Celebrate National Honey Month with these sweet and tasty facts

It was in 1989 that the National Honey Board decided to make September the National Honey Month. It was their way of promoting and shining some much-needed light on the benefits and versatility of honey and the beekeeping industry in the U.S.

Honey is a natural sweetener that can be incorporated into many of your favorite foods, desserts, drinks and even has some favorite uses outside of the kitchen.

High in antioxidants

Meals, desserts, drinks and even natural health remedies all include honey. Much more than a simple sugar we love to smear on toast and add to our tea, honey has been used for thousands of years to help provide energy and improve health. It is known to be high in both non-enzymatic and enzymatic antioxidants, and so many other beneficial health properties.

Extensive studies have been done by the National Honey Board on the nutritional and medicinal properties of this wonderful sweetener that nature has provided us.

Bees dance when they return to the hive

Did you know that honey bees actually dance when they return to the hive?

It's their way of informing the other bees of where to find the best flowers. Here's another interesting fact - that sweet nectar that we love so much -- is the only food source humans eat that is made by an insect.

Honey is also great for long-term storage because of its chemical properties and unique composition. For centuries honey has been used as a preservative.

Baked Honey Bacon Eggs Benedict

Check out this delicious recipe using honey to take it to the next level.

The recipe in the video replaces the traditional English muffins with two different types of potatoes, uses honey ham in place of bacon, and includes grilled asparagus. It doesn't matter which recipe you choose, as long as you're happy with the end result.

For a more traditional, but equally mouth-watering recipe, you will need butter, split English muffins, thick bacon, honey, eggs, salt and pepper to taste. For the Hollandaise sauce, you will need packages of hollandaise sauce (I use McCormick Hollandaise Sauce mix -- it contains no artificial flavors or MSG), milk - it is up to you if you want to use skim, 2%, or whole milk. Butter and fresh parsley or chives, whatever you like more, and some paprika for garnish.

Honey is used to bring out foods natural flavors. It is used from with everything from honey wine to skin care, and because of the wide variety of flavors, it has become a gourmet's delight.