September is National Honey Month, the perfect time to celebrate honey bees for all they do to provide color and flavor to our diets, but we’re not just talking about the liquid gold of their namesake. In fact, National Honey Month is just as much about honey bees as it is the honey they make.
The National Honey Board (NHB) has always recognized the importance of honey bees and the benefits of honey, so in 1989, the NHB worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to give honey the praise that it’s due and thus September was officially deemed National Honey Month. Why September? Simply, it is the month when the majority of honey is harvested in the United States.
While we are celebrating National Honey Month all September long with the return of our Honey Saves Hives program (click here to learn about simple and delicious ways to help the bees), this week we are bringing the party to the breakfast table with a fresh edition of our Pollinating Your Entire Menu blog series!
If you are new to our blog, this year we launched a tasty new blog and recipe series with nutrition and fitness expert Mitzi Dulan, RD, CSSD, America’s Nutrition Expert®, that focuses on whole food nutrition while highlighting honey bee-pollinated ingredients. Featuring everything from fruit + nut bars and granola to fresh salads and flatbread, these recipes have showcased how honey bees pollinate ingredients spanning your entire menu, from morning until night. Up this week is a nutty twist on a breakfast classic – Macadamia Nut + Coconut Pancakes with Honey!
While recognized for the fruits and vegetables that they pollinate, many may not know that honey bees are also responsible for pollinating a variety of nuts, including the almonds that provide the milk and flour for these pancakes and the macadamia nuts that top it. Not to mention they benefit the coconuts used throughout!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup - almond flour
- 2 large - eggs
- 2 T - honey
- 2 T - olive oil
- 1 tsp. - baking powder
- 1/3 cup - coconut, shredded and unsweetened
- 1 tsp. - vanilla
- 2 T - almond milk
- 2 T - butter
Toppings:
- 1/4 cup - macadamia nuts, chopped
- 2 T - coconut, shredded and unsweetened
- honey
Directions:
Stir together the flour, eggs, honey, olive oil, baking powder, 1/3 cup coconut, vanilla and almond milk.
Heat a skillet to medium-low heat and add butter. Add about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake. Once the pancake has bubbles forming and has firmed up a bit on the bottom, flip. Usually about 3 minutes on the first side and 2-3 minutes on the other side.
Add toppings, as desired.
We hope that you love this recipe just as much as we do, and bee sure to stay tuned as we continue the National Honey Month celebration by bringing you a bonus recipe later this month!