Tag: good health
Honey Glazed Roasted Carrots
Honey Glazed Roasted Carrots Recipe
This Honey Glazed Roasted Carrots recipe is an easy, delicious side dish, or a full; meal, made in under 30 minutes. The tender carrots are covered with our amazing Sunny Honey Miami honey, garlic sauce and packed with nutrients, perfect for a vegetarian dish.
Ingredients:
- 2 lb carrots
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 3-4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 1/2 Tbsp Sunny Honey Miami honey (key lime pie, vanilla or plain creamed)
- 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
- Chopped fresh parsley to garnish
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400F
- Peel and slice the carrots diagonally into 2 inch pieces, or leave them whole if you use baby carrots
- Place the carrots to a large bowl. Add oil, garlic, honey, salt and pepper. Mix well until all pieces are evenly coated
- In a large non-stick baking pan arrange the coated carrots in a single layer
- Place into the preheated oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until caramelized and tender
- Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with fresh chopped parsley
Notes:
You can use orange or rainbow whole carrots, baby carrots as well
Storage: Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Gluten Free Honey Granola Recipe
Honey Granola Recipe
Do you love granola as much as I do? Make your own healthy, gluten free honey granola!!!!
Keep it in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 3 months. It makes a beautiful gift for your friends and family, just put the granola in a large mason jar, label it and gift it wilt love!
This recipe yield about 8 cups of granola, enough for 16 servings.
Ingredients
- 4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 1/2 cups raw nuts or seeds of your choice (almonds, walnuts, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, etc)
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup melted coconut oil or avocado oil
- 1/2 cup of your choice of Sunny Honey Miami
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup dried fruit of your choice : chopped dried apricots, cranberries, dried cherries, etc
- optional mix ins: 1/2 cup chocolate chips or coconut flakes
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, nuts and seeds, salt and cinnamon. Stir to blend.
- In another bowl mix together the oil, the vanilla and the honey
- Pour the oil mixture onto the oats mixture, mix well, until every oat md nut is lightly coated. Pour the granola onto your prepared pan, spread it into an even layer.
- Bake until lighly golden, stiring halfway. Let the granola cool completelly, undisturbed. Top with the dried fruits, chocolate chips or coconut flakes. Mix well.
- Enjoy it and remember that you can customize this recipe, starting with the creamed honey used for the recipe.
Tips for Staying Healthy Through the Changing Seasons
Tips for Staying Healthy Through the Changing Seasons
As autumn changes to fall, and fall into winter, the days become shorter, the air becomes colder, and the leaves fall to the ground to decompose. Just as nature moves through seasonal changes, so too do our bodies. This is a time when we can turn inward to regain our strength through practices that ground and nourish us. Doing so will help us to reemerge in the spring with vitality and vigor.
Simple meal swaps that focus on seasonal offerings, grounding lifestyle practices, adaptogenic herbs, and the cultivation of balance, are all key ingredients to a staying healthy through flu season.
The seasonal transitions into the darker, colder months can leave your body feeling dry and depleted. Tending to your body’s needs for increased nourishment and more digestible foods is fundamental for a smooth transition between seasons, all year long. When you support a healthy digestive and immune system during times of seasonal change, you give your body the resources and “back-up” it needs to face any colds and flus headed your way. Focus on preparing meals with seasonal ingredients, like carrots, beets, pears, citrus, celery root, and more, and prepare them in ways that are grounding, like low and slow cooking methods, and in warming dishes like soups, stews, warm beverages, and more!
Luckily, many of the most beneficial herbs for cold and flu season are probably sitting in your spice cabinet or on your counter right now – making them the perfect immune-supporting addition to any breakfast, lunch, or dinner! Garlic, thyme, ginger, oregano, to name a few, are some of the most powerful and safest antivirals and antibacterial herbal medicines we have available. Cook dishes packed with antioxidant, vitamin, and mineral rich food choices, and your meals will not only be delicious, but nutritious and immune-boosting as well!
Delicious Ingredients with Medicinal Benefits
Honey: Not only is honey a superfood, it may also help prevent both viral and bacterial infections, including colds, flus, and more! Honey, especially raw/unprocessed honey, offers a wide array of nutritional benefits, makes a great sugar replacement in coffee or tea, and can be eaten right off the spoon as a delicious, throat-soothing remedy with immune-boosting benefits. Sunny Honey Miami only uses raw honey, infused with whole ingredients. https://sunnyhoneymiami.com/product-category/creamed-honey/
Sage (Salvia officinalis): Traditionally, sage was used to support upper respiratory distress and sore throats, move phlegm out of the body during sinus infections, and soothe the stomach when upset. The earthy-pine flavors make sage easy to incorporate into soups, stews, and a wide variety of sauces/gravies.
Turmeric (Curcuma longa): Turmeric is a well-known herb for its bright color, and without a doubt, this herb is one of the most potent anti-inflammatory botanicals recognized by modern research. Turmeric can be easily added to any cold or warm dish, giving any meal a pop of color and potent dose of antioxidants!
We hope you’ll put to use some of the strategies and tips from this article to help you minimize the chance of becoming sick this cold and flu season. Fall and winter are a great time to check-in on your health and tend to self-care habits that will provide a strong foundation for your mind, body, and soul to thrive throughout each season ahead.
Cacao Creamed Honey and Coffee Smoothie
I love coffee and chocolate equally. If you are like me, you will love this easy to make and really satisfying cacao and coffee smoothie
You will need
A blender
½ banana
1 coffee cup at room temperature
1 tbs of our cacao creamed honey
1 tsp raw cacao powder
½ cup milk of your choice
A dash of cinnamon, or chili powder
Blend all of these ingredients together, pour it in a tall glass and decorate it with some grated dark chocolate and a slice of banana. Enjoy!
Honey Mouthwash for Reduced Plaque
How many times have you heard from the dentist to limit the amounts of sweets you consume or you’ll end up with a mouth full of cavities?
It looks like you can cross honey off that list as honey doesn’t contribute to cavities says a new study. In fact, it appears to have significant dental health promoting properties.
Scientists set out to compare the effect of honey versus a chlorhexidine mouthwash and a xylitol chewing gum/chlorhexidine mouthwash combination on dental plaque levels in ninety dental health students.
Chlorhexidine is a common ingredient you see in mouthwash products and is designed to reduce dental plaque and oral bacteria. The issue I have with over the counter mouth wash products is that virtually all of them have artificial color or food coloring agents in them (there is a reason they are bright blue or yellow). Scope contains Blue 1 and Yellow 5. They also have chemical preservatives in them like sodium benzoate and benzoic acid and artificial sweeteners like sodium saccharin, again all contained in Scope.
Xylitol on the other hand, is a naturally occurring sweetener that is found in many fruits and vegetables. You can find it used in many natural toothpastes and mouthwashes and in sugar free recipes as it is a popular, low glycemic sugar alternative.
The subjects were randomly divided into three groups for the study:
- the honey group
- the chlorhexidine mouthwash group
- the combination of xylitol chewing gum and chlorhexidine mouthwash group
What the study found was that all three groups were effective in reducing dental plaque in the students. Honey however was significantly more effective than the chlorhexidine (over the counter mouthwash) group and was reported to cause a significant reduction of plaque over 30 days. The xylitol group was also more effective than the chlorhexidine group.
Why Is Honey Good for Your Teeth?
The study didn’t get into how or why honey works well for reducing dental plaque but I suspect it is related to the lactic acid bacteria found in honey. A study done in Tehran found that honey prevents cavities by inhibiting Streptococcus mutans.
The scientists set out to evaluate the antibacterial activity of honey on Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus. These bacteria are the evil little devils that cause cavities and a mouth full of fillings, not to mention the pain and suffering that accompanies the trip to the dentist.
Over the last several years, raw, unpasteurized honey has been shown to have very strong anti-bacterial activity. Could consuming honey contribute to fewer trips to the dentist along with much smaller dental bills?
In this study, solutions containing 0%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 50% and 100% natural honey were prepared in a test tube. The cavity causing bacteria were then exposed to the different concentrations of honey for 24 hours.
What the scientists found was that the honey had significant antibacterial activity on Streptococcus mutans in concentrations more than 20% and on Lactobacillus in 100% concentration.
So it seems that the antibacterial activity of honey could be used for the prevention and reduction of dental cavities. More studies need to be done but this is very promising as we discover more about the dangers of processed, refined sugars and convert to more natural sugars such as honey. Don’t go brushing your teeth with raw honey just yet but the day of honey infused toothpaste just might be closer than we think!
Honey and Your Teeth
So how can you use honey in your daily routine to limit plaque and reduce cavities? Easy. First off, ditch your bottle of Scope or Listerine and the toxic ingredients contained in those products. Switch to a xylitol toothpaste that is fluoride free and contains propolis. Next, try this home made honey mouthwash that I have created. It tastes great and only takes a minute to prepare:
Honey Mouthwash for Reduced Plaque
- 1/2 cup filtered water (luke warm if possible)
- Dissolve 1 tsp of our plain creamed raw honey into the water. It is very important to use unpasteurized honey. Pasteurized honey will have no living bacteria in it which I believe are the mechanism by which honey works to reduce plaque.
- Stir to help dissolve
- Bonus:add one packet OR 1/2 tsp of xylitol to the mixture.
- Pour the mixture into your mouth and rinse as you would a regular mouthwash.
- Since honey kills Streph, I recommend gargling with the rinse to keep your throat clear of infections.
- After thoroughly rinsing, spit the mixture into the sink.
- Do NOT rinse your mouth out after spitting. I believe there may be some value in having the honey (and xylitol if you use it) remain on your teeth for several minutes to let the ‘good bacteria’ do their work.
9 Benefits of Honey What You Never Knew
Maybe you only know the benefits of a warm glass of water in the morning or maybe you have only heard about how honey is great for your skin, but have you heard what wonders combining warm water and honey can do for you overall? Read on and let me tell you the wonders of honey and warm water. I promise you; this is no old wives’ tale.
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- Watch Your Weight Melt Away
Yes, drinking water and honey can help you lose weight. Get the plaguing thoughts about the sugar aspect of honey out of your head, as that is one of its benefits. I know, I know, it sounds crazy and too good to be true, but it isn’t. The sugar in honey is a natural sugar (or read: good for you), which provides a healthy source of calories. Not only that, but it can also help to ward off any sugary sweet beverage cravings you may have. Soda pop is full of empty calories, and though everyone knows this they still reach for the bubbly refreshment. By cutting back on the amount of pop you drink, your calorie intake drops and with that so do the pounds. It may not be an overnight success story, but it is better for you all around in the long run.
- Stay Regular
OK, I know talking about being ‘regular’ can sometimes be taboo, but if Jamie Lee Curtis can do it, so can I. Drinking a warm glass of water with honey first thing in the morning helps to improve your digestive system. The antiseptic benefits of honey help relieve the acidity in your stomach while increasing the production of intestinal mucus. It also helps to hydrate the colon and infuse water into your, excuse me for this, stool. All of this combines you passing much more easily and regularly. Which brings us back to watching your weight melt away, because… well, I think you can figure the rest of this one out without my help.
- Gives Your Immune System A Helping Hand
Have I stressed just how good honey is for you yet? Honey has amazing bacteria-killing properties. If you go for raw, organic honey (you should) it is full of enzymes (hello again digestion), vitamins and minerals that lead the front line against protecting against bacteria. One study presented at the Society for General Microbiology’s Spring Conference in Harrogate; UK found that Manuka honey may even help reverse bacterial resistance to antibiotics. Honey is also an antioxidant, which helps fight those bad free radicals that wreak havoc in our body and on our skin.
4. Reduce Your Allergies
And no, I’m not suggesting taking a Claritin or something like that with the glass of honey water. By using raw, local honey you help to acclimate your body to the pollens of your area. In turn, this helps to reduce your susceptibility to environmental allergies. If you really think about what bees do in the grand scheme of things, this makes perfect sense. Now I know the warm water isn’t necessarily crucial to helping with allergies but being hydrated is never a bad thing.
5. Hello Energy, My Old Friend
Move over coffee – honey and warm water are the new dream team for boosting energy. The benefit to your energy levels by staying hydrated has all but been shouted from a rooftop. Think of your body as a houseplant. You know how droopy and sad it gets when you’ve forgotten to water it? Your body essentially does the same thing. Studies have shown that even mild dehydration can leave you feeling lethargic, drowsy, and sluggish. So, let’s add honey into this equation. Now you have a natural source of simple sugars and carbohydrates (energy-givers) to an already proven energy booster. The total? A refreshed outlook on life and energy that you didn’t know could come without a cup of coffee. Now, I’m not telling you to cut coffee out – I know I couldn’t function without it – but next time you feel an afternoon crash, try reaching for some honey and warm water first and see if that does the trick.
6. Soothe That Sore Throat and Cut That Cough
According to the Mayo Clinic, hot water with honey can help reduce the soreness and irritation of a sore throat. Honey helps to coat the throat while the warm water soothes. This soothing and coating action also helps to reduce your cough, as coughing is sometimes caused by irritation from a sore throat.
7. Detox, Detox, Detox!
Honey and warm water help to flush out the toxins from your body. By helping you to get regular, it helps you to regularly rid your body of toxins that can build up and cause disease. Adding lemon to the mix increases the benefits, as lemons help to increase urination, dispelling toxins more frequently and keeping your urinary tract healthy. Lemon contains citric acid, which helps to maximize enzyme function and in turn stimulate the liver and help with detoxification.
8. Gassy? It Helps with That.
Feeling a little uncomfortable and gassy? Drinking a glass of warm water and honey will help! Honey helps to neutralize gas.
9. Increase Your Health
Not only will drinking warm water and honey increase your hydration (plus everything else I’ve listed), but it also helps to increase the levels of “good” cholesterol in your body and reduce cardiovascular strain. I call that a win, win.