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Beauty
Cooking
Medicine
Energy Boost
Household
Beauty
Honey has the natural ability to attract and retain moisture and is an important factor in beauty products because of its ability to maintain softness, suppleness and elasticity.
1. Relax with a honey bath: Add 1/4 cup honey to your bath water for a fragrant, silky bath.
2. Keep your hair healthy with a Hair Shine: Stir 1 tsp. of honey into 4 cups of warm water. (Add lemon if desired.) After shampooing, pour the honey mixture through hair. Do not rinse. Dry as normal.
3. Hair Conditioner: Mix 1/2 cup honey with 1/4 cup olive oil. (For normal to oily hair, use only 2 tablespoons oil.) Using a small amount at a time, work mixture through hair until coated. Cover hair with a shower cap; leave on 30 minutes. Remove shower cap and shampoo well. Rinse. Dry as normal.
4. Honey helps clear up acne without drying your skin! Use Soothing Skin Clarifier to help clear up minor acne: Mix 1/2 cup warm water with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Using a cotton ball, apply the mixture directly to the blemish. Maintain pressure with the cotton ball for several minutes. This softens the blemish. Then, using a cotton swab, dab honey on the blemish and leave it on for 10 minutes. Rinse and pat dry.
5. Keep your skin smooth with Smoothing Skin Lotion-- Mix 1 teaspoon with 1 teaspoon vegetable oil and 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice. Rub into hands, elbows, heels and anywhere that feels dry. Leave on 10 minutes. Rinse off with water.
6. Protect your skin from sun damage by eating honey and using Smoothing Skin Lotion.
7. Make your own Honey Cleansing Scrub. Mix 1 tablespoon of honey with 2 tablespoons finely ground almonds and 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice. Rub gently onto face. Rinse off with warm water. (For more Honey Beauty Recipes, visit the National Honey Board's web site at http://www.honey.com/recipes/beauty/.)
8. Keep your skin looking young with the Honey Firming Face Mask. Whisk together 1 tablespoon honey, 1 egg white, 1 teaspoon glycerin (available at drug and beauty stores) and enough flour to form a paste (approximately 1/4 cup). Smooth over face and throat. Leave on 10 minutes. Rinse off with warm water.
9. Facial Toner -- In blender, puree 1 tablespoon honey with a peeled, cored apple. Smooth over face; leave on 15 minutes. Rinse with cool water.
10. Moisture Mask-- Mix 2 tablespoons honey with 2 teaspoons milk. Smooth over face and throat. Leave on 10 minutes. Rinse off with warm water.
Cooking
11. Reduce the liquid in a recipe by 1/4 cup for each cup of honey you use.
12. Replace sugar with honey: Simply substitute honey, cup for cup, in place of sugar. As a rule reduce the liquid by a quarter cup for every cup of honey used. In baked goods add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda for every cup of honey used and bake at a temperature 25 degrees lower than instructions call for. In cookie recipes using eggs and no additional liquid, increase the flour by 2 tablespoons per cup of honey, or enough flour to give the desired consistency. Chill before shaping and baking.
13. For every cup of honey used in a recipe, increase the baking soda by 1/2 teaspoon.
14. Reduce the oven temperature by 25º F to prevent over browning.
15. Use honey when brewing beer for a great tasting, light beer.
16. When baking cookies and scones, use honey to help reduce crumbling.
17. For easy measuring, coat the measuring utensil with vegetable oil or nonstick cooking spray before you measure the honey.
18. To freeze sliced or crushed fruits for the winter, use one part strained honey to 4 or 5 parts fruit. For whole fruits, add one cup of water to every 2 cups of honey. Use just enough of the diluted honey to cover the fruit.
19. Add honey to fresh fruit or fruit salads. Honey's acidic nature prevents fruit from turning brown. Use light-flavored honey so it doesn't mask the fruit flavor.
20. Make your own honey butter spread. Beat together 1/2 cup margarine or butter and 1/3 cup of honey until smooth (about 3 or 4 minutes) and you have honey butter spread. Beelicious!
21. To glaze meat, such as ham or turkey, turn the oven temperature to 225º F and baste with honey every 10 to 15 minutes during the last hour of baking.
22. Add honey, one teaspoon at a time, to foods that are too spicy or too salty, such as chili. Honey will tame down the spices while enhancing the flavor; and you won't notice the sweetness.
23. Preserve fruit with honey http://www.honey.com/recipes/canning/pfruit.html
24. Pickle and preserve vegetables with honey http://www.honey.com/recipes/canning/pveggie.html
25. Honey contains a wide array of vitamins, such as vitamin B6, thiamin, niacin, riboflavin and pantothenic acid.
26. Use honey as a topping on ice cream, pureed fruit or on meat.
27. For a sweet, shiny glaze on your desert, mix honey with melted butter and drizzle over angel food cake or pound cake.
28. Need a topping for cupcakes or a carrot cake? Soften an 8 oz. package of cream cheese and mix with 1/4 cup of honey and a pinch of salt. Cream until smooth.
29. Brush honey on warm baked goods for a sweet shiny glaze.
30. Combine equal parts Dijon-style mustard and honey. Spread on sandwiches, use as a dip for vegetables and pretzels, or brush on grilled meat and sausages.
31. Drizzle honey over pancakes or cornbread.
32. Sweeten your barbecue sauce by adding 2 tbsp honey into prepared sauce. Add more to suit your taste.
33. Granulation does not affect the taste or purity of honey. Honey never spoils. It may be used granulated or restored to a liquid. To re-liquefy honey place the open glass or can container (never plastic) in a pan of hot water until all crystals melt.
Medicine
34. When eaten daily, pure honey will reduce your body's susceptibility to infections.
35. Many doctors recommend equal parts of honey, lemon and whiskey as an extremely effective cough syrup.
36. Because of honey's fructose content, many claim it is a cure for a hangover.
37. Sore throats-- Swallowing a teaspoon of honey may soothe a sore throat or cough.
38. Boost your daily supply of antioxidants by eating honey.
39. If you're feeling tired and need a boost of energy, stir a spoonful of honey into a glass of water or add honey and fresh fruit to yogurt for a power-packed snack!
40. Honey is a great source of vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin B6, thiamin, niacin, riboflavin and pantothenic acid.
Energy Boost
Honey is a great source of energy. For a quick boost of energy:
41. Stir a spoonful of honey into your morning juice or afternoon yogurt.
42. Sweeten your coffee or tea with honey.
43. Drizzle honey on your favorite cereal or look for home-sweetened cereals in the grocery store.
44. Make a peanut butter and honey sandwich.
45. Dip apple slices and other fresh fruit in honey.
46. Eat a spoonful of honey before your morning jog or exercise routine.
47. To replenish energy and fluids, stir a spoonful of honey into a glass of water.
48. Spread honey on toasted bread, bagels or English muffins.
Household
49. Make beeswax candles.
50. You can make Peanut Butter Playdough out of regular kitchen ingredients. Take 1 cup smooth peanut butter, 1/2 cup honey and 2 cups Nonfat Dry Milk. Mix together the peanut butter and honey first. Add half of the dry milk and mix; then continue to add a little at a time until it feels soft & playful! Use less than 2 cups of dry milk if the clay seems to be getting dry. And, YES, YOU CAN EAT IT!
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