21 Jan
Uncategorized

Homemade Lip Balm with bee wax

Hello Beautiful people, We all have used lip balms but one thing I focus on is why they all use petroleum gelly as a base and even more frustrating is that they don’t use natural ingredients as something primary but use natural ingredients just for the cover. Today We will today give you step by step process to make homemade lip balm with bee wax as base.

Ingredients list:

  1. Bee wax
  2. Shea butter
  3. Extra virgin cold pressed coconut oil
  4. Extra virgin cold pressed sweet almond oil
  5. Wheat germ oil
  6. Raw honey

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Complete Process:

Take one big steel container and another steel container half the size so that it can be put inside the bigger steel container. Pour water in the container and let the water heat. After some time put the small container in the big container containing water. The objective of this exercise is to give indirect heat to out ingredients.  Now put 100 gms of bee wax in the small container and wait for some time to get it dissolved.

After the bee wax gets completely into liquid form then put 30gm each of shea butter and coconut oil. Now add 10 gms each of wheat germ oil, raw honey and  almond oil. Stir this mixture thoroughly until everything is mixed evenly.

Take out the small steel container and let it reach room temperature.

taadaa…. your bee wax is ready. You can add a pinch of turmeric or saffron in to give your lip balm color.

Do let us know in comments how it went and share your pictures with us at fitbyfood.in@gmail.com

 

21 Jan
Uncategorized

Myths about home testing of honey

A simple google search will give your more than 100 articles/videos that CLAIM to tell you “homemade honey testing” techniques. Well, let me break the ice here, all these testing have no scientific basis are are completely bogus. let me further break it down for you below will facts about raw honey being a fellow beekeeper and honey enthusiast:

 

Honey Dissolvability test:

Myth: Most common honey test recommended by people with limited knowledge claim that when put honey in water then real honey will not dissolve in water instantly and will settle at the surface.

Fact: Dissolvability of honey is purely dependent on the moisture content of the honey which again varies in every variety/flora of honey. Honey having more than 18% moisture content will look look thinner and will dissolve easily.:

Fun Fact: Most common adulterant is molasses which have a property of not getting dissolved in water very easily.

The Flame or burn test:

Myth: In this test it is said to dip honey on cotton ball and burn it. If it burns then honey is pure otherwise honey is impure.

Fact: Again, If any real honey has more moisture content or honey is unripe then it will not burn and that does not make it a unpure honey.

Fun fact: The thick adulterants used in adulteration of honey also pass the fmale or burn test.

Honeycomb patterns in honey:

Myth: The most absurd myth where it is told to  put honey in glass and pour water then, shake the water clockwise or anti-clockwise then pure honey will form honeycomb shape.

Fact: There is not a single scientific study that supports this which makes it totally absurd way of testing raw honey.

Fun fact: Any thick liquid substance will form a shape similar to the test mentioned.

Thumb Test:

Myth: It is said that if you put honey on your thumb and if honey spreads or spills then it is not pure honey.

Fact: This test can only differentiate between thick and thinner honey only and nothing else.

Fun Fact: All the adulterants in honey are thick that will easily pass this test.

Ant or dog test:

Myth: It is believed that ants or dogs will never eat real honey.

Fact: It is a laughable test because ants will eat anything that is sweet and any hungry dog will eat honey without any problem.

Fun Fact: In some countries dogs are fed honey to keep them healthy.

Bread spread or absorption test:

Myth: It is said that real honey will not be absorbed on a bread or bloating paper.

Fact: Again, honey with high moisture content will be absorbed.

Fun Fact: Sophisticated honey adulterants like corn syrup, rice syrup or high fructose syrups easily pass this test.

Crystallization test:

Myth: It is said that real honey will not crystallize not even in refrigerator.

Fact: Crystallization of honey is completely natural and normal. In fact, crystallized honey is a indication of real raw honey.

Fun Fact: Major adulterants in honey will not crystallize in refrigerator. Also, More than 80% of honey produced in India crystallize naturally. Commercial honey is ultra filtered and heated above 80 degree Celsius to avoid crystallization of honey but this process kill all the nutrients, active enzymes and pollen particles from honey which makes it nothing more than a sugar syrup.

At Last, we would like to tell you that unfortunately there is not quick test to identify purity of honey.

Good Fake or adulterated honey are made to copy the looks and feel of real honey so its very difficult to differentiate between real and fake honey.

Do look at CSE India’s “HoneyGate” where they tested honey of top Indian honey brands where all of them passed in Indian FSSAI parameters and failed miserably in NMR test done in germany.

Well, Finally I would like to suggest you to buy only from a local beekeeper or a small brand that works directly with beekeepers or honey hunters and not just some photo brand. We at fitbyfood have been in the beekeeping from past three years now and work only with beekeepers that share same values and ethics as us. We are commited to provide best quality honey to our customers.

Be healthy Eat healthy. ciao

21 Jan
Uncategorized

Why should we buy from fitbyfood

Our bees:

Lets start with our lovely bees, Once we finalize the location of the flora where nectar is available and bees can happily produce good quality honey we take our bee colonies to the area. We assess the queen bee and other bee’s health and  make sure there is no disease then we leave it up to the bees to do their thing.

Once our bees have filled the combs and weather is supportive then the honey is ready to be extracted.

Extraction:

This is where we extract honey from the frames/honey combs. We use only stainless steel extraction machine to avoid any chemical reaction with honey. The honey is then stored in food grade plastic drums to further keep it chemical free but most honey(at least in north India) is stored in tins which changes the color and medicinal value of the honey.

Finally every batch is tested in labs for purity. Finally every batch of of honey is packed in bottles. The only processing we do with our honey is filter the raw honey with a cotton/muslin cloth because we would like to provide unprocessed, unfiltered & completely natural honey to our customers.

Packaging:

We use glass bottles sourced from local vendors to support them and glass bottles ensure quality of honey intact. We pack and package our bottles ourselves for quality control purpose.

In conclusion, We can say that when you are buying honey from us you can be sure of the best quality honey with no processing at all.

21 Jan
Uncategorized

Benefits of Raw Honey

Raw honey is not a new concept. It has been there but commercial honey brands through their marketing tactics have made it look fade away. Everyone know what honey is but very less people know difference between raw honey and process honey that we get in our supermarkets. Raw honey is the purest form of honey in its natural state. Lets quickly understand why you should never purchase commercial honey in supermarkets and what is the difference between raw honey and processed honey.

Almost all honey brands sell available are heated, ultra filtered and pasteurized. This honey is deep filtered which takes away all the pollen particles, bee wax, propolis which contain all the beneficial micronutrients. honey and heat doesn’t go well. the commercial honey is heated upto 98 degree Celsius  which kills at least 200 components some of which are antibacterial and also kills active enzymes.

Below are some of the benefits of Raw honey:

Immunity building & energy booster:

Phytonutrients in raw honey has anti bacterial and antifungal properties that makes it a great immunity booster for you. Various studies have shown that raw honey has anti viral, anti bacterial and anti fungal properties which makes it an amazing addition to your diet to increase your immunity. Raw honey contains various vitamins, proteins and minerals that makes it perfect post workout drink. also, honey gets digested very quickly and gives you instant energy which makes t great for athletes in performance enhancement.

Healing burns and wounds:

Raw honey works as a natural antiseptic. So next time you have a cut or a wound just apply some honey and it will be healed without any antiseptic cream.

Cough and cold:

Honey mixed with ginger in same quantity when taken will relieve in common cough and cold. Take one teaspoon ful everyday to keep cold and cough at bay.

Great for skin:

Raw honey acts as a skin moisturizer and makes your skin brighter that is why it is used by many cosmetic brands to improve complexion and skin moisturizing.

Aids in weight loss and proper digestion:

Raw honey has active enzymes like thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and other nutrients for human body like vitamin A, B complex, C, D that facilitate proper digestion which in turn also aids in weight loss.

Heal overall body:

Raw honey has healing and medicinal qualities. It is prominently used in Ayurvedic medical methodology to reduce stress, weaknesses, body aches, cough or breathing problems, sleeping issues and high blood pressure.