Honey Cookies

This time of the year is honey time. Many people prefer the flavor of honey over sugar. Others eat it because they believe it is healthier. (It is not healthier than sugar.)  I eat it because it’s a traditional food this time of the year, and I enjoy the taste if it isn’t overpowering. I have this delicious honey cookie recipe that I have been making for about 9 years. The cookies are soft and almost cake-like. Best of all (for me) is that the honey flavor is not overwhelming. Here is the recipe.

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
3 eggs
3 Tbsp honey
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch salt

Beat together sugar, oil, eggs, and honey. Combine dry ingredients. Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients. With moistened hands form dough into small balls and place on baking sheet, OR drop by teaspoonful onto lined baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes.

honey cookies!

For other honey thoughts, click here!

Juice…It’s All-Natural! What could be Wrong?

                Way too often, my patients tell me proudly that they are drinking only natural juice with no sugar. However, I do not congratulate them on that choice. :’( Many assume that natural juice must be good for their diabetes or whatever health condition they have. But what is it with juice? Why is that often not the best choice?

                Even without adding any sugar to a cup of 100% fruit juice, it will have 25-35grams of sugar. The differences depend on the fruit used to make the juice, with grape juice having one of the highest amounts of juice per cup. Any sweet food will have sugar. Many foods have naturally-occurring sugars. All fruit will have naturally-occurring sugar, as will vegetables, milk, and honey.

For someone who is working on achieving a healthy weight, there are a few points that are relevant. Fruit juice does not have fiber. When fruit juice is made, all the fibrous parts, such as the skin, are removed. Because it is fiber-free liquid, it will not help increase your satiety, as juice pretty much goes right through you without stimulating any fullness receptors. Its 120-140 calories per cup provide a sweet drink, but not the same fullness as 120-140 calories of a fruit. For example, a large apple is around 120 calories, and also give you 5 grams of fiber…now that will keep you going a bit.

Next time you want a sweet treat, reach for a whole fruit. My favorites are Honey Crisp apple, bananas, and strawberries. What are your favorite fruits? 

Raw Honey...Is it Better?

                One of my readers asked me a very interesting question: “Is raw honey better than processed honey?” My answer is “No.” Okay, that is the end of this blog.

                Just kidding! I’ll give you a bit more information. Most people would say honey is raw if it was not heated or processed in another way. There are claims that raw honey is better because it has some pollen that is removed when honey is heated and filtered. While it is true that heating and filtering the honey will reduce the pollen content in it, a study that was presented as an abstract at a conference showed that this did not change the nutrient content of the honey[1]. That is to say, the micronutrient and antioxidant content was the same before and after it was heated and filtered. Regarding the benefits of pollen, I had difficulty finding any studies that showed definite health benefits of bee pollen.

                The reason why I almost did not want to give this explanation is because I do not like to focus on the insignificant differences between two items. Somehow, the media picks up on these “nutrition” issues and focuses on them. Then, we as consumers are led to believe that we need to start being concerned about differences between types of honey.

What if there was a difference between the two honeys? Do you think you are eating enough of it for the difference between the little amounts of micronutrients to actually affect your health? If you have concerns about whether or not you are getting enough vitamins, minerals, or antioxidants, the answer is to eat more fruits and vegetables, not to choose a honey that might have a drop more micronutrients than the other one! And quite frankly, honey is another type of sugar, so honey should not be eaten in large quantities anyway.

You may wonder, maybe there are health benefits of pollen—there are some studies that seem to seem to indicate some sort of link. Well, perhaps there might some health benefits that have not yet been clarified by research, but I do know some nutrition changes that are actually supported by a lot of high quality literature—eating more fruits and vegetables, drinking less soda, and eating less red meat. Perhaps these may be areas of nutrition change that can be more impactful on our health than eating raw honey.

                This is a theme in how I practice nutrition: We need to be looking at our overall diet to determine its quality. Am I eating vegetables a few times per day? Am I choosing whole grains and other foods with fiber? Am I choosing beverages that do not contain sugar? Am I eating food that tastes good and is good for my health? Let’s focus on the main stuff before moving on the “extra credit” of nutrition.

                Check out this link for my blog about the basics of good nutrition.

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[1] Beals K, Ropa D. Effects of processing on the pollen and nutrient content of honey. The FACEB Journal. April 2013. vol. 27 no. 1 Supplement 859.7.

Is honey better?

Were you wondering if honey is better than sugar? “Well, it’s natural,” you might say, “so it must be better.”

Let’s take a look and compare.

	Honey	Table Sugar	Brown Sugar
Calories per teaspoon	22	16	17
Chemical makeup	mostly fructose and glucose	sucrose	sucrose
What it becomes in your body	glucose	glucose	glucose
What else is in it?	very small amounts of vitamins and minerals	nothing	Molasses, very small amounts of minerals

If you are aiming for the lowest calories, white sugar is the one. The amount of vitamins and minerals in honey and brown sugar are so small, that they frankly add an insignificant amount to what you eat in a day. If your goal is to eat more vitamins and minerals, have a fruit or vegetable as a snack, as honey and brown sugar are not good sources of those.

If you are wondering what to add to your tea or coffee, I would suggest choosing whichever one you like best, and limiting it to 1 teaspoon. Although they differ slightly in calories, in the scheme of things, a 6 calorie difference is not going to alter much.

Good nutrition is not going to come from choosing honey or table sugar or brown sugar. Good nutrition involves an attitude you have when making food choices the entire day.