Honey: A Delicious "Bare Necessity" that Sweetens Family Life

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"Family meals are a top priority for me," shared Fuentes. "Making tasty, fresh food with wholesome ingredients, like pure honey, is important to me and my family. I'm excited to join the NHB in sharing some of my easy-to-make children's recipes made with honey that are perfect to share at the table or during sweet family bonding moments, like family movie night at home. I hope families will be motivated to get in the kitchen and create these and other dishes using as many fresh and wholesome ingredients as possible."

Considered an online authority on kids' health and wellness, Fuentes is the author of three children's cookbooks including The Best Homemade Kids Lunches on the Planet and The Best Homemade Snacks on the Planet and The Best Homemade Kids' Grain-Free Meals on the Planet. As a mom of three, her creativity and palate-pleasing savviness are demonstrated in the six recipes created for the NHB. Ranging from a naturally sweetened and power-packed breakfast to-go to get kids going in the morning to fun-to-eat school lunchbox meals, and even subtly sweet homemade takeout favorites served in cool lettuce cups, Fuentes's no-fuss meals will have children singing the praises of the kitchen's delectable bare necessities of life, including the magic of honey. 

Among Fuentes's playful yet simple recipes inspired by The Jungle Book for youngsters and the young-at-heart are:

Safari Honey-Butter-Cinnamon Popcorn
This is no ordinary popcorn. This is the ultimate movie-time (or anytime) snack!

Makes 6 cups

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons honey
½ cup corn kernels, popped to yield approx. six cups of popcorn
2 tablespoons low fat butter spread 
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of sea salt

Preparation:
Air pop or microwave the corn kernels and transfer to a large bowl. In a small microwave safe dish, add butter spread, honey, cinnamon and salt. Place in microwave for 20-30 seconds, until butter is melted. Using a fork, combine the honey-butter mixture. Pour over popcorn and toss until the mixture is distributed throughout.

Jungle Honey Lettuce Cups
Lettuce cups are fun to eat! It will get kids to eat more greens

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
½ tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 ½ pounds ground chicken or turkey
½ cup shredded carrots
½ cup shredded purple cabbage
½ cup bean sprouts
1/3 cup honey roasted peanuts
Butter lettuce leaves, for serving

Preparation:
In a small bowl, whisk to combine honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil. Set aside. In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, place olive oil and onions. Begin to sauté onions until they become golden and translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for an additional minute. To the soft onions, add in ground chicken and shredded carrots. Cook, stirring frequently and while breaking up the chicken pieces, until it's cooked throughout, for about 5-7 minutes. Pour sauce over cooked chicken mixture and combine. Place the lid, reduce heat, and simmer for 3 minutes. Top with bean sprouts, chopped cabbage, and roasted peanuts and cover for an additional 3 minutes. Scoop mixture into lettuce cups and serve.

Find these and other tasty & kid-friendly honey recipes for family movie nights and meals any time of day visiting mielpura.org and momables.com, where you will also find some how-to videos, led by Laura Fuentes, which you can use as guides in the kitchen. Try a recipe out today with your kids; once they see how easy it is, preparing a honey meal will become a new bonding activity for the whole family!

About the National Honey Board
The National Honey Board is an industry-funded agriculture promotion group that works to educate consumers about the benefits and uses for honey and honey products through research, marketing and promotional programs. For more information, visit honey.com

About The Jungle Book
Directed by Jon Favreau ("Iron Man"), based on Rudyard Kipling's timeless stories and inspired by Disney's classic animated film, "The Jungle Book" is an all-new live-action epic adventure about Mowgli (newcomer Neel Sethi), a man-cub who's been raised by a family of wolves. But Mowgli finds he is no longer welcome in the jungle when fearsome tiger Shere Khan (voice of Idris Elba), who bears the scars of Man, promises to eliminate what he sees as a threat. Urged to abandon the only home he's ever known, Mowgli embarks on a captivating journey of self-discovery, guided by panther-turned-stern mentor Bagheera (voice of Ben Kingsley), and the free-spirited bear Baloo (voice of Bill Murray). Along the way, Mowgli encounters jungle creatures who don't exactly have his best interests at heart, including Kaa (voice of Scarlett Johansson), a python whose seductive voice and gaze hypnotizes the man-cub, and the smooth-talking King Louie (voice of Christopher Walken), who tries to coerce Mowgli into giving up the secret to the elusive and deadly red flower: fire. The all-star cast also includes Lupita Nyong'o as the voice of the fiercely protective mother wolf Raksha, and Giancarlo Esposito as the voice of wolf pack's alpha male Akela. "The Jungle Book" seamlessly blends live-action with photorealistic CGI animals and environments, using up-to-the-minute technology and storytelling techniques to immerse audiences in an enchanting and lush world. The wild adventure swings into theaters in 3D on April 15, 2016. For more information, check out Disney.com/thejunglebook, like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DisneyJungleBook, and follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thejunglebook and Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/disneythejunglebook/

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160329/349299

Related Links

http://www.honey.com