Amanda Rose with jars of onions pickled in apple cider vinegar
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Apple Cider Vinegar for Weight Loss! ACV Shots, Gourmet and Customized!

Here at Eat Like A Bear!, I love apple cider vinegar for weight loss because it does help us fell more satiated with our meals. We will simply feel fuller faster. It also helps us reduce our insulin resistance, thereby supporting the goals of weight loss with intermittent fasting and a low carb/keto diet. What makes this project extra fun is that it is simply a fun little kitchen craft project. You’re infusing apple cider vinegar with all of the great flavors of the world!

Start your project with ingredients that you love and you will never go wrong. In fact, you have a great and inexpensive opportunity to play with new flavor combinations and develop your own custom blends. You can make use of herbs, spices, and fruits that might otherwise spoil. There is no end to the flavors that you can make and to the creative adventure that you can have.

Welcome to your new hobby!

Your General Intro: How I Use It for Weight Loss

Here’s the 25-second TikTok basic use of apple cider vinegar for weight loss:

Yes, the key leverage point IS that it will help satiate you — it will help make you feel fuller, faster. As a result, you will eat less. It’s that simple. (Yes, it should be a 3-second TikTok!)

Would you like a more in-depth discussion? Here’s the 17-minute long form version at YouTube:

Apple Cider Vinegar for Weight Loss: Is It Safe?

Can there be too much of a good thing?

In the apple cider vinegar world, “too much” may really be “too strong.”

Don’t drink it straight — as an actual shot.

It can affect your tooth enamel and your esophagus. Drink it diluted. It is acetic acid, after all.

Here’s what you actually do, and it’s very simple:

You’re simply trying to get a couple of tablespoons into your stomach with a meal. They can be in your meal or as a “shot” (diluted) before your meal.

Either way works great!

I typically grab a 4-ounce glass, add a tablespoon of ACV, top it off water water, and drink it. You might want a bigger glass — even mine is a pretty strong concoction. After your swig, re-fill your glass with water, swish the water around in your mouth, and swallow or spit. This will clean the acidic ACV off your tooth enamel.

So you don’t like apple cider vinegar? I’d be inclined not to worry about it and just try other methods for improving the satiation of your meal.

A photo of Amanda Rose holding a jar of infused apple cider vinegar with the title "Apple cider vinegar: How to Use it! Fun ideas!"

Did Your Apple Cider Vinegar Love End Up in a National Magazine?

Oh, did you notice?

Ha ha. Yes!

It was the December 28, 2020 issue of Woman’s World magazine featuring the stories of community members Melinda Troxel and Gail Thompson and our Bearish fascination with the apple cider vinegar, with a big old nod to the book Half My Size with The Ridiculously Big Salad (which you can find on our shop here — CLICK!).

A collage from the December 28, 2020 issue of Woman's World magazine, with the magazine cover and snippets from the article, including a photo of Melinda Troxel.

The editors had previously featured my own story and our main meal type, The Ridiculously Big Salad.

Find the community’s photo response to being featured in a national magazine. Fair warning: If you’re offended by photos of women reading in bubble baths or semi-nude in hammocks, then you most definitely do not want to click this link… (CLICK!)

Apple Cider Vinegar in a Vinaigrette

If you’re just finding me, you surely will notice real soon that I eat a lot of salads. We here at Eat Like a Bear, in fact, coined the term the “Ridiculously Big Salad.” It is the most popular type of meal here in our weight loss community.

Putting apple cider vinegar on your salad is a real obvious way to work it into that food. It is as simple as this:

Vinaigrette for one Ridiculously Big Salad

1⁄4 cup (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil
1⁄4 cup (60 ml) apple cider vinegar
1⁄4 teaspoon (1 ml), each salt and pepper

The book Half My Size with The Ridiculously Big Salad has a collection of crafted dressing recipes, but that’s the basic, hard-working vinaigrette which will flavor your salad and help satiate you at the same time.

—-> Find the great story of that Ridiculously Big Salad book nearly breaking our little rural post office, as we shipped out 10,000 copies across the country (CLICK!).

Apple Cider Vinegar (with the “Mother”) for Weight Loss. Which To Buy?

This is actually a very important question and, whatever you do, don’t buy your apple cider vinegar in those plastic gallons at discount stores. I suppose you could use that ACV for cleaning but for drinking, you want a real apple cider vinegar that is actually fermented, with a “mother.” The “mother” is just the culture that was used to make the vinegar. Real apple cider vinegar with the mother is sold in quart-sized glass jars and tends to have some cloudy sediment in the bottom. Don’t let the sediment deter you. That is the mama! Shake your vinegar occasionally to mix it up. If the sediment really gets to you, don’t shake the jar at all, just let the ACV sit and leave the sediment in the bottle when you hit the bottom.

Some of these brands also sell their vinegar in gallon plastic jars but they do say on their label that they are brewed “with a mother.” That’s the key, not the glass per se.

Apple Cider Vinegar Recipe Ideas: They Are Endless!

Using apple cider vinegar is super-simple and you need do nothing more than add a bit to that glass or recipe.

However, apple cider vinegar is a great opportunity for kitchen-crafty fun, so let’s not miss our opportunity. 🙂

Apple cider vinegar takes on the flavors of edibles placed into that vinegar. You can literally infuse any flavor you wish right into the vinegar. You’ve surely seen things like garlic vinegar or basil vinegar. Those flavors are in the vinegar through infusion — simply letting the garlic or basil sit in the vinegar for a time.

You will find me on YouTube crafting vinegars with items I’ve found in nature. I’ll do my best to remember to add them right here (but here’s the Eat Like a Bear YouTube channel where you will find them — CLICK!!!)

The idea is really simple: Put the flavoring item into the vinegar and let it sit in that vinegar for a couple of weeks (or even for a couple of months). The flavoring item will end up pickled and the vinegar itself will end up flavored, just as in this pickled onion idea.

Amanda Rose in the mountains holding a giant salad, with the title "Yes, it's right in there" (and an arrow pointing to the salad.

Pickle Onions with Apple Cider Vinegar

This project flavors the apple cider vinegar (with the onion) and pickles the onion (with the vinegar) at the same time! A two-for-one!!!

Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar Concoctions, Rules to Live By

When making infused apple cider vinegar, these are some principles I live by:

  • All flavors and flavor combinations are fair game.
  • You may get a little more flavor out of the dried and crumbled up herb than out of the fresh herb. Of course, if your herb has been in the pantry for a decade, that’s another matter entirely… 😉
  • If you are using dried herbs, crush them a bit as you add them to your vinegar to release their flavors.
  • For fresh herbs, give them a rough chop with a knife to release more flavor.
  • Fresh ground spices will always trump previously ground spices.
  • Older spices have less flavor. You just won’t get the flavor out of them if they have been sitting in your pantry for a decade.
  • Fruit that is past its peak is choice for this project, but not rotten. Catch it before it reaches that spoilage point. This is a good use since it is likely to spoil otherwise.
  • Overripe is great. Rotten is compost.
  • The only “wrong“ flavors you can make are those that you do not like.

For all of your creations, simply add them to a mason jar: fruit, herbs, spices, etc. Cover them with apple cider vinegar. Place a plastic lid on the jar and swish it around. Store the concoction in a cool, dark place (your pantry) for a few weeks or for months. The fruit, herbs, and spices will pickle. You can use them in salads and sauces. The liquid is a fantastically delicious apple cider vinegar.

Apple Cider Vinegar Drinks for Weight Loss! ACV Shots, Gourmet and Customized!

Apple Cider Vinegar Recipe, Flavor Ideas

I have great plans to make a bunch of these recipes for you but this is one of these fun projects where you should just use what is on hand in your kitchen, experimenting to your heart’s content. That said, here are some combinations to get you going:

  • Ginger turmeric. Ginger orange. Ginger strawberry. Ginger ginger. 😉
  • Blackberry sage (using the many sage varieties out there, even).
  • Strawberry basil. Peach basil. Raspberry basil.
  • Cilantro garlic. Habanero garlic. Everything garlic. 😉
  • Raspberry rosemary. Peach rosemary. Pear rosemary.
Apple Cider Vinegar Drinks for Weight Loss! ACV Shots, Gourmet and Customized!

Apple Cider Vinegar for Weight Loss: Usage Q & A

Q: Would you flavor the apple cider vinegar shots with honey or juice?

A: These options work really well from a flavor point of view but they might be too high in carbohydrates depending on your own weight loss goals.

Q: Can you sweeten the apple cider vinegar shots with stevia or monkfruit?

A: Absolutely! Stevia and monkfruit are my sweeteners of choice since they do not have the impact on blood sugar that other sweeteners do. They also do help that ACV go down a little easier.

Q: When do you take apple cider vinegar?

A: For best weight loss results, take it 10 minutes or so before your meal. It will help satiate you much more quickly. As I am fixing my meal, I mix up my diluted little drink, drink it, rinse my mouth out, and finish up the meal preparation.

Q: Can I use apple cider vinegar without a mother?

A: The poor, poor ACV that doesn’t have a mama! LOL. OK, really, no. This guy needs its mama. I don’t know what that stuff is that gets sold for a buck in a plastic jug but that’s not the stuff you want.

Q: Can I use apple cider vinegar without diluting it? Without adding water?

A: ACV is an acid and it is very strong if you drink it straight. I doubt many people would do this more than once but if you’re all hard core and do it, it could just affect the delicate tissues in your mouth and esophagus. I dilute my tablespoon in four ounces of water and that’s pretty strong as it is. I’d consider that a minimum and, then as I have mentioned, I would follow that with some plain water, swishing it around in your mouth a bit more just to clean the apple cider vinegar off your teeth.

Apple Cider Vinegar Drinks for Weight Loss, Plus Health Benefits Q & A

Q: Do ACV drinks help us lose weight?

A: Yes, the acetic acid in apple cider vinegar helps us feel fuller sooner as we eat. We take in fewer calories as a result. In the final 10 minutes of your meal prep, take a tablespoon of ACV, diluted in a small glass of water. Try it and see if it helps you feel fuller faster.

Q: Does ACV help with blood sugar?

A: Yes, consume a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar before a meal, diluted in a small glass of water. Follow a low-carb Bearish diet.

Q: Does ACV reduce your cholesterol?

A: Yes! Isn’t ACV just GREAT? It will help lower your bad cholesterol levels and raise your good ones. Have a tablespoon daily.

Q: Does apple cider vinegar reduce your blood pressure?

A: Yes, ACV will also help lower your blood pressure. Take it daily. The great news is that as you lose weight, your blood pressure problems are likely to disappear entirely. Apple cider vinegar will help you in two ways then: It can help reduce your appetite and help you lose weight and it will help control your blood pressure in the short term. Apple cider vinegar is a great tool for weight loss.

Apple Cider Vinegar Drinks for Weight Loss! ACV Shots, Gourmet and Customized!

Apple Cider Vinegar Drinks for Weight Loss

Amanda Rose
This is a basic concept for customized apple cider vinegar shots.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 48

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup fruit sliced or chopped
  • 2 tbs herbs rough chopped or crumbled
  • 1 tbs spice ground
  • 3 cups apple cider vinegar

Instructions
 

  • In a quart jar, layer fruit with herbs and/or spices.
  • Cover in 3 cups of apple cider vinegar (or to the neck of the jar).
  • Cover the jar with a tight-fitting plastic lid.
  • Give the mixture a swish and place it in a cool, dark pantry for two weeks or for months.
  • When you’re ready for the vinegar, strain out the solids retaining the liquid as the vinegar. Use the fruit, herbs, and spices in salads.
Keyword apple cider vinegar
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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