apple cider tonic for cold & flu season

i'm lucky to have a pretty great immune system and i rarely fall ill with a cold or flu bug that gets the better of me.  {i know you can't see me but for the record, i'm knocking on wood something fierce right now!}

last year i left my gig as a supply teacher for a contract at our local food co-op.  most of my job was behind the scenes in marketing & education, but saturdays were some of my favourite work days because that was my one day of the week that i got to spend working in the store.  i love talking food {slight understatement?} and saturdays i had many a great conversation, talking food and food systems with the lovely shoppers.  one of my saturday regulars was a woman named suzanne.  suzanne is a tiny little french lady in her 70s, probably a few inches shy of 5', who walks everywhere and is vegetarian.  we used to have lovely chats about food and health where i'd get to practice my french and she'd often tell me stories about various Buddhist temples & ashrams she'd visited.

one day last winter, when i mentioned that m had a cold, she told me about this tonic of sorts that would keep me from coming down with it and would keep me healthy through the season.  she scribbled the recipe down on a scrap of paper and tucked it in my pocket.  i went home and made the tonic and drank it religiously all winter.  and you know what?  i didn't get sick.  not once.  whether it was the tonic or not, i can't be sure, but i'll tell you one thing.  i've got a jar of it on my window sill and i've started my daily regime again this year.

{secret serum}

and today i'm going to share that recipe with you too!

immunity tonic
1/2 cup organic, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup warm water
2-3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper {i use 1/2 tsp but that makes it a little spicy!}

place all ingredients in a mason jar, tighten the lid, and shake shake shake!  take a big gulp {about 2 tablespoons worth} morning and night {shaking first} to ward off seasonal illness.  make more as needed.

what is apple cider vinegar? well..... it comes from apples, which are crushed to release their juices.  those juices ferment and turn into alcohol and from there it's fermented for a second time to turn the booze into vinegar!  to reap the health benefits from ACV, it's crucial that you purchase a raw (aka unpasteurized) cider vinegar, and preferably, organic.  the most popular ACV seems to be bragg's {also known for their liquid aminos}, but my vinegar of choice is filsinger's which is produced here in ontario by a small company that uses local, certified organic apples, cured in oak barrels.

{source}

ACV isn't just for drinking though, here are the 3 other ways that i use it in my daily life:

{1} kitchen
i use apple cider vinegar whenever i bake a cake or cupcakes.  i use 1 tablespoon in a cup of non-dairy milk to curdle it, which mimics buttermilk giving me a great 'crumb'.

{2} hair
after reading there's lead in your lipstick last year, i revamped a lot of my beauty routines and i discovered that ACV makes an amazing hair conditioner!  it leaves my hair shiny and tangle-free.  i use about 3 tablespoons worth, massaging it into clean hair, combing my fingers through and then rinsing.  {and because i know your wondering about the smell, it rinses out in the shower and you'd never know to smell my hair!}

{3} face
i've started using apple cider vinegar as my morning facial cleanser after seeing the pure 2 raw girls suggest it.  i'm a pretty big fan of my thayer's witch hazel but i decided to give the vinegar a try.  i found it far too potent to use at night around my eyes so i'm sticking with the witch hazel at night because it's very gentle and a great make-up remover at the end of the day.  but for the morning i just tip the bottle over onto a clean organic cotton pad and then swipe it over my face, avoiding my eyes.  just remember to take a good, deep breath before doing this - it makes you choke a bit otherwise, hahaha. but really.  i'm not joking.  hold your breath.

what are your tips & tricks to stay healthy over the winter season?