinegar to your salad can help disinfect your lettuce leaves. Whether or not that’s true, mixing up a vinaigrette salad dressing is an easy and delicious way to get more apple cider vinegar in your diet. Apple cider vinaigrette dressing brings the taste of the orchard to your salad, as well as essential minerals like potassium, iron, magnesium, and calcium, and vitamins B, E, C, and A.
Add It to Hot Drinks
Mask the flavor of your apple cider vinegar shot by adding it to a cup of hot tea. Mix in cardamom, cinnamon, and honey to further enhance the robust, apple-y flavor ACV brings to your drink.
Not a big tea drinker? Brew up a detox toddy with:
- 1 cup of boiling water
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ tablespoon honey
- ½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- The juice of one lemon
Would you prefer a refreshing cold drink instead? No problem. Add one or two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to your morning glass of juice or afternoon tumbler of iced tea.
Put It in Your Breakfast
There are a few different ways to add apple cider vinegar to your breakfast. You can add a tablespoon to your egg-poaching water, or mix it with yogurt, oats, and fruit. A tablespoon or two of apple cider vinegar in your morning fruit smoothie will add a zesty tang, as well as fighting inflammation and improving digestion for the day. Try adding ACV to sweet yogurts and smoothies to better mask the taste.
Take an ACV Supplement
If you don’t cook much, or you just want the ease and convenience of taking your apple cider vinegar in supplement form, try adding apple cider vinegar gummies to your regular supplement routine. Apple cider vinegar gummies offer all of the health benefits of liquid apple cider vinegar. They can improve your digestion, maintain good cholesterol levels, help you manage your weight, reduce your appetite, and more.
Add It to Sauces, Marinades, and Condiments
There’s practically no end to the sauces, marinades, and condiments you can make with apple cider vinegar. Make your own homemade ketchup with apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, tomato paste, salt, onion powder, and oregano. The acid content of apple cider vinegar makes it a great ingredient for marinades, since it can help tenderize meat and keep meat moist as it cooks. Try this recipe for roast chicken with vegetables. Mix ACV with honey, lime juice, soy sauce, and grated ginger to make a citrus sauce for marinades and dressings. Apple cider vinegar is a key ingredient in tahini dressing, miso dressing, and many barbecue sauces. You can also use it as a base for vegetable soy broth, or to braise vegetables, like red cabbage, with garlic, thyme, cinnamon, agave syrup, and vegetable stock.
The easiest way to get more apple cider vinegar in your diet is to drink shots of it diluted with water — but that can give you a stomach ache and eat away at your tooth enamel, not to mention it doesn’t taste very good. The best way to do it is to take it as a safe gummy supplement, or add it to recipes or drinks. You’ll be surprised at how much better your meals are with a little apple cider vinegar kick to take them to the next level.