Honey is one of the best food sources globally, and it is one of the only products that cannot spoil. Should honey crystallize on the inside of a jar, you can heat it back up to use it for your meals. However, many people following the Mediterranean diet wondered, Is Honey OK on the Mediterranean Diet?
Honey is one of the best natural products, and it has tons of health benefits for your body and your taste buds. In terms of the taste buds, it serves as a natural sweetener, and when compared to sugar, the number of calories is far less when considering honey as the product to add to your hot beverages.
In the following article, we will look a little deeper at honey and make sure that you get some value for your money when looking at honey. Aside from answering the question about how healthy honey is on the Mediterranean diet, we will also look at some of the different methods. These methods will improve the taste of your meals.
Is Honey OK On The Mediterranean Diet?
Honey is one of the best food types that you can use in almost any diet. It has a few calories, but the positives far outweigh some of the negatives. Honey has a sweet taste, and when you are doing the Mediterranean diet, it can be stale. Drinking bland tea will take its toll, but adding honey will improve the taste and add more antioxidants.
The answer to the question is YES. When using honey, you should always use it in moderation. When you overuse honey, the calories will eventually pile up, and the more calories you eat, the harder weight loss becomes. We recommend using honey in moderation and adding it to some of the sweeter meals to create treats.
5 Ways To Use Honey On The Mediterranean Diet
Once you understand that honey is good and beneficial for you, you might wonder how to incorporate it into your diet. We have selected a couple of methods that you can use to add honey and make treats. Keep in mind that you should always add it in moderation. However, these are some of the top methods that people integrate honey into their meals.
1. Honey With Yogurt
Yogurt, especially plain Greek yogurt, is one of the most common meals that one would eat when it comes to the Mediterranean diet. In the mornings, many people like to eat muesli or nuts for an early meal. However, you can improve the meal by adding a little bit of plain yogurt to create cereal in the mornings.
Unfortunately, these meals might not have a lot of taste, and this is where you can use honey. Instead of adding heaps of sugar, you can add a couple of teaspoons of honey, and the honey will improve the taste. Yes, it takes some time to get used to the taste, but it should be much more efficient than adding sugar from a health perspective.
2. Creating Snacks
The benefit of the Mediterranean diet is that you can have a lot of food. Many people create some of their snacks like peanut butter bars and protein bars. Creating these bars will make it possible for you to improve your snacks and even make them healthier. Honey is a versatile ingredient that you can add to many different snacks.
The variety of snacks that one can create is high. There are tons of different ingredients in the Mediterranean diet that is at your disposal. It is much easier to use solid raw ingredients because you will know what is on the inside. Buying snacks from the store might not be as healthy, even if the ingredient list states honey.
3. Marinades
Once you prepare your food, many people like to add some form of marinade when adding some flavor. The marinade can tenderize the meat, but it also imp[roves the overall taste of the food due to the honey’s sweetness. Honey also melts when you add some heat, and it will dissolve with some of the other ingredients.
If you want to add more flavor to your meals or even create some form of a glaze for a roast, honey is one of the best ingredients. The honey does not lose any health properties, which means that it will give you all the health benefits.
4. Coffee And Tea
As we have mentioned, honey doubles down as a good substitute for sugar. Sugar is not healthy by any means, especially when you drink a lot of coffee and tea. However, you can drink a lot of tea and add honey. Much like the rest of the Mediterranean diet, it will improve the detox process and allow you to lose some weight.
On a side note, we should mention that you should limit your coffee intake. While many people love coffee, caffeine levels at extreme levels are not good for your body. It will also cause you to develop some other issues.
5. Enjoy Raw Honey As A Syrup Substitute
The syrup is important for many people, especially when you eat pancakes and other morning meals. However, it is not healthy to eat syrup due to the high concentration of sugar. You must consider looking at honey to substitute the syrup. Honey has the same great taste, but it is healthier than all the sugar in the syrup.
Many people also enjoy raw honey, and when they have a craving for something sweet, they might have a teaspoon of honey. For people suffering from diabetes, raw honey can help to control blood sugar.
Is Honey OK On The Mediterranean Diet Summary
Honey is one of the best ingredients that people can have when it comes to the Mediterranean diet. You have tons of different methods that you can use honey for. However, we would recommend that you consider it as a substitute for sugar or syrup. Let us know in the comment section what you think of honey in the Mediterranean diet.
Need More Help With The Mediterranean Diet?
Check out our proven 28 day Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan. There have been over 1000 people that have tested it out and loved it!
Stop wasting your time and money on diet plans that don’t work and check it out now. Click the image below:
