I’m sure you have seen all the posts about the 101 uses for raw apple cider vinegar (ACV). Maybe those articles have even convinced you to try adding ACV to your routine. After a few mornings of choking down some vinegar and water before your breakfast, maybe you gave up. Well, this tasty blueberry-raspberry shrub is a more pleasurable way to get that ACV into your routine! If you aren’t familiar with why you would want to drink apple cider vinegar, let me elaborate.

Benefits of Raw Apple Cider Vinegar:

Raw Apple Cider Vinegar is different from other vinegars because it is a living ferment. It is made from a SCOBY much like kombucha. This SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast) “eats” the sugar from the apple cider. When the ACV is ready, what you have is a powerful vinegar full of beneficial bacteria, yeasts, and enzymes. The acetic acid (which is also in kombucha) in ACV is responsible for most of its health benefits. Taking one to two tablespoons of raw apple cider vinegar daily can have powerful health benefits.


Raw apple cider vinegar:

  • can alleviate heart burn and acid reflux when taken 15-20 minutes before meals. Acid reflux is actually caused by to little stomach acid, not too much. The reflux happens because the maldigested food builds up pressure and forces what little stomach acid that was there up into the esophagus where the acid isn’t supposed to be. Taking ACV before your meal increases the acid levels in the digestive tract.
  • helps to balance your microbiome which can boost immunity and vitamin and mineral absorption.
  • regulates blood sugar and increases insulin sensitivity. 
  • can help maintain a healthy cholesterol ratio
  • helps with weight loss. Acetic acid increases the enzyme AMPK, which increases fat burning and decreases fat and sugar production in the liver. (Source). It also suppresses appetite.
  • reduces blood pressure by suppressing the activity of the enzyme renin. ACV also prevents excessive clotting of the blood.
  • aids in detoxification
  •  
  • improves skin health and appearance (most directly when applied externally to skin, but also by regulating your gut health or “internal skin.”

Recipe for Blueberry-Raspberry Shrub:

Making a shrub is simple. The ratio is 1:1, meaning for every cup of fruit, add one cup of vinegar. If you don’t have the time or inclination, however, you can buy shrubs here. For this shrub you will need:

  • 2 cups of fruit (one blueberry, one raspberry)
  • 2 cups raw apple cider vinegar
  • sugar (added only after steeping)

Blueberry Raspberry Shrub

 

Directions:

  1. Combine the fruit and vinegar in a jar and allow to sit for at least one week out of direct sunlight. Give the jar a shake every day.
  2. After the week is finished, strain the fruit and either compost it or use it to make a chutney.
  3. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar to the shrub and allow to sit for 3-5 days. If you would like your shrub to carbonate, put it in a flip top bottle.
  4. You can also pre-dilute your shrub and carbonate if desired. This is my favorite. Ratio: 1 tablespoon of shrub: 8 ounces of water (or water kefir for added probiotics): 1.5 teaspoons of sugar. Combine all in a flip-top (or grolsch) bottle and wait 3-5 days. So, for a 32 ounce flip-top, add 4 tablespoons of shrub, 2 tablespoons (6 teaspoons) of sugar, and fill the rest of the way with water or water kefir, being sure to leave at least 2 inches of head space for expansion.

What to do with your shrub:

  • If you made a pre-diluted shrub, drink it straight! The best time is right before meals (15-30 minutes)
  • For a full strength uncarbonated shrub, mix one tablespoon with 8 ounces of water and drink before meals.
  • Mix one tablespoon of full-strength carbonated shrub with sparkling mineral water and enjoy.
  • Make a salad dressing with it.
  • Make it into a syrup and make cocktails with it. (Don’t make them too sweet though!)

Blueberry-Raspberry Shrub (aka drinking vinegar) #guthealth #microbiome #reclaimingvitality

Blueberry-Raspberry Shrub

Chelsea
Get the benefits of apple cider vinegar in a tasty beverage.
Prep Time 1 minute

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups of berries one cup blueberries, one cup raspberries
  • 2 cups raw apple cider vinegar
  • sugar for after the shrub has steeped

Instructions
 

  • Combine the fruit and vinegar in a jar and allow to sit for at least one week out of direct sunlight. Give the jar a shake every day.
  • After the week is finished, strain the fruit and either compost it or use it to make a chutney.
  • Add 1 tablespoon of sugar to the shrub and allow to sit for 3-5 days. If you would like your shrub to carbonate, put it in a flip top bottle.
  • You can also pre-dilute your shrub and carbonate if desired. This is my favorite. Ratio: 1 tablespoon of shrub: 8 ounces of water (or water kefir for added probiotics): 1.5 teaspoons of sugar. Combine all in a flip-top (or grolsch) bottle and wait 3-5 days. So, for a 32 ounce flip-top, add 4 tablespoons of shrub, 2 tablespoons (6 teaspoons) of sugar, and fill the rest of the way with water or water kefir, being sure to leave at least 2 inches of head space for expansion.

Notes

If you made a pre-diluted shrub, drink it straight! The best time is right before meals (15-30 minutes)
For a full strength uncarbonated shrub, mix one tablespoon with 8 ounces of water and drink before meals.
Mix one tablespoon of full-strength carbonated shrub with sparkling mineral water and enjoy.
Make a salad dressing with it.
Make it into a syrup and make cocktails with it. (Don't make them too sweet though!)
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Have you ever had a shrub? Have you been trying to get ACV into your routine for the health benefits? Are you going to try making your own shrub?Blueberry-Raspberry Shrub (aka drinking vinegar)