I’m a big fan of the exotic ~ be it person, place or thing. If it’s different I’m drawn to it (just ask my poor children who have to go through life with names like Anjuli, Jazmine and Arkese). But I especially love exotic foods (seriously, there is almost nothing I won’t try once). I think this comes from living with my father and stepfather, both of whom loved to experiment in the kitchen.

Recently I was given the opportunity to try pomegranate juice by a company called POM Wonderful. Now I’ve had some experience with the pomegranate, you know, cutting it open, sucking on the seeds til the meat was off and then spitting the seeds in the yard (my sisters and I were so classy). But it had never occurred to me that you could cook with them or gasp get juice from those little bitty seeds.
So when the box of juices arrived, I was pretty excited. I had visions of creating these wonderful dishes with exotic flair. My bad. The kids had other ideas. The first thing they yelled was “Smoothies!” So that’s what I did, I made smoothies (after I nearly sprained my wrist trying to get the lid off. Seriously, the lids are on pretty tight). The pomegranate juice itself tasted a bit like white cranberry juice to me ~ a little bit of a tanginess. With the addition of the banana and honey, it hit just the right amount of sweetness. After the first taste, my kids were clamoring for more. Seriously, they wanted them for breakfast, after school snacks and dinner drinks. I didn’t mind though because those were some tasty, albeit highly caloric, little drinks.
Luckily, I did manage to snatch three bottles of juice for later use because I really love to cook and the recipes on the POM Wonderful website look so delish. If you get a chance to try the juices or use them in a recipe, please let me know how it turns out. In fact, leave a link to your favorite recipes so I can give them a try.
Along with finding out that you can get juice from those teeny little seeds, I was also surprised to find out that pomegranate juice is good for you. Scientific tests show that POM is a superior source of antioxidants (even more potent than red wine, grape juice, blueberry juice and cranberry juice).* Who knew? And with so many of us trying to move towards a healthier lifestyle, that’s some awesome information.
Disclosure: I received the POM Wonderful samples free from POM in exchange for a review.
*For more information about the health benefits of POM, check here