Cooking With CBD This Holiday Season

Everyone knows that the best part about the holiday season is the food (and drinks, of course.) But what if we told you you could make it even better? CBD is becoming increasingly common as a food and beverage additive. It’s a natural stress reliever, anxiety reducer, immune strengthener and energy booster. And we all could use more of that during the holidays.  Read on to learn everything you need to know about using CBD in your dishes and drinks this holiday season. You’ll definitely be the MVP of your family this year.

The Best Way to Use CBD in Food

It’s important to remember that CBD comes in various forms, such as water-soluble drops or oil-based tinctures or drops. You can use either type for cooking, but water-soluble products allow for greater versatility in food and beverage products.

According to Chef Jenn Felmley, who occasionally incorporates cannabis into her dishes, water-soluble CBD is extremely convenient as a food additive. You don’t have to worry about cooking it, weighing it out or what changes will occur in the CBD in comparison to isolate powders or concentrated CBD oils. It’s best in condiments and side dishes because everyone can dose according to what they want.

And while many brands offer CBD infused food and drinks these days, you’re better off cooking yourself. Not only will you save money, but you can personally tailor each batch or recipe to your liking and needs.

How to Cook With CBD

CBD is best used as an additive into finished and/or cold dishes. Condiments, beverages, desserts, soups and sauces are the easiest and most effective foods for CBD. You won’t lose any potency in the CBD if you add it after a dish is prepared.

If you choose to cook and bake with CBD, pay attention to the dosages and concentrations within your CBD product. Heating may also affect the effectiveness of CBD.  

According to Alphagreen, temperatures above 365 degrees Fahrenheit can degrade the active ingredients in many CBD oils. CAASI beverage drops degrade around 400 degrees Fahreneheit after two to three hours of exposure. Exposing CBD to direct heat, such as an open flame or an oven, can degrade its composition and lower its potency when exposed for long amounts of time. If you do decide to cook or bake with CBD, keep your recipes below these temperatures for best results.

How to Dose and Take CBD With Food

People have different levels of sensitivity to CBD with several factors influencing the efficacy of CBD. The bioavailability of CBD in the body changes depending on your unique metabolic system. Dosage is also important among these factors. It is up to you to take your time experimenting and trying different doses to figure out what works best for you. We recommend starting in smaller doses and increasing as you feel necessary, keeping track of how it makes you feel and when it takes effect.

Make sure you take CBD on a full stomach to increase the absorption rate. Because CBD is a fat-soluble compound, it will get easily absorbed with the fats in your meal when taken with food. Cannabinoids found in CBD don’t bind to liquid; they only bind to fat, giving you the most elongated and most substantial results when you’re full. However, be mindful of excessively fat rich meals as these will negatively affect the absorption rate, reducing the amount of CBD absorbed into the bloodstream.

Best Ingredients for CBD

According to research, certain ingredients work extremely well with CBD. These include emulsified fats, sweets and caffeine.

Olive oil is the most common emulsified fat because it enhances absorption. Other natural emulsifiers include honey, egg yolks or mustard. Sweets and CBD go hand in hand by amplifying the feel-good effects of CBD. Caffeine is absorbed into the body quickly and speeds up metabolism. Both these effects are enhanced when CBD is added. In some cases, caffeine and CBD work as opposites, and the effects vary from person to person. It’s important to remember that as you experiment with CBD in food and drink, you may have a different experience than others you know, and that’s okay. Always take your time figuring out how it affects you.  

Regarding alcohol, the effects of CBD may be overshadowed depending on how much alcohol you consume. Generally, the more alcohol you drink, the more you feel those effects over CBD.   

Holiday Dish Recommendations

While the options really are endless, these are some of our favorite and easiest ways to incorporate CBD into holiday foods and beverages.