Wellness Weekly
By Sandy Considine
Pomegranates are low in calories and fat but high in fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, so they come with a ton of health benefits, including:
•Benefit Heart Health
•Reduce Blood Pressure
•Support Urinary Health
•Promote Gut Microbiome Health
•Reduce Inflammation
•Improve Exercise Endurance
•Lower The Risk Of Chronic Diseases
•Reduce Oxidative Damage
•Boost Brain Health
•They provide Vitamins B9, K, C, B5 and A
Despite some rumors, pomegranate seeds CAN be eaten – and they are good for you, too! So, eat the entire aril and seed…no spitting allowed!
So, here are some tips for the best way to cut pomegranates:
1. Make a thin slice on the bottom of the pomegranate. Make sure the knife is sharp and slice about ¼ in off the stem end. Sometimes, it can help to cut out the core here if you see it.
2. Stabilize it with the cut side down and the blossom end on top. Cut and remove the crown/blossom of the pomegranate. Cut in a circle at a shallow angle.
3. Find the gentle ridges along the outside of the pomegranate and make shallow vertical cuts from top to bottom. There are typically about 6 cuts. Make sure they’re shallow enough that you’re only cutting through the red part, not all the way to the seeds.
4. Gently pry open the pomegranate using your fingers. It should open fairly easily, exposing the seeds (or arils). Open these sections over a bowl to catch any loose seeds.
5. Some people will hit the back of the pomegranate with a wooden spoon to whack the arils out of the pomegranate. This can work, but it can also be messy and may bruise the seeds.
6. Alternately, you can pull seeds away from the peel and membranes. Filling the bowl with water can help, as the seeds will sink to the bottom, and pieces of membrane will float on top.
Now that we have the seeds free of the fruit and know all the myriad of ways it can benefit our body, let’s look at some recipes.
Creamy Broccoli Salad
For the Salad:
1 large head broccoli, cut into smaller bite-size florets, slightly steamed
1 pomegranate, seeded (about 1/2 cup)
1/3 cup raw almonds, roughly chopped
1/2 red onion, finely diced
6 slices uncured, nitrate-free bacon, crisp-cooked and chopped
For the Dressing:
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
4 tbsp. apple cider vinegar, OR 4 tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice
½ tsp. garlic powder, OR 2-3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
½ tsp. sea salt
A pinch of black or white pepper
Start by preparing your creamy dressing; in a small mixing bowl, whisk yogurt and vinegar. Add in garlic, sea salt and pepper, whisk again until well combined. Set aside in your fridge.
Bring a large pot filled with a few inches of water to a boil. If you have a steamer basket then you can use that.
Once boiling, add in the broccoli florets, reduce heat to medium and steam for about 3 minutes, or until broccoli is just crisp tender but still bright green. Do not overcook.
Immediately dunk broccoli into an ice bath (a large bowl filled with ice, and icy-cold water) then allow broccoli to completely drain/air dry in a colander or on towels.
In a large serving bowl, add broccoli florets, pomegranate arils, chopped almonds and onion.
Sprinkle in your crumbled cooked bacon.
Drizzle your yogurt dressing on top and toss gently to mix all the flavors.
Serve immediately and enjoy!
Refrigerate any leftovers for up to 48 hours
Creamy Micro Chopped Salad
Ingredients
Salad:
1 small head of green cabbage, chopped very small
1 English cucumber, small diced
10 radishes, small diced
2 bell peppers (red and yellow), seeded and small diced
1/2 small cantaloupe, seeded and small diced
4 green onions, thinly sliced
Pomegranate arils from 1 large fruit
1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds (pepitas) or sunflower seeds
1/4 cup freshly chopped curly parsley
Dressing:
1/4 cup homemade mayonnaise
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tbsp. maple syrup or raw honey
1 small lemon, juiced
1 tsp. red chili flakes
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instruction
Small dice all of your veggies and add them into a large bowl together with the
diced cantaloupe, pomegranate arils, and pumpkin seeds.
In a small bowl, whisk all the ingredients for your dressing together really well.
Drizzle the dressing over your salad and toss well to combine.
Enjoy!
Copycat Starbucks Pink Drink
Ingredients
2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries, hulled
2 cups pure pomegranate juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract
•Optional: 2 scoops vanilla protein powder or collagen
TO SERVE: additional fresh chopped strawberries and ice
Instructions
Add all the ingredients to a high-speed blender and blend until smooth and nicely combined.
Add lots of ice and additional chopped strawberries equally among 4 tall glasses as desired and pour in your pink drink.
Please feel free to email on what you what to know about for a future article at
sandra.considine@yahoo.com
