Pomegranate Faces

Pomegranate juice is front and center in a lot of grocery stores as a super juice. It’s true this juice has healing properties and contains many vitamins and antioxidants. However research shows that foods eaten whole are usually more nutritious when consumed in part (i.e. juice, refined grains). Drinking the juice doesn’t give you any fiber, nor does it give you the oils found in the seeds in the pomegranate garnets. To maximize its health benefit, go for the whole fruit.

Pomegranates are a great snack to eat with your family. They are in season now, and have a short fresh season so buy now while you can still find the fruit fresh. They are pretty pricey, but look for specials at your grocery store. Sometimes you can get them for around a $1 a piece and given how heavy they are that’s not a bad price for fruit especially since it’s loaded with health benefits.

If you’ve never had one fresh, they can be a bit time consuming, and very messy. Do this snack when you have time to luxuriate over a delicious and special snack. The juice will stain clothes, so it’s not recommended when the tots have on their Sunday best. The amount of effort and mess contribute to their kid appeal, so dig in and liberate some pomegranate garnets for your kids and see whose face is messiest when you finish. See the pomegranate speckled faces my kids ended up with?

To dig in, cut the top “flower” bit off with a knife. Score around the fruit (into quarters), then break the fruit open. Give each kid a section and let them use teeth and hands to free the seeds. They almost crunch when you chew them, and have a distinctive sweet and sour taste. The seeds inside the fruit can be swallowed. If they are chewed at all, it will break open the oils inside and the gut will be able to digest their healing properties. The seed can be bitter, so I wouldn’t recommend chewing them a lot, although the more chewing you do the more nutrients from the oil you’ll get in your bloodstream.

We put pomegranates in the kid’s stockings at Christmas. The boys think it’s pretty cool to get a whole one to themselves!

Nutrition: Pomegranates are high in polyphenol antioxidants which are instrumental in combating oxidative stress, a syndrome related to neurodegenerative (conditions causing problems with movement and affecting memory) and cardiovascular diseases. Pomegranates are also known to fight osteoarthritis, keep prostate cancer from returning, help lower bad cholesterol, lower blood pressure, fight breast cancer (the oils in the seeds) and when consumed by pregnant women can protect newborns brains during traumatic births. They also contain vitamin C, A, E, folic acid, potassium and niacin. See this article for more details