While CBD is still fairly new, people are already finding creative ways to work it into their daily lives. One of the most popular of these new ways to take CBD has been taking CBD oil with food. And not just popping a CBD gummy with lunch, either. We’re talking legit, homemade CBD infused food.
So instead of worrying about whether you should be taking CBD oil before or after meals, you could be mixing it into your favorite recipes and enhancing your everyday experience. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.
Before we can trade recipes and experiment with CBD, we need to give you the rundown on how CBD and food can work together, as well as some common things to look out for when cooking with CBD oil.
CBD Oil and Food: A Delicious Duo
Typically, we’d begin this section by explaining what both food and CBD are before jumping in to how they complement each other. However, you probably already know what food is and why it’s important, so let’s save ourselves both some time and jump straight to answering the questions, “What is CBD?” and “How does CBD infused food work?”
CBD is one of the many compounds found in the hemp plant, and unlike its more notorious cousin, THC, it has no intoxicating effects. This small, yet crucial, difference is what has allowed CBD to become so popular so quickly as people search for a way to unlock the potential benefits of cannabis without getting high.
And even though CBD does not have any of the same psychoactive effects as THC, they do have one thing in common – edibles. Whether it’s gummies or dog treats or even cotton candy, companies and consumers alike have been creating CBD infused food items to help them get their daily dose of CBD in a discreet and delicious way.
Aside from being delectable, taking CBD oil with food is just as efficient as most other forms of CBD. And whether you’re dealing with a stressful day at work, trying to relax on the weekend, or just needing a little boost every once in a while, a bit of CBD infused food can be exactly what you need.
In fact, many people are already adding CBD to coffee for a morning boost, or tossing CBD into tea to beat the post-lunch crash.
Three Things to Know About Taking CBD Oil with Food
Before we get to sharing our favorite CBD infused lunch recipes, let’s cover the basics of cooking with CBD oil to make sure that both the food and the CBD can do their jobs properly. Here are three quick tips to help you nail that new CBD infused recipe on the first try.
1. Watch the Heat
One thing people don’t usually know about cooking with CBD oil is that it’s very sensitive to high heat. In fact, you should never put CBD oil on direct heat or cook CBD infused dishes higher than roughly 320℉.
Once CBD oil is heated past that point, the CBD starts to degrade and evaporate, meaning that after a while, you’ll be left with no CBD in your dish at all. That’s why it’s important to closely monitor the heat of any CBD infused food as it’s cooking. It can be a tricky balance between getting something cooked completely and keeping the heat low enough to save the CBD, but it gets easier with practice.
2. Fat is Your Friend
One of the easiest things you can do to make sure your CBD infused food comes out exactly the way you want is to make sure to add some kind of fat (like butter, cheese, whole milk, etc.) to your recipe. This might not sound like the healthiest thing we’ve asked you to do, but it is a very important step in getting the CBD oil to cooperate.
CBD likes binding to fat cells, both in food and in your body. That means that by adding something like butter to your recipe, you are giving the CBD oil something to bind to. Adding some sort of fat like this will make sure even more CBD stays in the recipe all the way to the end.
3. Start Small with CBD
You don’t need to dump a whole bottle of CBD in for every recipe. Start with your normal serving size and go up slowly from there until you find just the right amount of CBD oil to add to each recipe.
It’s also good to start small to see how adding those extra drops of oil will affect the way a recipe turns out. Because even though CBD oil won’t have any intoxicating effects, it’s still an oil, and adding too much extra oil can change a lot. So be careful, be patient, and be ready to improvise.
Two of our Favorite CBD Infused Lunch Recipes
What better way to tie up a blog about taking CBD oil with food than with a couple of CBD infused recipes? These two recipes can be made separately or combined for a heart-warming, CBD-filled meal that’s perfect for rainy days, snow days, and anytime you want to feel like a kid again.
1. CBD Grilled Cheese
Ingredients:
- 2 slices of your favorite bread
- Butter
- Mayonnaise
- CBD oil
- A few slices of American cheese
- Pepper
Directions
- Place the slices of bread on a cutting board or plate and spread mayonnaise on top of each slice.
- Heat a small nonstick skillet over medium heat.
- Add butter to pan. When it melts, place one slice of bread – mayonnaise side down – in skillet.
- Place American cheese slices on bread, season with pepper, and add a few drops of CBD oil.
- Top with the other slice of bread, mayonnaise side out.
- When the underside is golden brown, add some more butter to the skillet and flip the sandwich.
- Press down on the sandwich lightly as it cooks to help the cheese melt evenly.
- Once the other side is golden brown, remove from skillet, and eat immediately.
2. Super Simple CBD Tomato Soup
Ingredients:
- 30 oz. chicken/vegetable broth
- 28 oz. concentrated crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup heavy cream
- CBD oil
- Coarse salt and black pepper
Directions
- Combine broth and tomatoes in a saucepan over medium heat.
- When soup begins to bubble, stir in heavy cream and reduce to low heat.
- Add a few drops of your favorite CBD oil.
- Add salt and pepper to taste and let simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- With a blender, puree soup.
- Serve and enjoy!
What Do You Think About Taking CBD Oil with Food?
What’s your take on CBD infused food? Do you like taking CBD before or after meals, or do you prefer mixing it in with your favorite food or drinks? Having trouble deciding which flavor of CBD oil to add to your dessert? Feel free to ask questions and share your favorite CBD infused lunch recipes and with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. And you can find even more CBD infused recipes on our blog!