Title:   The wonderful world of Honey... :)

I have a serious weakness for sweets, and when I say serious, I mean the OMG code-red, abandon ship kind of serious... Lucky for me, I have a blender, and a near limitless supply of honey. (I buy it in the gallon jug if I can!) I've never been a big fan of artificial sweeteners. I'm a bit of a hypochondriac, and all of the information released about aspartame and saccharin and cancer made me paranoid. Not to mention the atrocious aftertaste! Honey is an easily digestible carbohydrate, has its own natural antibacterial system, is 1/3 sweeter than plain sugar, and because of its low moisture content, it's an ideal sweetener for baking. Baked goods made with honey keep longer, and stay moister since the honey pulls moisture out of the air.

This information was taken from realfoodliving.com in response to the question "which is healthier? honey or sugar?"

"Honey contains at least 15 nutrients whereas sugar has none. Honey is an aid to digestion when taken in the raw state due to its enzyme content while sugar interferes with digestion. Honey enters the bloodstream slowly, 2 calories per minute. Sugar enters quickly at 10 calories per minute, causing blood sugars to fluctuate rapidly and wildly. Sugar causes calcium leakage from bones, contributing to osteoporosis while honey does not. That's pretty straight-forward, isn't it?"

What's not to love? :D

Here's some fun quick and easy honey ideas that I throw together every so often. If anyone wants to add their own ideas I'd love to hear them! I'm a honey addict! I'll try anything once! hehe...

Peanut Butter, Chocolate, banana smoothies:
Toss a half a cup of skim milk, a half a cup of nonfat sugar free vanilla yogurt, a banana, 2 tbsp cocoa powder, 2 tbsp peanut butter (I prefer the all natural kind with no added sweeteners), and 2 tbsp or so (to taste) of honey in a blender. mix it all up, and add a cup or so of ice to crush it up and make it like a smoothie. (Note: It makes more than one serving.. it usually comes out to about 3 or so for me) I find this is a great substitute for me when I'm REALLY craving ice cream. Between the yogurt and the peanut butter there's enough substance to make it feel like a satisfying desert without rocking your diet. Divided into 3 servings, each serving has about 178 calories or so with about 53 of them being from fat (in the peanut butter). Compare that to the 250-400 or more calories per cup in your favorite ice cream and I consider it a fair trade. I've also made this without the banana quite a few times.

Another thing I like to do is use honey, lemon juice, and grated parmasan cheese as a salad dressing. The honey is sticky and thick enough to make the "dressing" feel creamier than it really is, and the only fat calories come from the cheese! :)

Here's another fun honey dessert I whipped up not too long ago. I won't post the whole recipe here, since it's got it's own thread.

Cardamom Spiced Light Creme Brulee

entry by sennyo

last edit by slc2006, 10/5/2006 11:28:52 AM

Best Of PT Wiki   Dessert   Easy   Fat Free   Low Fat   RECIPES   Smoothie   Sweetener   Sweets   yogurt  

Love this!!!
elle, 7/19/2006 1:59:24 PM

ooooh.. pretty picture :) thank you someone!
sennyo, 7/22/2006 2:29:39 PM

so can you use honey in drinks and if so how many points is it.
riehart, 7/23/2006 8:56:32 PM

I found a formula for WW points online and ran it through. 1 tbsp came to 1 and a fifth WW points. Keep in mind that 1 tbsp is equivalent to 3 tsp, so if you want to cut down on the points you can always use less. 1 tbsp for 1 drink would be obscenely sweet for me anyway :D
Sennyo, 7/24/2006 9:21:13 AM

i really also have a weakness for sweets so hiney is the solution and it's less calories,pretty cool! well specialy honey with nuts or almonds yummy.. hehe but the bad news that nuts and almonds has lots of calories :((( anybody has another suggestion with lower calories to us to eat with honey than nuts??
pls someone reply to me :(( plsssssss
Suzie123, 8/4/2007 3:53:21 PM

I love eating honey over the berries that you can just buy in the bag (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries)...dont' know off the top of my head how many calories...but it's not alot. I also put some flaxeed on them for more fibre...when I have a craving for something sweet, this really does help.
TamarHann, 8/7/2008 1:18:10 PM

I live in the country, in ND, and a Honey Company keeps bees on my property, so I get a full case of FREE raw honey every year. And I NEVER even buy sugar! I like my morning coffee sweet, so I put two heaping tsps of honey in it every morning. The only thing that has ever made it any better is when I had a milk goat. Fresh goat's milk & honey make the PERFECT cup of coffee.
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