I am certain that you have all tried to stay healthy during these trying times.

I know I’ve been pretty diligent about exercising and eating well…well, plus the odd piece of cake and glass of wine here and there 😉

But sometimes I feel like we need a bit extra in terms of “health insurance”.

I’ve been doing a lot of research lately into eating local/raw honey.

The best information I’ve found (written for us “common folk” and not scientists) was on the Farmers Almanac site which stated the same as the science sites but in more layman’s terms:

6 Amazing Health Benefits of Honey:

1. Make your own healthy, rehydrating sports drink. Add a spoonful of raw honey and protein powder, and a pinch of Himalayan sea salt to a glass of spring water, stir vigorously, and drink to replace electrolytes, increase energy, and athletic performance.
2. Need to soothe a minor sunburn? Try this relieving remedy. Mix ½ cup of honey and 1 cup of milk. Apply the mixture to the sunburned area. Leave on as long as possible to ease the pain and to prevent skin from peeling. Reapply as needed to ease discomfort and to promote healing. Severe sunburn can produce swelling, blisters, nausea, fever, and chills. Seek professional medical attention if these symptoms arise.
3. Healing salve for minor burns, cuts, or scrapes. Applied topically, honey is a natural antiseptic, containing 3 powerful wound-healing components: sugar, hydrogen peroxide, and propolis. The nectar-based compound propolis kills bacteria, while hydrogen peroxide disinfects. The sugar absorbs moisture, creating an environment in which bacteria cannot survive. Another plus, as the honey dries, it forms a natural bandage.
4. Eating unfiltered, unheated, raw honey produced within your area, (50-mile radius or less) is like receiving a natural anti-allergy shot! Quercetin, a component of honey, has been found in studies to reduce inflammation and pollen allergy symptoms. It stabilizes the cell membranes that release histamine, which triggers allergic reactions. Raw honey also contains bee pollen and bee propolis, which boosts the immune system, and builds immunity to allergens.
5. Cough suppressant – Mix apple cider vinegar and honey to taste in a small glass jar. Take a tablespoon as often as needed to relieve minor coughs, colds, and sore throats.
6. Promote relaxation and restful sleep. Take a spoonful of raw honey at bedtime.

I’d say that’s pretty impressive.

But to get deeper into why we should be focusing on eating honey that is relatively local to our area, I found some great information over at  Carolina Farm Stewards

You may be wondering, why local and why raw?

• Many of the health benefits of honey are lost when it is filtered and heated to high temperatures.
• Local, raw honey has unique flavors that are lost when industrialized.
• To help with allergies, you need to have local, raw honey. This will insure that the honey has the allergens native to the area you live in.
• Buying local is better and not just because it reduces pollution and saves resources. Bees shipped from elsewhere pollinating one crop is how commercial honey is made. This is completely unnatural and hard on bees. Let’s keep the bees home and pollinating as nature intended.
• Local, raw honey is full of all kinds of healthy ingredients. Industrial methods dilute the good stuff out.

So, all of this information led me to having some bee hives here on my property (also, if I could help to maintain the bee population, that makes me extra happy!).  The people over at Toronto Bee Rescue have been the ones to help me with all of this (Peter, the owner, has been fantastic) and I will be getting my hives in the next few weeks!

So, in light of my incoming beehives, I thought I’d give you a quick way to introduce a bit of honey into your morning routine (a slice of toast, with a slathering of nut butter, has always been my favourite breakfast with my morning coffee !!). Now, I put a thin layer of this honey butter on top and it feels like a real treat.

And we won’t even get into the health benefits of cinnamon!!

So, with a few ingredients, you can have a special treat in your fridge whenever you need it (try it on your Sunday morning pancakes too!!)

I made some muffins and put a wee bit on there…soo good!!!

Cinnamon Honey Butter

If you've ever had cinnamon butter on toast, I know how happy you'll be with this recipe! Whipped butter sweetened with honey and scented with cinnamon, melting on a piece of hot toast...nothing better!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings 10

Ingredients

  

• 1/2 cup butter, softened (salted suggested)
• 1/2 cup honey local if possible
• 2 tablespoons icing/powdered sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

 

• In a bowl, combine all ingredients. With an electric mixer, whip until smooth and creamy (you can also use a hand-held blender or food processor).
• Place mixture in a glass jar (my favourite!!) or Tupperware and keep in the fridge until ready to use!!