GloryBee Blog

Use Honey For These 5 Tasty Treats

Buying raw honey in bulk is a great idea if you’re a fan of sweet treats. Though Americans eat about 1.3 pounds of honey (per person) each year, most people might not think of honey as being the perfect topping for too many snacks. There are actually a handful of things that go perfectly with a nice spread of raw honey.

It’s time to grab some bulk honey, do a little grocery shopping, and enjoy some delicious treats. Here are some perfect honey-based snacks that your whole family will enjoy.

Raw Honey and Toast

Simple, yes, but very delicious. Starting your day with some nice butter and toast is great, but you’ll really be doing your taste buds a favor when you add some yummy honey.

Granola Bars

Although it might take a little more time to make the bars yourself, these treats will end up tasting as good as they are healthy. Grab some almonds, flour, rolled oats, butter, and mix all that up with some quality honey and enjoy.

Peanut Butter Fruit Dip

For the perfect daytime snack, pour a bunch of Greek yogurt into a bowl, toss in some ground cinnamon, peanut butter, chia seeds, honey, and as much fruit as you want. Go a little lighter on the peanut butter if you really want a healthy snack, but you’ll love it either way.

Cranberry Cookie Bites

These snacks might be small, but they are perfect for anyone who wants a quick and delicious treat. Get some honey, cinnamon, cranberries, egg whites, bicarbonate of soda, and a couple other ingredients, and try not to eat them all in one sitting!

Honey-Mustard Vinaigrette Dressing

Rather than buying dressing from the store, simply make your own and make as many salads as you want. You can mix your own vinaigrette right inside the salad bowl, toss in all your greens and salad items, and pour in your delicious honey to achieve the perfect balance of taste.

Make these snacks whenever you can and your whole family will have some tasty foods to enjoy. If you want some raw honey bears for sale, contact GloryBee today.

Top 5 gifts for Beekeepers

Beekeepers can be difficult to shop for. Most veteran beekeepers have all the beekeeping gear they need and beginning beekeepers have a lot of decisions to make to determine which style of gear would be best their new hobby- things like how many hives, location, climate, and time to devote to the hobby.

The one thing that both beginning and experienced beekeepers have in common is a love for honey bees and the honey they make. Here are some gift ideas that are sure to bring a smile to the face of the beekeepers in your life. And if you’re a beekeeper yourself, be sure to put some of these ideas on your own wish list.

SAVE the BEE Hat
In year’s past, beekeepers were thought of as odd and eccentric, but today, beekeepers are revered and respected caretakers of honey bees. Give a beekeeper you know a stylish SAVE the BEE baseball cap that proudly supports the profession of beekeepers and emphasizes the importance of protecting honey bees.

Honey Sampling Collection
Beekeepers love honey, but did you know not all honeys taste alike. Honey gets its flavor from the predominate flower the bees that made the honey collected the nectar from. Try putting together an exotic honey sampling for beekeepers to taste the wide range of flavors honeys can have. We recommend meadowfoam, white clover, buckwheat and Orange blossom for a wide range of colors and flavors.

Do Not Spray signs
Beekeepers love their bees and want to do their best to protect them, but sometimes its not what the beekeepers do- it’s what their neighbors do that hurt their bees. These “No Spraying Please” signs gently remind the neighbors of beekeepers to use the alternatives to spraying when caring for their plants. Healthy bees mean healthy plants for everyone around.

Products from the Hive
Bees make more than honey. They make Pollen, Propolis and Royal Jelly- all known to have health benefits to people who use these products regularly. Not every beekeeper is able to extract and gather these great supplements bees make from their own hives, so give them the gifts from the bees and an energy-filled boost to their well-being

SAVE the BEE Hoodie
Bees supply 1/3 of the worlds food supply and yet bee populations are declining. Beekeepers are keeping bee populations alive and thriving so we all have good healthy food to eat. Everyone can benefit from the good beekeepers are doing by keeping hives of bees. Give the beekeeper in your life a SAVE the BEE hoodie to open up conversations to one of their favorite topics—the honey bee.

Sweet Potato Coconut Casserole

Thanksgiving may be over, but you can still savor the flavor of sweet potatoes year long. Sweet potatoes are a versatile ingredient and can be used in many recipes from pies to enchiladas. This warm and cozy Sweet Potato Coconut Casserole takes some preparation, but we promise it'll be a dish you'll want to make again. Enjoy!

Ingredients

4 large sweet potatoes (about 3 pounds)

1 cup Aunt Patty’sⓇ Coconut Sugar, divided

½ cup canned coconut milk

6 tablespoons Aunt Patty’sⓇ Coconut Oil, divided

2 eggs

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¾ teaspoon fine sea salt, divided

½ cup chopped pecans

½ cup unsweetened shredded or flaked coconut

⅓ cup all-purpose flour

Directions

Preheat oven to 400℉. Lightly oil a 9 or 10” square baking dish.
Place potatoes directly on oven rack with a sheet pan on the rack below to catch drips. Bake until tender, 45-60 minutes. When cool enough to handle, scoop out flesh and transfer to a large bowl or food processor. Mash or process until smooth. Mix in ½ cup sugar, coconut milk, 3 tablespoons coconut oil, eggs, cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon salt. Scrape into baking dish.
In a medium bowl combine ½ cup sugar, 3 tablespoons coconut oil, pecans, coconut, flour, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Mix until crumbly and sprinkle over potatoes.
Loosely cover baking dish with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until browned, 10 minutes more. Cool 10 minutes before serving.

GloryBee visits OSU’s PolliNation Podcast to talk about Bees

Early in November 2017, GloryBee’s president and life-long beekeeper, Alan Turanski, met with members of Oregon State University’s Department of Horticulture and talked about their Pollinator Health Research and Extension Program and the work they are doing to help protect honey bees and native pollinators.

Alan shared his heart-felt gratitude and let the Pollinator Health Team know we are proud to support the work OSU is doing to design, develop, implement and evaluate a state-wide pollinator health program. Pollinators are vital to our world’s food supply, and OSU is working hard to raise awareness of the risk pesticide exposure has on pollinator health and educate farmers and landscapers on least toxic practices.

PolliNation Podcast host, Andony Melathopoulos, and Alan sat down for a rousing conversation about using business partnerships to save our pollinators and how easy it is for beginning beekeepers to get started.

Alan has been instrumental in supporting state-level legislative efforts to ban the use of harmful pesticides in farming and landscaping, including testifying at the Oregon State Capitol in 2013 on the issue of honey bee colony losses. He is the Vice President of the National Honey Packers and Dealers Association and an advocate for the labeling of products containing genetically modified organisms. He helped GloryBee launch the SAVE the BEE® social initiative in 2012 and believes that beekeeping is a beautiful balance between art and science.

To listen to more of the PolliNation Podcasts, visit:
OSU PolliNation Podcast

The Science of Giving

“For it is in giving that we receive.” –St. Francis of Assisi

We all know the sayings about how it’s better to give than receive-and in our hearts we know this to be true. Just think about a time when you helped someone and how it made you feel? Chances are, it gave you a warm happy feeling inside. But does giving truly come from the heart, or are our brains hard-wired to serve others?

This inspiring article excerpt from Live Sicence looks at the hard data to back up the idea that giving is good for the giver.

The Science behind the power of Giving
by Jenny Santi

At the University of California, Berkeley, researchers are challenging long-held beliefs that human beings are hardwired to be selfish. There is a growing body of evidence that shows we are evolving to become more compassionate and collaborative in our quest to survive and thrive.

"Because of our very vulnerable offspring, the fundamental task for human survival and gene replication is to take care of others," said Dacher Keltner, co-director of UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center. “Human beings have survived as a species because we have evolved the capacities to care for those in need and to cooperate.”

Data backs this up. The National Institutes of Health conducted research studying what happened in the brain when subjects donated or opposed donation at a cost to themselves. The study involved 19 people, each of whom had the potential to walk away with a pot of $128. Participants gave an average of $51 from the pot and pocketed the rest.

The brain-study results demonstrated that when the volunteers placed the interests of others before their own, the generosity activated a primitive part of the brain that usually lights up in response to food or sex. Donating affects two brain "reward" systems working together: the midbrain VTA, which also is stimulated by food, sex, drugs and money; as well as the subgenual area, which is stimulated when humans see babies and romantic partners.

Altruism: the miracle drug

The idea of altruism behaving like a miracle drug has been around for at least two decades. The euphoric feeling we experience when he help others is what researchers call the "helper's high," a term first introduced 20 years ago by volunteerism and wellness expert Allan Luks to explain the powerful physical sensation associated with helping others.

In a 1988 piece for Psychology Today, Luks looked at the physical effects of giving experienced by more than 1,700 women who volunteered regularly. The studies demonstrated that a full 50 percent of helpers reported feeling "high" when they helped others, while 43 percent felt stronger and more energetic.

To read the Live Science article in its entirety, go to The Science Behind the Power of Giving.

Stewardship
One of GloryBee’s core values is stewardship. We encourage everyone to share their time, talent and treasures with someone less fortunate than yourself. Give, give, give. You won’t regret it; and that’s a scientific fact!

5 Practical Tips to Help Save the Bees

Save the Bee, Save the World

Our world’s food supply depends on honey bees. One of every three bites of our food originates from bees pollinating the flowers that produce our fruits, nuts, vegetables and even coffee–coffee production has been found to double when purposely pollinated by honey bees. Each one of us benefits from a healthy honey bee population.

Honey bee populations have been declining for decades, (due to colony collapse disorder and other stressors) and they continue to struggle for survival. Honey bees are biological indicators, meaning that honey bee health reflects the general health of the environment. Bee losses are possibly a symptom of a much greater environmental problem.

Some organizations and governments have taken steps to try to reverse the trend but it’s not enough. Here are 5 things you can do to help Save the Bee:

Rethink the Manicured Lawn

Dandelions and clover could not be any easier to grow–all you have to do is Nothing!

Let dandelions, clover and other bee-friendly plants grow in your garden and yard. Sure, you probably think of them as weeds, but have you ever questioned that belief? Read the history of why Americans value green, perfectly manicured lawns–lawns that are very expensive to maintain, terrible for the environment, and a significant drain on our water supply.

Perhaps you have a Homeowners’ Association or local ordinance that has strict guidelines about mowing and weeding. A solution to that might be to replace part or all of your lawn with flowering plants.

We can all work toward changing longstanding attitudes about “proper landscaping” and show local governments how and why native landscaping is good for everyone.

The Community that Cares

The benefits of a community garden go way beyond helping to Save the Bee. They help improve air and soil quality, increase plant and animal biodiversity, and when you plant fruit, vegetable and grain crops, you will have a source of fresh food that does not need to be “trucked in” to your community. Those are just a few examples.

The USDA offers information, including webinars and a checklists that will help you lay the groundwork for your community garden, as well as guidelines on how to make your garden a haven for bees and other pollinators.

Collateral Damage of Toxic Chemicals: You

Bees do not stand a chance against toxic chemicals designed to kill weeds and pests. If you use a toxic (non-organic) weed killer or pesticide, you are fueling the decline of the honey bee population. You can actually see the effects of spraying toxic chemicals on a bee or a beehive–the bees die.

What you don’t see right away are the effects on you, your family and your pets. Weed killers and pesticides are marketed as being safe as long as you follow the instructions and allow the chemicals to dry before permitting children or pets to enter the area where the chemical has been applied. But, there is plenty of evidence that these chemicals are not safe for any living things, and some have been linked to certain cancers. Organic weed and pest control is a safer and healthier choice for you, your family and the bees.

A No-Kill Solution to Bee Removal

When bees nest inside your home you might be inclined to grab a can of pesticide and get them out ASAP. Or, you might call an exterminator who will use toxic chemicals and wipe out the entire colony. Consider instead a bee-friendly option that will save the bee–humane bee removal. Many pest removal services are educated about the plight of the honey bee and now offer humane bee removal. They’ll save the bee without using toxic chemicals and they’ll remove the honeycomb, which if left intact, will create a mess and attract other animals and insects. Contact your local beekeeping association or search online for “humane bee removal” or “live bee removal” to find a local service. Read this article for more details about humane bee removal.

Where Did That Honey Come From?

Corn based sweeteners are spectacularly energy intensive in growth and production, and cause a plethora of ethical problems.

Honey is a great alternative BUT cheap, highly processed honey is very likely to be manufactured by companies that are not concerned about the treatment of their bees and the quality of the honey. The honey you can get from small local beekeepers is typically raw honey in its sweet, pure, most natural state. It’s unfiltered, minimally processed and contains protein-packed bee pollen and enzymes.

Save the Bee!

Today is a good day to get involved and help Save the Bee. Learn more about what you can do to help Save the Bee!

Here Are Some Do’s And Don’ts For Beekeeping Beginners

Americans consume about 1.3 pounds of honey per person per year. If you're interested in keeping bees and want to be able to harvest raw honey in your own backyard, it may be easier than you think. In addition to some basic beekeeping equipment, all you really need is a bit of knowledge and dedication. Here are some beekeeping do's and don'ts to keep in mind during your beekeeping endeavors.

DO: Purchase new beekeeping equipment

Many new beekeepers use the DIY method and try to build their own structures. While this may save money, it's not recommended by most experts, as beekeeping materials are relatively affordable to begin with. Mainstreampreppers.com says, "Your apiary will run about $100 and your suit will cost around $100. Plan on the bees costing between $100 to $200. Other equipment will probably bring the total price to less than $500. You don’t want to build the equipment yet because you need to have a complete understanding how everything works. Only after you get experience with the equipment will you have enough knowledge to build a proper apiary."

DON'T: Forget to check zoning laws

Even though bees don't cause much of a disturbance, you need to make sure your town allows beekeeping and raising bees on your property. You should also ensure that you have plenty of room for the bees; experts say you can generally have two hives per one tenth of an acre.

DO: Plenty of research

Make sure to do as much research as you can before you commit to beekeeping. Our beekeeping 101 blog is a great resource as well as your local beekeeping club. You need to know how the bees work, what they eat, and how to properly maintain the hives.

DON'T: Buy an un-inspected hive

If your state requires it, be sure that the state department of agriculture has thoroughly inspected your hives before taking it home. You could be exposing your bees and the bees around you to contagious diseases.

Ultimately, these are just a few do's and don'ts to keep in mind during your beekeeping pursuits. For more information about bulk honey for sale, contact GloryBee.

Upcycling Honey Jars

Decorating your home during the holidays can seem overwhelming. It can be expensive, time consuming and frustrating when you don’t have a clue as to what to do. Well we’ve got an easy, inexpensive craft using empty glass honey jars (canning jar style). You’ll feel good because you’re recycling the glass, but not spending an arm and a leg to decorate your home.

Supplies

Clean glass honey jars or coconut oil jars

Rubbing alcohol

Paint – chalk paints work well

Paint Brush

Clear sealant spray

Ribbons or bows

Directions

1. Wash and clean your glass jars, removing all labels. Wipe outside of jar with rubbing alcohol to ensure no oils or stickers are still on there.

2. Paint jars with chalk paint – we’ve chosen three different colors to create a centerpiece. Paint jar up to the rim and allow to dry in between coats. Two coats of paint seem to work well for coverage.

3. Allow jars to completely dry before spraying with clear coat sealant in a well ventilated area.

4. Attach ribbons or bows as you see fit. You can also paint canning rings to place around the jars if you’d like. We happened to have gold rings on hand so we used those.

How to Make Fondant

As we get closer to winter and the weather starts getting cooler, it’s time to start thinking about switching from liquid feed to solid feed for your honeybees. Liquid feed shouldn’t be fed to bees when the nighttime temperatures get below 50° F. When it gets this cold, bees aren’t able to condense the liquid in order to eat it. Using fondant is an excellent way to feed your bees during the winter. Not only do they really like it because the smaller crystals are easier for bees to digest, but it is also easy to make using the recipe below.

Supplies

Large Stainless Steel Pot
Candy Thermometer
Parchment Paper Lined Cookie Sheets (2 or 3)
Wire Wisk
10 lbs. of White Sugar
1 Quart of Water
1 Teaspoon of White Vinegar
Stand-up Mixed or Hand Mixer

Instructions

Combine water, sugar and vinegar in a large stainless steel pot. Place on stove top set to medium-high heat.
Heat until the mixture starts to boil and reaches a temperature of 235° F. Be sure to stir the mixture constantly as it heats to prevent caramelization. Boil at this temperature for 15 minutes.
Remove from heat and cool to 180° F. To speed up the cooling process, you can place the pot in the sink filled with cold water. Stir the mixture every few minutes as it cools.
Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl being extra careful as the mixture is still very hot.
Mix with a stand-up mix or hand mixer set on medium-high speed until the mixture becomes opaque white and thick.
Pour the mixture onto the parchment paper lined cookie sheets so that the mixture is approximately ¼ to ½ inch thick.
Cool completely and then cut into 3” wide strips. Re-wrap the strips in parchment paper, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.

When you use fondant as winter feed, it is important to make sure there is a space for the feed in between the frames and the cover. For this reason, we recommend to use an inner cover and telescoping top which provides the additional space. Place two strips of fondant on the top bars of your brood box. The natural moisture in the hive will allow for the bees to feed on the fondant efficiently. Check in your hive every few weeks to see how much the bees have eaten and add more strips of fondant as needed.

Are Your Bees Right or Left Handed?

Bees don’t have “hands” but new research coming out of Australia has found that individual bees are prone to their left or right side. Here’s what the New York Post reported:

“Bees can be “right or left-handed” just like humans”

Scientists in Australia found that individual bees have a preference of flying to the left or the right when faced with an obstacle in their path.

“We believe these individual biases help to improve the flight efficiency of a swarm of bees through densely cluttered environments,” Mandyam Srinivasan, one of the study’s authors, told the University of Queensland. The findings were recently published in PLOS One.

“Flying insects constantly face the challenge of choosing efficient, safe and collision-free routes while navigating through dense foliage,” Srinivasan said. “This finding could potentially be used as strategy for steering a fleet of drone aircraft.”

To read this New York Post article in its entirety, go to Bees Can be "right or left-handed"

Oxalic Shop Towel Mite Treatment Method?

Like it or not, the varroa mite is here to stay and if your honey bees don’t have mites now, it’s only a matter of time before they become infested. This is not an exaggeration created by beekeeping supply companies to scare you into buying mite treatments—varroa mites are a sad reality facing every beekeeper today.

Oxalic Acid

There are numerous mite treatments to choose from, each with their own pros and cons. One of the most controversial (yet effective) mite treatments is oxalic acid, which is a natural organic compound that is best known for its use as a wood bleach. The use of oxalic acid to treat honey bees for varroa mites is relatively new, with the EPA approving its use in 2015. Currently there are three ways to administer oxalic acid in your hives to treat for mites: spray, vapor and dribble. Since Oxalic is considered “toxic” to humans and can be dangerous if inhaled or comes in contact with skin, there are numerous debates over which method is “the best”.

Introducing the Oxalic Shop Towel Mite Treatment Method

Before reading any further, please note the following mite treatment method has not been approved by the EPA and is considered illegal in the USA. This is for informational purposes only. For a complete explanation regarding the oxalic shop towel method, please read the scientific research by Randy Oliver on his website: http://scientificbeekeeping.com/

How is it supposed to work?

Bee Biologist, Randy Oliver, found that when oxalic acid is dissolved in glycerin (a non-toxic liquid used in foods as a thickener), it causes the oxalic acid to slowly be released over time. When a disposable shop towel is soaked in the oxalic/glycerin mixture and put into a bee hive, it creates a slow oxalic acid release that lasts about a month, killing those unwanted mites as they emerge from brood cells without the need for multiple treatment applications.

The technical stuff

Randy Oliver’s formula for Oxalic acid/Glycerin Towels – For formula mixtures for larger batches visit Randy Oliver’s website

INGREDIENT	PER TOWEL
Oxalic Acid Dihydrate (99.6% purity)	12 g
Water	10 ml
Vegetable Glycerin (food grade)	13 ml

(Randy used Scott Shop Towels- he does not supply data for other towel brands, so the mixture may have to be adjusted if one were to use this method with a different shop towel.)

Safety First
Oxalic Acid is considered toxic and if one were to experiment with this non-EPA approved method of treating mites, it would be beneficial to wear Personal Protection Equipment (PPE)- In this case chemical resistant gloves and protective goggles. In addition, one would need to create the oxalic acid/glycerin mixture in a well-ventilated space, as the fumes of oxalic are considered harmful to humans (Interesting note- Oxalic fumes do not seem to bother the honey bees at all, yet it is extremely effective in killing varroa mites.)

BEE Smart!
We recommend you treat for mites several times a year. Most beekeepers agree it is best to rotate methods of treatment so the mites in your area don’t build up an immunity to a particular type of treatment. Remember that Randy Oliver’s Oxilac Shop Towel Mite Treatment Method is still in its experimental phases and it is illegal to use this method to treat for mites until it becomes officially approved by the EPA. We hope more research is done so that we could potentially have another tool in our arsenal against the varroa mite.

Steady Decline in Honey Crop Raises Concerns for Honey Bees’ Future

The crisis of declining honey bee populations is not just an American phenomenon—Europeans are experiencing the same challenges—and sadly, fewer honey bees results in less honey being made . Here’s an interesting article from The Guardian about the drop in honey production in Great Britain.

“A British Beekeepers Association survey reveals worrying drop in honey yield, with 62% of beekeepers saying neonicotinoids are to blame

The survey by the British Beekeepers Association (BBKA) revealed beekeepers in England produced an average of 26 lbs. of honey per hive this year, down from 28.2 pounds last year.

While weather can cause fluctuations in honey yield, the organization said it is the steady overall decline in quantity that is worrying, with long-time beekeepers saying a crop of 55-99 pounds was typical in the 1950s.

The survey also revealed the factors worrying beekeepers about the future of their honeybees, with almost two-thirds of keepers stating they are concerned about pesticides including neonicotinoids which have been linked to declines in bees.

A third of beekeepers feared the loss of forage from agricultural development, 28% were worried about varroa mite pests, 28% had concerns about the invasive Asian hornet which preys on honeybees, and 28% were anxious about climate change.”

To read this article in its entirety, visit this link.