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10 Simple Apple Cider Vinegar Recipes to Boost Your Health

The hottest food trends of 2017 are packed with inflammation-fighting, immunity-boosting foods and drinks, and apple cider vinegar happens to be one of the top contenders on that list for many reasons.

Apple cider vinegar has been used for preserving food and curing many types of ailments for centuries. The process of fermenting apples into vinegar has been done for at least seven thousand years.

Hippocrates, the father of medicine, would advise his patients to take a blend of apple cider vinegar and honey to treat illnesses and for overall wellness.

Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar has many powerful health benefits including:

• Helps you burn more fat
• Improves gut health
• Aids in detoxification
• Supports the digestive system
• Helps with satiety which enhances weight loss
• Lowers your blood sugar levels and helps fight diabetes
• Lowers cholesterol and reduces the risk of heart disease
• Kills harmful bacteria and viruses
• Increases and speeds up the metabolism
• Treats acid reflux
• And reduces sugar cravings

Chances are, you have a bottle of apple cider vinegar sitting in your food pantry as of this moment. If so, is it pasteurized or unpasteurized? Filtered or unfiltered? Organic?

If not, you may want to consider doing some research and investing in a new bottle of apple cider vinegar.

When buying apple cider vinegar be sure to look for a brand that is certified organic, unpasteurized, raw, and unfiltered vinegar. Why? Because it contains ‘the Mother’. The Mother label included in specific bottles of apple cider vinegar are products with strands of enzymes, proteins and good bacteria.

The murkier it looks, the better it is because this shows it hasn’t been filtered or processed as much.

Here are some delicious popular apple cider vinegar recipes you should try.

10 Simple Apple Cider Vinegar Recipes to Boost Your Health

1. The Classic Apple Cider Detox Drink

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of water
• 4 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• Honey to taste

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a glass and mix.

2. Apple Cabbage Salad with Brown Sugar Cider Vinaigrette

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

• 4 cups thinly sliced red cabbage (shredded)
• ½ head of lettuce, torn into strips (or bought already prepared)
• 3 small apples (diced)
• 2 carrots, peeled and shredded (or bought already prepared)
• ¾ cup thinly sliced scallions
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or almond oil
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar 
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 6 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• Pinch of fine sea salt
• ½ tbsp. black pepper
• ½ cup pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds, toasted

Directions:

1. Combine the cabbage, lettuce, apples, carrots, and scallions in a large bowl and mix well.
2. In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the mayonnaise and oil briskly until it becomes very smooth. Add the sugar and mustard and continue whisking. Whisk in the vinegar, salt, and pepper until it emulsifies into one dressing and pour the vinaigrette over the salad.
3. Add the pumpkin or sunflower seeds and toss again to combine. Serve immediately.

3. Slow Cooker Three-Bean Vegetarian Chili

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 2 cups organic vegetable broth
• 6 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 ½ cups chopped onion
• 3 teaspoons chili powder
• 3 teaspoons ground cumin
• 3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added corn, drained
• 2 (15-ounce) cans no-salt-added black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
• 1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added kidney beans, rinsed and drained

Directions:

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a 6-quart electric slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
2. Ladle into bowls and top with a dash of apple cider vinegar, jalapenos, sour cream, shredded cheese, or crackers. (Oyster crackers are great with this recipe).

3. Tangy Slow-Cooker Beans

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

• 2 cups navy beans – soaked overnight and drained
• 4 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 ½ cups of apple cider
• 2 small onions, diced
• 1/3 cup of tomato paste
• 4 tbsp. molasses
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Add the drained beans to the slow cooker.
2. Stir in the remaining ingredients.
3. Cook on low for 8 hours stirring occasionally.

4. German Potato Salad

Serves 3 to 4

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. red potatoes, diced
• 6 slices bacon
• 1 onion, diced
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons of minced chives

Directions:

1. Place the potatoes in a pot and cover with water.
2. Bring to a boil and cook until easily pierced with a fork.
3. Drain and set aside to cool.
4. Place the bacon in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat and cook until it is brown and crispy. Take the bacon out of the pan to cool.
5. Add onion to the pan with the bacon grease and cook over medium heat until browned.
6. Add the vinegar, sugar, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper to the pan.
7. Heat through, then add potatoes. Crumble half the bacon into the mix. Top with chives. Serve warm.

5. Kale Salad

Serves 6 to 8

• Ingredients:
  1 bunch of kale, rinsed and ribs taken out, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 ripe red apple, julienned
• 2 medium carrots, julienned
• 1/4 bunch flat-leaf Italian parsley, finely chopped 
• 1 cup pomegranate seeds, plus more to top
• 1 small head red cabbage, shredded 
• 5 green onions, thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
• Kosher salt to taste
• Black pepper to taste

For the dressing:

• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 2 heaping teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoon honey
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Combine all of the salad ingredients in a very large serving bowl.
2. Whisk the tahini, mustard, vinegar, honey, and salt until smooth and creamy. Add water if necessary – one teaspoon at a time.
3. Pour over the salad and toss.
4. Sprinkle the seeds on top and serve.

6. Refreshing Cranberry Juice Drink

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• ½ cup cranberry juice
• 1 cup water
• ¼ cup orange juice

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a glass. Add a splash lime juice for more tang.

7. Cucumber, Apple, Kale Smoothie

Serves 3

Ingredients:

• 1 large English cucumber
• 2 medium red apples, peeled, cored and sliced
• 2 large leaves of kale
• 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
• Splash of lime juice

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a blender, add some ice, and blend until smooth.

8. Blueberry Smoothie

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 banana
• 1 cup coconut milk or almond milk
• ½ tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend. Add extra almond milk or ice if it’s too thick and you would like it smoother.

9. Sea Salt & Vinegar Kale Chips

Serves 1 to 2

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch kale
• 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine the kale leaves, vinegar, oil and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a large bowl.
3. Using your hands, toss and massage the kale for 1-2 minutes until it is soft and completely coated with the oil and apple cider vinegar mixture
4. Spread the kale out in a single layer on a parchment-covered baking sheet.
5. Sprinkle with the remaining salt.
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the kale is crunchy.

10. Kale, Pomegranate and Quinoa Salad

Serves 1 to 2

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch kale, stems removed, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup of pomegranate
• 1 cup cooked quinoa

Dressing:

• 4 tbsp. coconut oil, melted
• 3 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 3 tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 4 tsp honey

Directions:

• In a large serving bowl mix the salad ingredients together.
• In a glass jar or small bowl whisk ingredients for the dressing.
• Pour the dressing over the salad and gently mix until the ingredients are combined.

Apple Cider Vinegar as a Marinade or Meat Tenderizer

Here’s a little secret about apple cider vinegar. Adding apple cider vinegar to marinades helps to tenderize meat, chicken, and fish. You can also add it to bone broth right before drinking it. It adds a nice bit of flavor.

The Final Word

Apple cider vinegar isn’t just a hot new trend. It’s been around for centuries and was even recognized as a “superfood” dating way back to Hippocrates thousands of years ago. Enjoy these recipes and invent some of your own.