Sure, honey is a superfood full that tastes delicious and has antibacterial and antiviral properties that can help boost your immune system and fight sickness, but there are tons of uses for honey that go beyond adding it to your favorite tea.
Here are 7 unexpected uses for honey:
1. Add a little extra boost to your workout
Honey has been proven to boost athletic performance. It’s as simple as eating a tablespoon of it before heading to the gym for an extra oomph of energy.
2. Wash your face with it
Raw honey contains enzymes which work to naturally remove dead skin cells, leaving your skin clean, clear, and glowing. Put a dime-sized amount of honey in your hand and add a little bit of warm water. Massage watered honey mixture on your face and rinse. Take it a step further with a homemade honey face mask. Mix one tablespoon of honey with two tablespoons of plain yogurt. Apply to face and rinse off in 20 minutes.
3. Sleep more soundly
Do you often wake up a few hours after going to bed and are unable to get back to sleep? Try mixing a teaspoon of honey with a sprinkling of salt. This will help reset the stress hormones, cortisol and adrenaline, and prompt a sounder sleep.
4. Treat mosquito bites.
Miami mosquitos are no joke. Dab a little honey on a mosquito bite to reduce itch and irritation, as well as to help prevent infection.
5. Moisturize your split ends
A tablespoon of honey mixed with a couple of tablespoons of coconut or olive oil makes a great deep conditioning treatment - apply to the bottom two-thirds of your hair, wrap in a warm towel and leave for 20 minutes before rinsing.
6. Get rid of old healed scars
Applying honey directly to your skin can cause it to lighten and reduce the appearance of scars. Mix a teaspoon of honey with a teaspoon of coconut oil or olive oil and massage into the scar, cover with a warm washcloth and leave for around 15 minutes until cool. Repeat once a day until satisfied.
7. Prevent a hangover
Home from a long night of drinking? Don’t go to sleep before having two to three tablespoons of honey mixed with hot water. The natural sugars found in honey will help the body to metabolize and prevent sudden changes in blood sugar levels, as well as help the alcohol metabolism processes. A tablespoon again in the morning helps seal the deal.
Grab The Native Guy's local RAW honey to experience some of these tricks yourself.
]]>Everyone knows bees are responsible for honey production, but did you know that’s not the only thing bees make? Bees also produce propolis. Propolis is a special compound produced by bees. Propolis is a sticky resin-like substance that honeybees create by mixing sap and pollen from tree buds with their saliva. The result is a thick binding substance that bees use to fill cracks in their hive, protect against outside invaders and bacteria, and support the hive’s all-around structure.
What Does Propolis Do?
While propolis is vital to the survival of the hive, it’s also very beneficial for humans. Propolis has been used for medicinal purposes for decades. The compounds found in propolis contain antioxidants that fight disease and damage within our bodies. Propolis is known to have antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory properties.
Propolis has the ability to help heal wounds and burns faster than other topical treatments, as it speeds up healthy cell growth. Other uses include treating cold sores and herpes outbreaks, preventing oncoming colds, ulcer treatment, arthritis relief, and sore throat remedies.
How Do You Use Propolis?
Propolis can be mixed into any liquid or gargled on its own. Use 4-5 drops in half a glass of warm liquid once or twice a day. If using propolis to treat a wound, apply it to the skin where necessary using a cotton bud or piece of linen moistened with liquid. Want to try it for yourself? Grab yours here. The Native Guy’s propolis is sold as a tincture in a 1oz bottle.
A few fun facts you may not know about honey bees:
In honor of National Honey Month, we will be working with Barr Hill Gin for Bee's Knees Week!
Bee's Knees Week is a celebration of the bee’s knees cocktail, a spotlight on the importance of bees in our food and drink system, and a community of bartenders working together to save the bees.
Since its establishment in 2017, Bee’s Knees Week participants have collectively donated over $31,000 to non-profit bee and pollinator organizations. Join us as we take part in the third year of this event with Barr Hill Gin and bartenders who are uniting to help save the bees through this weeklong celebration of bees and the Bee’s Knees cocktail.
A dollar for every cocktail sold will be donated to support The Bee Cause Project and help install educational beehives in public places.
Does your bar want to join in? Sign up here!
]]>This year, The Native Guy was honored with a chance to take part in one of the Tales of the Cocktail seminars sponsored by our friends at Aberfeldy. Hive to Highball was presented by Georgie Bell, the global single malts ambassador for Bacardi, along with a panel of incredible queen bees Maggie Campbell, Nadine Nelson, and Anya Montague. Each presenter shared their knowledge of the honey bee, their importance, and how the bartending community can make a difference.
Anya Montague - Fell in love with beekeeping while being the bar manager at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, and over the last year traveled the world learning from local beekeepers about closed loop cocktails.
Nadine Nelson - Career educator, chef, activist and owner of Global Local Gourmet, helped to connect honey to cuisine, strengthening the link between the bar and the kitchen. She spoke about how to work with and highlight honey flavor variances in both mixed drinks and simple dishes.
Maggie Campbell - President and head distiller at Privateer rum, talked about the benefits and fulfillment of becoming a part-time hobby beekeeper and how to set up your own apiary – whether it be on a bar rooftop or in the backyard.
Twelve honeys from around the world were used as examples during the seminar, including our very own lychee honey. Golden Drams made with Aberfeldy were served featuring The Native Guy’s lychee honey.
During the panel attendees learned that honey is one of the few cocktail ingredients that predates the agricultural revolution and is the only paleo ingredient that was actually around during paleo times. The presenters took the class on a journey around the world with honeys from places as far as Australia and Zimbabwe to Boston, Connecticut, and Texas. Each honey had a unique taste and a variety of uses.
The USA alone is home to 300 unique kinds of honey, and each one of these can deliver a different flavor profile to work with in mixed drinks. The class focused on how honey can completely transform cocktails and the flavor infinities that come from pairing various spirits and honey together.
The seminar ended with a quick lesson and tips on becoming a beekeeper, the importance of local honey, and how we can contribute to saving the honey bee.
Thank you to Georgie, Aberfeldy, and Tales of the Cocktail for having us! We hope to see you next year.
]]>If you want to check out the segment again, we got you covered here!
]]>The FDACS (Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services) inspectors were present as well to help out the Bee Lab with Bee College, teaching beekeepers the most up to date news on laws and regulations in the industry. Whether you are beekeeping commercially or in your backyard, proper bee keeping practices are vital to the ecosystem (and humans ofcourse). I’ve attended Bee College for the last 2 years and I will be a continuous student; not only to refresh myself on proper beekeeping basics but to also network with this wonderful community of beekeepers that we are fortunate to have nearby and meet new faces that are eager to start beekeeping either as a hobby or business.
I attended the ‘How to control a swarm’ course and I was impressed on how the instructor was very involved with the course. This was by far not just another boring lecture, I really felt the connection and the need to learn, whether I knew it or not. I’ll be going there for years to come.
]]>Nick Bofill is a Miami native whose childhood was filled with intrigue as he studied wild native plants and flowers. He became interested in Florida's pollinators and began studying the honey bee. Nick made it his mission to save the honey bee and to educate consumers on its importance. Along the way, he started to produce high quality honey in a variety of flavors. The Native Guy is not just a honey connoisseur, but also a certified Professional Horticulturist and Landscape Technician through Florida Nursery, Growers, and Landscapers Association.
The Native Guy attended Bee College at University of Florida where he was able to hone his skills. He is committed to creating opportunities to educate South Florida on the benefits of honey as he creates the best local honey in the area.
]]>Living in Miami I’ve been blessed in having the opportunity to meet a lot of growers and farmers, I’ve also personally seen 19 different Avocado groves in Homestead, meaning local restaurants and chefs have no reason to seek avocados from the West coast with so much variety in a 25 mile span. I recently made a Donnie avocado guacamole and compared the taste to a “Freshly Made” store bought guacamole; the difference was huge! I took the fruit from my uncle, Tio Guilles grove in the Redlands. My mom didn't believe that her son made such a good guac.
In South Florida, we can grow 26 different of avocados in our backyard. Varieties like ‘Brookslate’ and “Monroe” which is one of the last to fruit in the season. The ‘Monroe’ was actually discovered in Homestead, Florida in the 1930’s. It’s a hybrid between a West Indian and Guatemalan variety, with a most noticeable characteristic- its cold hardiness. Another great tasting avocado is the Donnie, harvested in late May through June.
Stay tuned for tips in guiding you to find your favorite avocado variety.
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