Raw Honey is the Bee's Knees Around Here.

Is raw honey one of your kitchen staples?

You may think of honey as just another sweetener - something to drizzle on baked goods or scoop in your tea when you're feeling ill.

But raw honey is actually a powerhouse food. Anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, and full of beneficial enzymes, honey has the capacity to heal, provide important nutrition, and sweeten your food.

Raw, unfiltered honey also contains both bee pollen and propolis. If you suffer from seasonal allergies, like Joe does, you might be thinking: "Wait, why would I want to eat pollen?"

If you're eating honey that comes from a local beekeeper, consuming regional pollen may help alleviate symptoms of seasonal allergies. LIkewise, consuming propolis, the sticky greenish-brown coating that bees use to build their hives, fights bacteria and helps heal wounds in our body.

With these benefits, it makes sense to incorporate honey into your kitchen. But how do you do it beyond the occasional drizzle?

One major way to incorporate honey is to substitute it for sugar. Substituting honey also has the added benefit of using less sweetener, as honey is actually 2-3x sweeter than sugar. Try this list of tips for substituting honey in other recipes - or our yogurt honey olive oil cake.

Honey also serves as an excellent flavor enhancer while you're cooking. A little bit goes a long way! Try using it as a glaze on meat, like in the Honey Garlic Chicken recipe.

Finally, honey makes an excellent addition to a healthy dessert. Use some homemade ricotta to whip up the whipped ricotta and honey.

Want to know more about our honey - and how our beekeeper raises his bees? You can find my interview with our beekeeper, Dustin, here.