Welcome back to a fresh edition of our food-fueled, honey bee-celebrating blog series: Pollinating Your Entire Menu! If you’ve been following this series on our blog, you know that this campaign was created in partnership with nutrition and fitness expert Mitzi Dulan, RD, CSSD, America’s Nutrition Expert® to shine a light on the pollination work of honey bees and what they bring to our tables (both figuratively and literally). Each month we have shared a recipe that focuses on whole food nutrition and highlights honey bee-pollinated ingredients. With National Honey Bee Day right around the corner, we are celebrating with this simple, fresh and flavor-packed Mediterranean Honey Flatbread!
So what is National Honey Bee Day? It is a movement that started as a grassroots effort by a small group of beekeepers to build community awareness around the art of beekeeping. Since 2009, National Honey Bee Day has spread nationwide with local and regional events hosted throughout the country. Though its history is still rather short, there is no denying that National Honey Bee Day is doing its part to bring eyes and interest to the world of honey bees and beekeeping (You can learn more about National Honey Bee Day’s history here). In true celebration style, this year we are cheering on our buzz-worthy friends with a recipe that is as delicious as it is trendy.
Over the last few years many diets and eating patterns have been featured in the media, and with so many choices, it’s hard to know which one is best for you. While we are not experts on the subject, in 2020 we did a deep dive into one of the most popular diets – the Mediterranean Diet - and how honey is a perfect fit. While you can click here to get all of the details, the primary focus of this eating pattern is on the consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats. Now we could all probably stand to add more fruits, vegetables and whole grains to our diets, seeing as a whopping 87% of adults don’t meet the daily recommendations for vegetables, and a surprising three-quarters of people don’t meet the recommendations for fruit each day. But the transition doesn’t have to be daunting, in fact, with honey it can actually be quite easy and delicious, as showcased in our Mediterranean Honey Flatbread! Featuring such honey bee-pollinated ingredients as garlic, parsley, red onion, baby spinach, red bell pepper, and grape tomatoes, this dish is the is as fresh as it is simple, and will soon be a family favorite.
Ingredients
- 2 – flatbread crusts (naan style preferred)
- 2 T – olive oil
- 2 cloves - garlic
- 2 T - honey
- 3 T – parsley, minced
- 1/2 cup – baby spinach
- 1/2 cup – feta, crumbled
- 1/2 – red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 cup – grape tomatoes, halved
- 1/4 cup – red onion, thinly sliced
Directions
In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, garlic, honey and parsley. Brush onto both flatbreads. Add spinach on top. Top with feta, red bell peppers, onion and tomatoes. Bake at 425º for 10-12 minutes.
We’re not sure about you, but we will be toasting the honey bees that make this, and so many other recipes possible. Bee sure to join us next month for two more tasty honey bee-pollinated recipes!