I love when I have the opportunity to go and visit my sisters in their homes and see what they make for dinners every night, what organization systems they have going to run their home smoothly, etc. It is very fascinating and always very informative for this girl! Staying with my sister Stacy in Phoenix for Thanksgiving was no exception. She’s another goddess of busy weeknight meals that her whole family (and mine) love her cooking.

One little tip she told me was that she never throws away pickle juice. I watched her use it as a brine for chicken for dinner on one occasion, and put a splash of it in her mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving dinner.

I was fascinated and had to know more. What else is pickle juice good for? A wave of regret came over me for all the times I dumped that salty, dill-flavored brine down the drain!

Here are 15 ways you can use up that jar of pickle juice:

1. REPICKLE IT. Next time you are left with pickle brine, use it to pickle vegetables like carrots, onion, avocado, beets, etc. You could also just make some pickles again by slicing them up, putting them in the brine, and voila, you’ve got refrigerator pickles.

2. TENDERIZE MEAT. Since pickle juice is so acidic, it works great as a tenderizer for steak, pork chops, chicken, you name it! Add the juice to your next batch of meat marinade.

3. REPLACE VINEGAR. If a recipe like a homemade salad dressing asks for vinegar, try replacing it with pickle juice. You can even try it in tartar sauce, mayonnaise or in your next batch of bbq sauce.

1. MAKE DILL BREAD. For all you pickle lovers out there, this bread is for you. Try making a batch of dill pickle bread (also known as Jewish deli bread) for something new!

2. BOIL POTATOES IN IT. Like I said, I saw my sister do this and I thought it was so brilliant. You can add some of this to your pot of boiling water instead of just regular salt water. It really makes the other flavors pop.

3. MAKE PICKLE POPSICLES. I know this one sounds kind of crazy, but on a hot day, kids (or pregnant ladies) would totally love these!

4. Use it as a POST WORKOUT DRINK. After a long hard workout, try a shot of pickle juice instead of Gatorade or water. The electrolytes in it can help you stay energized and hydrated after a tiring work out. Some athletes swear by pickle juice’s ability to relieve muscle cramps.

5. RELIEVE HEARTBURN. A few sips of pickle brine will actually help balance the pH in your stomach, which can calm heartburn or acid reflux.

1. USE IT IN THE GARDEN. You can pour the leftover juice from a pickle jar onto weeds in your garden or yard as pet-friendly way to get rid of them because of the acidity from the salty brine.

Do you use pickle brine in any of these unusual ways already? What other uses do you have for pickle juice? Please share in the comments below.