The kids are in school, we’re thinking about that nice long Labor Day weekend ahead…so what’s fun, funky and even a little bit healthy this month in Kelly’s Kitchen? It’s Ann Kelly with the answers… and here we go!

1. September is National Honey Month; if you’re worried about heart disease, experts suggest using honey as a natural sweetener to help with blood circulation, and reduce bad cholesterol. These lovely ladies are from Jorgenson’s Apiary, located in a really neat little place in Olmstead Falls, Ohio called Grand Pacific Junction (www.grandpacificjunction.com), where I found some delectable lavender honey!

2. Women’s Health Magazine says that if we lost our sense of smell, here’s the top five of what we’d miss the most; fresh flowers, coffee, fresh brownies and cookies, rain, and clean laundry. What would you miss?

3. Do you take a multivitamin each morning? Studies say that the tannins in coffee and tea inhibit iron absorption, so it’s a good idea to stay away from both when you take your multivitamin.

4. Tired of wasting way too much money on those prepackaged 100 calorie snack packs? Those nice little muffin liners that are sitting in the pantry measure out to about half a cup each and can help keep portions under control. Invest in some reusable containers and keep the extra money for something more worthwhile.

5. Love your favorite coupon sites, but not too thrilled about excess spam showing up? There a site that you can use to get off junk mailing lists; www.optoutprescreen.com.

So, start working on that fun list of your own for this weekend, and keep sending those suggestions along for what you’d like to see in Kelly’s Kitchen at ann.kelly@coxmg.com.

WORDS OF WISDOM FROM KELLY’S KITCHEN;

The pedigree of honey does not concern the bee; a clover, any time, to him is aristocracy. ~ Emily Dickinson