Monday, December 6, 2010

Move Over Pumpkin, Pomegranates are Here!




Ok, I know pomegranates have been in the stores for quite some time now, yet I waited until only last week to try my first pomegranate of the season. For some reason I had forgotten just how delicious they were.


I bought a HUGE pomegranate at the grocery store and one provided about 300 arials (the seeds that you eat). That is about 1.5 cups of juicy, delicious, edible pomegranate.




At work I did a demo on how to de-seed a pomegranate under water. Here is a good video to watch if you have never tried it yourself. It's a great way to prevent a huge mess from all of the arial juice.

Pomegranates are seriously one of the healthiest fruits available. Who needs goji and acai when you can get pomegranates fresh at your local grocery store?!


Health Benefits

  • They help lower your blood pressure and maybe even increase your libido
  • They are packed with antioxidants, which fight chronic diseases and reduce whole-body inflammation
  • They might help lower your bad LDL cholesterol
  • Recent studies have linked pomegranate consumption to decreased risk of breast cancer

Don't just drink the juice because you would be missing out on all of the fiber (and there is a lot of fiber in those arials!). I have been using pomegranates for many things lately, such as;


Adding it to yogurt....




Sprinkling it on top of my morning oatmeal with yogurt and cinnamon....




And this...

Pomegranate and Pear Salsa

Ingredients

1.5 cups pomegranate arials

1/4 cup POM juice

The juice from one lime

1 bartlett pear, chopped (or any pear)

1/4 cup diced red onion

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 T sugar (optional)


Directions

Combine all ingredients and serve with your favorite chips.

**This salsa looks so pretty and would make an excellent snack/appetizer at a holiday party. The colors are just spectacular! Sorry I don't have a picture. I need to start carrying my camera with me to work. **



QUESTION: How do you like to eat pomegranates?

31 comments :

  1. I can't believe I've never had a pomegranate! I think I'm intimidated by them.

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  2. Oooooh, I LOVE poms! I love them over Greek yogurt...so tart and sweet!

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  3. Aren't they lovely? I love them stirred into Greek yogurt, too but your salad sounds terrific, too!

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  4. My sis bought be dark chocolate covered pomegranate seeds and they were pretty delicious!! Probably not the healthiest way to eat them, but oh well!! =)

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  5. I love pomegranates! I like to add pom seeds to yogurt or oatmeal! And sometimes it's good as an ice cream topping! Your pomegranate and pear salsa sounds so good! I'll have to try that!

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  6. good thing i love pomegranates! i put them on yogurt all the time!

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  7. pomegranates are definitely health packed, but they aren't my fave. :( i think i just really hate separating all of the seeds out, and they stain really easily (especially for klutzes like me!). :)

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  8. That salsa sounds great. I think that doing it under water is a great idea and I wish I had thought of that before. I should look and see if we have any at our commissary. I think I will need to have some soon, if I can find them.

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  9. I love pomegranates in all forms. I like the seeds, Pama liquer and juice! They are SO good.

    I use the seeds as toppers to yogurt, oatmeal and salad.

    I also like putting them in the bottom of my husbands pamatini or a glass of Champagne. They make a very pretty garnish.

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  10. I always forget to pick these up at the store but LOVE to eat them -thanks for the reminder! I also didn't know about all the health benefits...now I'm definitely getting them this week! :)

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  11. Love pom. seeds! Yogurt and oatmeal are two of my go-to pairings too. But I also love pomegranate seeds in salads. They make great toppers for creamy soups too. Beautiful, crunchy garnish!

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  12. I love pomegranates- my dad still buys them for me because he knows they are my favorite!

    I love them plain or sprinkled on top of a spinach salad- yum!

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  13. Thank you for sharing that video...the other day, I saw pomegranate in the supermarket but I was too intimidated to pick one up....I get my pom from the bottle hahaha

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  14. My daughter loves pom seeds so I bought her some. She called me because she had to quickly leave from work and said "Mom, I didn't murder the dog, I just took pom seeds out!"

    I buy them already taken out at Trader Joe's and its totally worth the money! :D

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  15. Здраствуйте! Я тут в первый раз, но однозначно останусь тут на долго т.к. дико понравилась статья!

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  16. I absolutely love pomegranates - I love them in salads, and in yogurt and oatmeal like you suggested.

    I also just eat them out of the bowl. I never would have thought to add them to a salsa - sounds amazing!

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  17. Pomegranates are one of those foods that I absolutely love but always forget about. Love the ideas of how to use them.

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  18. I loooove pomegranates! They're on sale this week, too :) I just learned about seeding them with water - so clever! That was a perfect demo to do at the store. It really does make it a lot cleaner, and it keeps that bitter rind away!!

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  19. Wild Rice, Carmelized onions, chopped kale and pears....drizzled with olive oil and balsamic creme and sliced grilled chicken.....

    or on pizza/flatbread with feta??

    or soup prepared with white wine, pears and satsuma oranges?

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  20. The kids and I love POM's straight up. Actually, I have to fight the buggers for them!

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  21. I love pomegranates but always have a hard time getting the seeds out. Thanks for that video!

    I am going to have to try some on my yogurt. That sounds great!

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  22. I love pomegranates! I use the same under water technique to de-seed it, such an easy and clean way!

    I love adding poms to my salads, yogurt' oatmeal of course and also along with my Brussels sprouts (www.healthywwithheather.com/2010/11/05/sweet-and-savory-brussels-sprouts/)

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  23. I'm not a huge fan of pomegranates. But I love whirring the seeds with oil and vinegar and other ingredients in the blender to make salad dressing. And I also love a few pomegranate seeds in a glass of champagne :D

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  24. There is a pomegranate in my refrigerator that needs de-seeding! That salsa recipe looks fabulous.

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  25. Thanks for the link to the How-to. I always have a bit of trouble getting to the pomegranate arils.
    It's kind of like my other favourite food from this time of year -- chestnuts! So good, yet such a pain in the ass.

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  26. Beneficial info and excellent design you got here! I want to thank you for sharing your ideas and putting the time into the stuff you publish! Great work!

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  27. Every Sunday, my Dad is in charge of making a big salad from all the available fresh produce. When POMs are in season he adds them to the salad and makes a great dressing out of it. I love adding it in yogurts too!

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  28. I just bought my first pomegranate other day too! I love them in salads and what a clever salsa! Poms are so wonderful :)

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  29. If you are open to having a guest blog poster please reply and let me know. I will provide you with unique content for your blog, thanks.

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  30. My mother in law farms pomegranates, so we have pomegranate everything during the holidays. I am a little ashamed to say that I still don't know how to open one properly!!! Great post!

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