Pom Pom's!

It's that time of year when pomegranates are in season! This middle eastern fruit that has made its way (into my heart) on the scene in North America is extraordinary. All you hear about is how this powerfully nutritious fruit has exploded onto the food scene; it's in our grocery stores, juice bars, restaurants and even in our beauty products! (I honestly own pomegranate lip balm and wanna snack on it sometimes.)

The problem with pomegranates is that they are, well, a ton of work. It is thus an intimidating and messy fruit that sprays everywhere. Not everyone is familiar on how to crack the skin of a pomegranate without getting sprayed by the ruby red juice and even if you decide to take this fleshy beast on, it is time consuming and not everyone has the patience to deal with it. (Plus, the juice f*cking stains.) Well, before I talk about an easy method I found to conquer the POM here are some (nutrition) facts that you may not know about this complex fruit:

• A powerful antioxidant (three times more than in red wine and green tea)
• Helps assist in plaque regression (fat deposits) in carotid arteries and the heart which helps prevent heart attack, strokes, premature aging, Alzheimer's disease and cancer
• High in Potassium and Vitamin C
• Originally from Israel but can now be found in California (ie trade name POM Wonderful)
• The seeds themselves are high in iron (some people don't eat the seeds, just extract the juice)

So how do you get to the fruit? There are two successful ways; the quick way or the long way. Let's start with the long way:

1) Find a large, deep bowl (biggest mixing bowl you have) and fill it up to the 3/4 mark with water. 

2) Cut the pomegranate in half (make sure to wear an apron because you will be sprayed) and         submerge the newly cut halves of the pomegranate in water.

3) See you in 20 minutes because it will take you that long to get all the seeds out of the webbing.

Ready for the easy way? Click here and see a demonstration video on You Tube. 

I bought the pomegranate tool featured in the video (be warned, it took 6 weeks for it to be delivered) and I have not regretted it. Click here to find out where you can purchase it. I can go through 4 pomegranates in 30 mins... and get rid of some built up aggression- bonus! Here are some pictures of my battles.

Oops. I guess I hit it a little too hard.

Now that you are more familiarized with the POM (hopefully a little less anxious on tackling it too), here some dishes that I like to add pomegranates to mix things up:

• In my (greek) yogurt in the morning
• A fruit salad 
• Use it as a garnish on a fruit tartlet for dessert
• Throw it on some vanilla bean ice cream for dessert
• I enjoy pomegranates in my smoothies but it's better to use pomegranate juice found in stores then the actual fruit. You'll end up chewing your smoothie instead of drinking it.

Just remember folks, if you are looking for a big, fat, juicy case of pomegranates (6 for $13.99) there's only one place to go; your neighbourhood Costco.