Bee pollen

[Taysia]

I've been adding wildcrafted bee pollen to my morning smoothies. I am on my second order of bee pollen from a company, but it seems drier than my first order. I read somewhere that the granules should be multi-colored which shows it comes from a variety of different plants. What should I be on the lookout for in buying bee pollen online? Any recommendations on a particularly good source?

[RawKnitster]

Sorry, I don't know about online sources for bee pollen. I have heard that it is good to get bee pollen as local as possible. That advise might be specificly for people who want to build up tolerance to local allergens.

I would suggest checking the farmer's market in your area this Spring. Look for a local beekeeper that sells honey in the market. They will often sell bee pollen, too. It might not be on the table. If you ask for it, they may have it.

[DebB]

I'm on my third bag of this bee pollen (http://www.iherb.com/C-C-Pollen-High-Desert-Bee-Pollen-1-lb-454-g/5992?at=0). That is where I order it too, it's a great company to do business with, I've been ordering from them for probably 3 years or so and have never had one problem.

I don't have anything to compare it to though, it's the only one I've ever used. You can read the 30+ reviews there if you'd like, which is a feature I really like about the site.

When I get it, I keep it stored in the freezer. It looks different too, bag to bag. I'm adding 1 tablespoon per day into my green smoothie. I started with 1/2 teaspoon. *Ü*

[Taysia]

RawKnitster: I'm in Hawaii and many items I'm looking for are hard to come by in Hawaii. I will look for local bee pollen if I ever get to the Saturday market. Thank you!

Deb: i Googled bee pollen and the company you linked me to did pop up. At first I was afraid to order from them (High Desert) because I had never heard of them, but with your testimonial I will re-consider! I just do not like the dry, hard granules I just received from a company I do a lot of business with. Thank you!

[DebB]

Hi Taysia ~ The bags I've had, the granules are not hard, they're chewy. Just this morning, I put about 2t in the blender and just ate the other teaspoon. I use to just eat it, but then I thought maybe it would be better blended. I enjoy the taste, but my husband tried some and didn't care for it, http://i932.photobucket.com/albums/ad169/DebB4007/animated%20gifs/dunno.gif.

If you decide to try it, I hope it works for you! I chose to order it after reading the reviews on iHerb. *Ü*

[RawKnitster]

Taysia, I wondered where you were. It doesn't get any more "overlooking the Pacific" than Hawaii. Lucky you! :)

[Taysia]

RawKnitster - A great place to live, but I have to mail order a lot of my food. Organic produce is very expensive. For example, I paid $8.00 for a mango at WF. I envy all of you who can go to a roadside stand or open market and pick up FRESH, organic produce. Grass is always greener . . . huh?

[RawKnitster]

Seems so, always greener. :)

I bought a small bottle of High Desert bee pollen from the vegan store yesterday. Pretty good stuff. :)

[DebB]

I just thought of something - I go ahead and just keep the bee pollen in the freezer. I keep lots of things like this (that I add to smoothies, and wheat grass, etc.) in the freezer.

So - maybe it's less chewier than I thought when it's stored in the fridge. *Ü*