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3 Reasons You Should Use Honey + a Giveaway!

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3 Reasons You Should be Using Honey. Great tips on using honey in baking, food storage,and medicinally.

3 Reasons I love honey and so should you.

Honey is one of those foods every home should have. I'm not talking about the kind in the little bear bottle from the grocery store. Read those labels and it might not even by real honey…

But real honey is one of the items every home should have. Did you know honey has different flavors depending upon where the bees gathered their pollen? I've found blueberry blossom honey is my favorite (no, it doesn't taste like blueberries, but that would be pretty awesome).

1. Honey is non-perishable. One of the items listed in my 8 Foods You Should Be Storing and How is honey because it will last forever. If it hardens or forms crystals, simply place the container in hot water. Once the honey is heated (at a low temp) you can stir it and the crystals will melt.

2. Honey replaces processed sugar. Yep, honey is great to replace processed sugar in your baking and canning. Here's an article on using honey in your canning recipes. Generally speaking, because honey is sweeter than sugar, you use less honey per sugar ratio when baking. Honey also adds moisture to baked goods. I use honey in my Whole Wheat Buttermilk Bread recipe to increase the moisture. If altering a recipe that called for sugar, try mixing in the honey and cutting back a portion of the liquid. Mix it together and test the texture before adding the full amount of liquid.

3. Honey can be used medicinally. When we get the sniffles and sore throats, there's nothing more soothing than a cup of hot tea with a good amount of honey. (or as tasty) Honey helps coat the throat and according to this study from the Mayo Clinic, honey appeared to be as effective as over the counter cough suppressants.  You can also make this Ginger Honey for your teas and baking.

Consider this a bonus reason: It plain tastes good! Seriously, when I mix honey into my coffee or tea I like to lick the spoon. Too much info? It's also quite gorgeous sitting in a jar. I'm a sucker for old-fashioned decorating and eating. You can't get much  more old-fashioned than something listed in the Bible.

Are you ready to win some honey?  ***Contest Closed***

Coxs Honey-Shelley Idaho Giveaway

Coxs Honey-Shelley Idaho-Giveaway-raw, unfiltered, pure honey | via.www.foodstoragemoms.com

We're giving away an incredible amount of honey to one lucky reader! We're not just giving away any honey-Cox's Honey is pure, unfiltered, raw honey; so rest assured, you will be receiving a premium product of the highest quality.

Cox's Honey has graciously offered to sponsor this group giveaway. If you missed the opportunity to enter our last Cox's Honey giveaway, be sure to enter for your chance to win a total of 30 lbs. of honey: 15 lbs. of liquid honey, and 15 lbs. of creamed honey-perfect for the family that wants the best of both worlds.

You will want to check out Cox's Honey Website! Premium Honey!

This Cox's Honey Giveaway is open to any resident who is 18 years of age or older who lives in one of the 48 US Contiguous States. This giveaway starts on Saturday, Oct. 11th at 5:00 am (MDT) and ends on Saturday, Oct. 18th at 5:00 pm (MDT). The winner will be notified by email and will have 24 hours to respond. If we do not hear back from said winner in the designated time period of 24 hours we will choose another winner and they will have 24 hours to respond from the time the notification email is sent. Please check your SPAM email folders. Good luck to everyone! Let's be prepared for the unexpected!
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8 Tips to Keep Sane when Preserving the Bounty

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Of all the things we do on our homestead, preserving the harvest is one of the most crucial parts to our self-sustainability and old-fashioned pioneer roots. It's also one of the ways we keep our food bill down. In the long run, it keeps our health bills down, too, because the food we put up at home is done at the peak of freshness and when grown by us, heirloom and organically.

8 tips to keep sane when preserving the bounty. During peak canning season I always feel behind, these are some great tips to remember. Plus, the food saver and canner giveaway would be awesome to win.

You might say I'm a little bit in love with preserving food at home. And my husband is totally okay with my other “love”. In fact, he encourages and even helps… yea, he's pretty awesome that way.

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Homemade Refried Beans in 10 Minutes

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In my quest to eliminate processed foods, I'm learning how to make even more of my own food from scratch. Like many of you, I'm busy and some recipes take a lot of prepping or time. I canned up a bunch of our heirloom October beans this fall. I've used them in soups, chili, and casseroles, but decided to try them with tacos. Enter my homemade refried bean recipe, that get this, only takes 10 minutes to make!

Homemade Refried Beans in 10 Minutes www.MelissakNorris.com

While I love our Tarheel Green Beans, the versatility of October beans make them a close second as my favorite. Like our Tarheel beans, this seed came from North Carolina. If you're just venturing into heirloom seeds, beans are the perfect intro as you don't have to worry about cross-pollination or fermenting when saving the seeds.

Homemade Refried Beans in 10 Minutes Ingredients

Though I'm getting better, I don't always plan out or prep our meals in advance. So when I find a quick recipe or easy way to do it, I love to share it with others. I couldn't believe how good these homemade refried beans turned out in so little time. 

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