Raw and Healthy on Hvar: Raw Honey

I stopped eating sugar (among other things) over a year ago and although I was quite an addict, I managed it surprisingly well. It was actually pretty easy to stick to my decision and eat healthy, no exceptions. Taking my then 3 year-old with me on this journey was a different story. But I have a strong motivation as I see the health benefits on me and her, so I kept going despite her initial protest. Today, she is quite used to eating healthy and we do enjoy the food we are eating.

As she will grow older, I assume, she will be more curious and she will probably try different things and maybe junk-food is inevitable, but by then, I will do my best to keep her healthy and feed her with real food.

I do my best to avoid processed food, so no candy, chocolate nor ice-cream for us. But we do not live isolated and other kids are getting plenty of sugar when playing together on the square. I was not surprised, when my daughter asked if we could make our own chewing gum the other day (we make our delicious ice-cream at home).

Why not, if we could find a healthy recipe..? We searched the internet for ideas on how to make it and found a recipe using honey wax, honey and fruit juice.

So, apart from raw honey, which I am trying to find on the island for months now without success, we need honey wax too. Hmm, this time, my husband will have to use his knowledge of the place and ask around, but I was not too optimistic about him doing it any time soon.

How wrong I was!! In just 2 days from mentioning it, I got a beautiful piece of honeycomb with a promise for some raw honey in a few days – coming from the Jelsa beekeepers, the Rubin Family.

(photos: Ivana Župan)

Just taking a piece and chewing it makes for a great chewing gum (because of the wax). With all the nutrients, that raw honey is full off, this is one seriously healthy and delicious chewing gum.

From Pure Healing Foods: “Raw honey contains up to 80 different substances important to human nutrition. Besides glucose and fructose, honey contains: All of the B-complex, A, C, D, E, and K, minerals and trace elements: magnesium, sulfur, phosphorus, iron, calcium, chlorine, potassium, iodine, sodium, copper, and manganese. The live enzyme content of honey is one of the highest of all foods. Honey also contains hormones, and antimicrobial and antibacterial factors. Most processed honey today has been heated and filtered, robbing it of its nutritional value and resulting in a product no more valuable than a simple sweetener. Honey is an instant energy-building food containing all the essential minerals necessary for life, all of the B complex group, amino acids, enzymes, and other vital factors. Honey is virtually free of bacteria and rarely spoils.”

I was curious about trying to make the chewing gum according to the recipe we found and melted some of the honeycomb on low temperature and added some organic orange peel and lemon juice. I filled some silicon molds and let it sit to thicken. Our orange chewing gum was delicious, but I have to work on the texture to get something more “gummier”.