What’s in Your Pantry? Wednesday

I’m a “theme” kind of gal, and due to the response to my previous vinegar post, I wanted to focus on one pantry item each week that provides great nutritional benefits, multiple uses and resulting cost savings, or both.  If you have any requests or are curious about any particular items, please leave a comment and ask for more information.  I have some ideas in mind for a few posts, so let’s dig in.

So, What’s in Your Pantry?

It’s Honey!

Now, I’ve been a fan of honey since I can remember.  From my very early memories, while visiting my grandmother in Michigan, she served toast one morning and opened a tub (which looked like butter to me) of  still in the honeycomb.  I was completely intrigued – and my grandma was TOTALLY cool after that!

Have you ever eaten honey from the honeycomb?  No processing – just pure, sweet honey.  It is amazing and delicious and is probably the best way to really eat honey.

But honey is not just for toast at grandma’s house.  Honey has so much going for it, it should be kept in everyone’s pantry!

Nutritional Value

While I won’t go into the details of how honey is made (you can learn about it here if you really want to know), it is the process that helps contribute to its nutritional value and health benefits.

It is good for your body.  It provides antioxidant benefits, which get rid of free radicals, the nasty things that suck the life out of cells.   It also provides minerals needed by your body.

Natural Skin & Health Care

It is good for your skin.  It is a natural humectant, which means it draws moisture in.  Ahhhh – the best facial mask (although the most sticky) is to slather a thin layer of honey on your clean face and allow it to sit for about 15 minutes.  You can feel it warming up your skin, and it rinses off surprisingly easy.  My skin feels YOUNG after I use honey (although I can only speak for myself!)

It has natural healing properties.   It can be used to treat a cut or scrape, and has been used for centuries to treat burns and other wounds. A common home remedy, we often used lemon juice + honey in hot water for sore throats, and it always helped.  The lemon juice is beneficial, too, but combined with the honey can have a comforting effect on dry, sore throats.  Add 1 Tbsp lemon juice + 1 Tbsp honey to 6 oz of hot water.  The honey & lemon can be adjusted to taste…

Honey also helps reduce coughing (especially buckwheat honey).  It also has antimicrobial properties (which is why it is so rare for honey to spoil!) and antibiotic benefits, too!

Substitute for Sugar

In many cases, honey is a great substitute for sugar.  Because honey remains fairly unprocessed, it retains most of its nutritional value, whereas sugar loses much of its value outside of sucrose.  In equal measure, honey has a few more calories than sugar, but tends to taste sweeter, so you may be able to settle for less…

Honey does have a healthier Glycemic Index, which is important for anyone watching their sugar intake.  Honey comes with its own enzymes (from the honeybees) which help it break down more easily than sugar for our body to absorb and use.

Honey is being studied for it’s possible cancer-fighting ability, too.

Buy Locally

While you can probably buy honey in any grocery store in your area, it could be a boost to your health to find a local beekeeper who sells honey.  Honey produced in your local area includes pollen from local trees, fruits, and plants.  If you suffer from allergies to pollen, you may find some relief in the regular consumption of honey because the small doses of allergens delivered in the honey has a similar effect to allergy injections.

To find a local producer, visit the Honey Locator.

Essentially, honey is an amazing food that should be kept in your pantry.  It’s sweet, golden goodness can contribute to your good health when consumed in moderation.

Photo credits: photo credit: wstryder