The strength and stamina that honey offers to athletes has been a well-known fact since the ancient Greek and Roman times. Maybe refined sugar just became easier to manipulate over the course of time in recipes but we are losing out on the antioxidant content that honey delivers.
Honey contains phenolic acids and flavonoids, both of which are known to fight free radicals, a necessary health benefit in today’s world. Honey recipes (or recipes that incorporate honey sugar) are actually quite easy to prepare, and have the same sweetness – and a much finer flavor – than the processed food containing refined sugar we buy at the market without even thinking about what ingredients they really contain.
For instance, consider honey barbeque sauce. How do you know if there’s really any honey in that bottle you bought last week for your barbecue? There are better honey recipes to use instead, such as this quick and easy recipe for barbecue sauce. Combine 1 can condensed tomato soup, 2 tbsp salad oil, 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp mustard, cup honey and a dash of hot pepper sauce. Mix all together in a saucepan, bring to a boil, simmer and remove.
If you have an insistant sweet tooth, you can get some custard or frozen yogurt and put together a honey caramel sauce fit for a four star restaurant. It’s far less calories than ice cream with chocolate syrup, and you’ll be consuming many necessary vitamins with the honey-based treat. Combine 1 cup honey, 1 tbsp butter, cup heavy cream, 1 tsp vanilla and 1/8 tsp salt into a heavy saucepan. After cooking the first two ingredients, take away from the heat and add the rest of the ingredients. The sauce will thicken into something truly delectable.
Tasty snacks made from honey recipes can be prepared weeks in advance and stored for your convenience. Granola is a healthy substitute for candy and chips, and can even be eaten as breakfast cereal with milk. Salty and sweet can be mixed to your taste from a variety of honey recipes, but here’s a simple one you’ll be sure to enjoy:
For one of many simple, honey recipes, grease a cookie sheet and preheat your oven to 350 degrees; then, add four cups of oats, two cups of coarsely chopped nuts and one cup of raisins in a large bowl. Mix them thoroughly and set it aside. In a large saucepan mix three fourths cups honey, half a cup of melted butter or margarine, two teaspoons of ground cinnamon, a teaspoon of vanilla and a dash of salt. Stir well and bring it to a boil, cooking the sauce for one minute. Then remove it from the heat, pour it over your oats, nuts, and raisins, and mix it well before spreading it onto the cookie sheet. Bake for twenty minutes, taking it out every five to stir. Let it cool, crumble it up, and eat!
If you make an effort to replace your granulated sugar with a small amount of honey sugar, it won’t be long before you don’t even notice that absence of refined sugar. Test your regular recipes with honey sugar, taking care to account for the liquid measure. Remember to reduce your liquids by a quarter cup per each cup of honey, and add half a teaspoon baking soda for each cup of honey used in baked goods.
The more we revert back to natural foods, the more we realize how much our bodies have taken a toll for empty calories and fast living through processed foods. Honey recipes are simple to use with any meal that calls for sugar. Get creative and make your own honey recipes to serve your family.