Immune Boosting Grape Juice (that Your Kids Will Drink)

Abby here.

Ever go to the grocery store and end up grabbing a totally random item you’ve never bought before for no particular reason other than it was on sale for about fifty cents less?

I knew I wasn’t the only one!

So my random item was this:

I’m quite familiar with Bragg’s apple cider vinegar, as we use it for a number of minor ailments (such as this), but I’ve never been drawn to their drinks.  I mean, I did crave ACV during my first pregnancy, but it’s not something I choose to pleasurably sip on nowadays.

So I got the drink and opened up as soon as we were in the car.

Does anyone else do that?

The kids and I HAVE to consume something we bought on the short drive home… everytime.  Sometimes its kombucha or apples or carrots or chips.

I took the first sip and thought it was… okay.  Nothing to go crazy over, but knowing it’s benefits it is something I could get used to.  I passed it back to the kids to try and I never got another sip.  They sucked it down, and asked for more…. which is really what this whole post is about.

The ingredients are so simple, I knew I could easily make this myself.

All I did was mix equal parts water and organic grape juice (I buy not from concentrate if it’s available), and then added about a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar.  There’s really no special formula for this one.  If your children are used to undiluted sweet juices they may turn their nose up at this one.  Continue playing with the measurements, and you’re sure to find something that works!

Wonder why I chose grape juice over apple?  Besides grape juice being the flavor on sale … well … there’s a controversy over arsenic levels in apple juice.  Dr. Oz made a big deal about it, suggesting that “we may be poisoning our families” with chronic arsenic exposure.  Then the FDA proposed an “action level” of 10 ppb (parts per billion) of arsenic in apple juice, matching the approved level for bottled water.

We haven’t done any independent studies on arsenic levels.  We only know that we’ve read it’s a carcinogen and that if we can reduce our families’ exposure to it, we might as well.

Plus, grapes and grape juice are jam-packed with antioxidants and the Mayo Clinic suggests that it could offer some great health benefits: like helping to reduce the likelihood of blood clots, helping maintain blood pressure, reducing “bad” cholesterol levels (all things I hope you’re not concerned about for your children, but are interesting nonetheless).

So … there it is … grape juice.

And thankfully, grape juice is a pretty bold flavor … easy to “hide” the tastes of some less than tasty but great for you supplements (colloidal silver, probiotics, superfood, etc.).

And it’s that time of year where the flu is running around, and I’m doing my best to give my family things to naturally ward it off!   Anything else you can think of to hide in this juice?