Honey

Honey

Imagine being as fortunate as the bees and butterflies and having the nectar that they drink available to you. A spoonful of Honey is the good fortune. One of Mother Nature’s precious elixirs, that brim over in the heart of flowers and fruits, Nectar. The bee sips it, energizes its manifold with enzymes and it comes to us as a sweet dollop of pure Life force.

As old as the hills, this gift of nature is a complete food in itself, especially if obtained directly from forest. Tribals all over India have Honey Co-operatives, so this precious health revitalizer is available to us.

Honey recipes:

Lemon/ Amla/ Cinnamon Honey Drink:

First thing in the morning, this is a glassful of sunshine and as energizing.

Benefits:

Detox, Anti- Oxidant, Blood purifier, rich in vitamins- cures and prevents cold cough, balances and this formula also helps in weight loss.

               

Ingredients:

1 glass water (normal to lukewarm. NOT HOT). Hot water kills the properties of honey.

½ to 1 lemon or  1tbs amla juice or/and ½ to 1 tsp cinnamon

1 tbs – Honey.

Mix and sip slowly for maximum benefit. Keep a time gap before consuming milk or cereal.

       

 Variations:

Ingredients:

 Fresh water, little more than a glass, 5-6 Tulsi leaves, Mint leaves, Lemongrass or all three.

Give only 1 boil in a steel/ bronze/silver/brass/earthenware vessel/ Electric Kettle. (Never use aluminum and No microwave)

Cool to lukewarm or normal and strain in a glass. Mix 1 tsp honey. Hold up to the rising sun to add a touch of magic and healing. Watch the emerald green liquid turn to gold. Add some tangy lemon and the tartness of 1 tsp ginger juice or ginger piece. Hold it up again and presto! It has turned into a glass of Pink love from Mother Nature. Rejoice in the Prana coursing through you with each sip.

Other uses:

Used widely to mix with-

1)       Ayurvedic Medicines, powders, Kadhas.

2)       Desserts, Sherbets, Confectionaries, filling in Chocolates.

3)      Gulkand made without cooking with rose petals (fresh or dried) and other flowers.

4)       Newborn children are 2-3 drops of pure honey to lick, it is called Ghutti. It cleans   their stomach.

5)       1 tsp first thing in the morning on an empty stomach is very good (Contraindication- Diabetics), but it    is less harmful than white sugar.

6)      Neem honey is actually beneficial even to diabetics.

7)      Cosmetics and Ointments- Apply for Acne, pimples, wounds, cuts,burns, skin diseases, eyes, mouth ulcers. Can mix with turmeric. It is an antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, and a tonic.

8)      As a first aid remedy: Clean any cut, bruise, bite or burn. Apply honey or turmeric mixed with honey and bandage. Sooths pain , irritation, disinfects and heals faster.

9)       Boils: Mix with onion or garlic and haldi.

10)   cuts- with haldi, aloe Vera gel, touch me not or Panfuti or Parnabeej(Bryophyllum , Canteberry bells, Jakhme Hayat)leaves paste. This is also for bites, swellings and burns.

11)   Bites -with soda bi carbonate/ Epsom salt/salt/haldi/onion/garlic/aloe Vera/ lemon/eucalyptus, wild amarnth, Punarnava.

12)   burn- running cool water, aloe Vera with honey or honey mixed in cool tea. Dip Burn in this mixture.

13)   Marigold flowers paste, potato peels or grated potatoes.

Precautions:

 Do not heat. Ideally do not mix with any fat. If otherwise do not mix same proportion of honey and fat. Different quantities are acceptable.

Storage:

Store in a glass/earthenware bottle. Honey reacts to Plastic and Metals. Old honey is like Manna, a powerful healer. Honey never spoils if stored in a non toxic container. No need to refrigerate.