Allergy season is upon us!

Let me start by saying I am not an expert or a doctor so please don’t fault me if you do not agree. I must share that I have been virtually allergy-free for a few years now and I 100% credit my daily teaspoon of local, raw, unfiltered honey. Honey has been touted as an allergy vaccine of sorts for a very long time, long story short: bees pick up the pollen and turn it into honey which you consume, thereby building up your natural immunity to the pollens used by the bees. By eating local honey, you are ensuring that you’re building up your immunity to your local pollens. Honey you buy in a regular grocery store is pasteurized, the honey is boiled and filtered to make it clear and to give it a long shelf life. The boiling kills all those fabulous antibodies that you want to consume to build up your immunity though.

There are reports and studies on both sides of this statement so please research further if you are so inclined; I read both sides and figured “eh, why not give it a try?” and here we are. I started eating honey as an allergy vaccine after my first spring in Bedford. My allergies were so bad that I was missing work to stay home, in bed, in complete and total darkness and silence with a tissue shoved up my nose hoping that the Benadryl and Excedrin would eventually kick in or just knock me out. I was a lifelong allergy sufferer and had tried prescriptions, herbs, various OTC meds, even chiropractics and acupuncture but nothing really worked. I figured honey couldn’t make anything worse, so why not just give it a try.

Now, after a few years of taking 1tsp of local, raw, unfiltered honey daily, I can awaken with a clear head and eyes, completely fine, despite the fact that the pollen counts are through the roof and Dan and most of my coworkers are suffering. Honey doesn’t work like a pill or liquid, it is not an immediate solution, and it takes a year or so to really start experiencing significant results. After a few days, you’ll notice a slight improvement; after a month or so you’ll notice more, but it’s a long commitment. BUT since it’s not a pill, it’s also not a big deal if you miss a day or two (or month) either. That first year, I didn’t notice a huge difference but by the second year, wow! This is my fourth spring and I feel great!! [knocking on wood] I will admit that I’m dragging a bit today, but that could also be because it is a Monday, I am not home, in bed, with a pounding migraine and loss of peripheral vision like how I was for many years.

I still have bad allergy days from time to time, but now it’s only 1 or 2 per allergy season (vs. once/twice a week) and I hope in time those go away completely. Also, I feel terrible that Dan is suffering, but this is another one of those “if he’d just listen to me” situations so I am reminding (torturing) him daily (with a smile) that I’m right, he’s wrong, and he should just eat a tsp of honey and stop being so stubborn (it’s so fun, right Shan??). Side note: Dan doesn’t believe that eating honey will cure his allergies, but he also refuses to admit that he suffers from allergies. Second side note: crushing up a Benadryl tablet or two and serving it to your honey in his sweet tea so that his nose stops running, he stops clearing his throat so loudly that you can’t hear your tv show and (if you’re lucky) he passes out is not “drugging” him, it’s taking care of him when he’s not feeling well and too stubborn to just swallow a goshdarn pill. Last side note, promise: if you stir it into the tea before adding the ice, it dissolves completely and is 100% unnoticeable. (shhhhh, don’t tell Dan)

Ok back to my original story … I like eating a tsp of honey straight out of the jar; however, I know not everyone can handle that much biting sweetness. I also really enjoy stirring it into my morning tea, when I actually have time to make myself a morning tea (although don’t stir it into boiling water, see note above about making sure your honey is raw; I heat my water in the microwave to warm it just enough to make the tea steep but I don’t heat it to anywhere near boiling). Dan, who is normally a sweets freak, surprisingly doesn’t like honey all that much, so I’ve been experimenting with hiding it in different things to get him to eat some. He has unknowingly been consuming raw honey in his salad dressing, sweet tea and sauces for almost a month now and I must say that this allergy season doesn’t seem to be as rough on him as it has been in the past. Today’s pollen count would have made him SO cranky and sleepy this time last year but he got up and went to work without too much complaint this morning and he seemed fine when I checked in on him mid-day, and here it is almost 9pm and he's still going strong. I plan to keep this up through this allergy season and most of the summer, hopefully by fall his allergy suffering will decline at least a little more; wish me luck!!

Honey Mustard Citrus Dressing
Makes about 1 1/3 cups; 1tbsp = 0pts, 2tbsp = 1pt
1/2 cup light orange juice (I buy the Minute Maid one and it’s good)
1/3 cup grapefruit juice
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon local, raw, unfiltered honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger

Mix this all together in a blender or whisk vigorously until fully blended; chill at least 1hr before serving and enjoy! You can also add a little orange and lemon zest; garlic works really well in place of ginger but don’t use both or it is nasty. Dan really likes this one over spinach with grape tomatoes and walnuts.

I get my local, raw, unfiltered honey from Father’s Bees in Colleyville; you can find their honey at Bedford, Colleyville and I think Hurst and NRH farmers’ markets. The Cooper St market in Arlington sells raw, unfiltered honey from Waxahachie, which is semi-local but Colleyville is just up the street and the bee farm is only about 7-10min from my house, now THAT’S local!