Thanks to bumble bees, who pollinate 80% of our nation’s crops, we can indulge in delicious honey. On average, Americans consume about 1.5 pounds of honey per person annually.

It can bring a natural sweetness to everything you eat and drink. From sweetening teas to marinades for grilling, honey also has surprising health benefits. Honey is a form of natural energy, and is rich in carbohydrates. Take a tablespoon of honey before and after a workout to renew your energy. Because of its antimicrobial properties, it is also used to alleviate symptoms of sore throats due to colds, allergies and smoking. Eating local honey (honey produced in the area you reside in) is found to alleviate allergy symptoms.

Choosing The Right Kind Of Honey

So how do you pick your honey? There are so many varieties that are derived from hundreds of plant sources. While the popular kinds are clover or wildflower, we also like Acacia honey. Properties of the Acacia tree is purported to ease and relieve acute respiratory diseases, headaches, kidney and liver diseases. Additionally, acacia honey is used as a sedative for nervous disorders and insomnia. The taste of acacia honey is also mild enough not to affect the flavor of teas or food you are adding the honey to. If you can’t find Acacia honey, use local honey that comes from local beekeepers.

Honey Glazed Shrimp Skewers

Ingredients:

• 1 to 1-1/2 lbs. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 cup of unsweetened tea, chilled (for more flavor use black or chai tea)
• Green onions, thinly sliced (for marinade)
• 1/4 cup Acacia honey
• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt and ground black pepper (to taste)
• t tablespoon of sesame seeds (toasted)

Directions:

1. Mix tea, honey, soy sauce, vinegar and ginger in a bowl. Remove some for basting on the grill.
2. In a plastic bag, combine shrimp and marinade. Let chill and marinade in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to overnight.
3. Soak skewers in water and thread shrimp onto skewer when you are ready to grill.
4. Put salt, pepper and and green onions in the basting marinade.
5. Grill and baste shrimp on each side until shrimps are pink.
• If you prefer not to grill, this is a great stir fry dish too. Coat pan with olive oil and cook until shrimp is done.
6. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds (toast sesame seeds by heating seeds up in a pan; avoid burning by cooking under low heat and moving seeds around until you can smell natural aroma and seeds are light gold in color)