How To

Sweeten Up Your Grocery and Beauty Budget With a Little Honey

Written by Mint.com
Published Sep 25, 2013
2 min read
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Honey can be sweet for your budget.

The average retail price for honey is currently 36 cents per ounce, according to Bee Culture magazine.

That’s pretty cheap for a food that can be used in everything from cocktails to entrees to desserts, and also has uses in homemade beauty products and medicinal treatments.

(Honey can also help build up tolerance against some pollen allergies, and to disinfect cuts and scrapes.)

Plus, a little honey can go a long way, flavor-wise. You might only need a teaspoon or two to make a big impact on a dish.

Here are 9 cheap recipes—for food and beauty—that will sweeten up your budget:

Honey-Roasted Peanut Butter

Make your own peanut butter?

Easy, with this recipe via Yummly, which calls for little more than peanuts, oil and a drizzle of honey.

Berry Chia Jam

Use two tablespoons of honey instead of sugar in this fast fridge jam, perfect for extra berries.

Patriotic Fruit Salad

Forget plain mixed fruit.

Honey, along with lemon and pomegranate juice and fresh chopped mint, makes a worthy dressing.

Overnight Steel-Cut Oats

It’s almost slow-cooker weather, and this recipe via Yummly, flavored with almond butter and honey, fits the bill for hearty breakfast fare.

Honey Chocolate Fondue

This chocolate fondue gets extra zing from honey and Scotch whisky.

Pumpkin Honey Facial Mask  

“The  yogurt and pumpkin will encourage cell-turnover and exfoliation, while the  honey has anti-bacterial properties to ensure a fresh face,” said Alexis Wolfer, founder of TheBeautyBean.com.

To make it, mix a few tablespoons of pureed pumpkin with one whipped egg white , a  tablespoon plain yogurt and 1 tablespoon honey.

Apply to entire face,  avoiding the eye area, and leave on for 10 minutes before rinsing.

Honey Blemish Treatment

Dabbed on problem areas, honey can help reduce blemishes.

Lip Scrub

Mirbeau Inn & Spa in Skaneateles, NY, makes a simple lip exfoliant.

To make, mix a teaspoon raw honey with two teaspoons of sugar. Apply a generous amount to lips, massage for one minute and rinse.

Avocado Honey Facial Mask

“This mask does it all,” says Wolfer. “It moisturizes with honey and avocado, balances and calms with oatmeal, detoxifies and cleanses with lemon, and  relaxes with its lavender scent.”

Blend together one avocado, two tablespoons honey, a quarter-cup oatmeal flakes, half a lemon and, if desired, a few drops of lavender essential oil. (If possible, use all organic ingredients.)

Apply for 15-20 minutes before  rinsing with warm water.

Frugal Foodie is a journalist based in New York City who spends her days writing about personal finance and obsessing about what she’ll have for dinner. Chat with her on Twitter through @MintFoodie.