Pomegranates are the jewel of Autumn and a red delight for the Holidays. Filled with bursting seeds of sweetness and nutrients. They are a fun fruit, once you figure out how to get to the inside treasures. Once you get the hang-of-the-bang you can access fruit juicy nourishment.
Pomegranate Trees
Pomegranates grow on trees. Their spring blossoms/flowers are a brilliant red, just like the ripe fruit later in Autumn.
Pomegranates is a long-lived and drought-tolerant plant. Arid and semiarid zones are popular for growing pomegranate trees. They are widely cultivated in Iran, India, and the Mediterranean countries such as Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia, Spain, and Morocco. However, pomegranate is categorized as a berry but it belongs to its own botanical family, Punicaceae.
~ NCBI; Potent Health Benefits of Pomegrante
Real Food – Pomegranates
Real food means that it is a real LIVE food. Somewhere, somehow it GROWS. It has life inside of it that nourishes our bodies. Eating a real food diet means we seek not only the goodness of real food but the intelligence that is inside of real food that we cannot obtain elsewhere.
Hang-of-the-Bang, Getting to the Good Stuff
Once you get the hang-of-the-bang you can access sweet fruit juicy nourishment.
The first time I purchased a pomegranate, I brought it home, cut it open and got only a few of the seeds. I had no clue why people would bother. Then I learned the trick to the treat; I got the hang-of-the-bang!!
When we bang on it before cutting it open, it loosens the fruit from the tight membranes, hang-of-the-bang!!!
- With the palm of your hand, push and roll on the WHOLE pomegranate on a flat surface
- You do not want to crack the pomegranate skin
- You can feel the inside membranes start to loosen
- Cut the pomegranate in half with a large sharp knife
- Over a large glass bowl, place cut part of pomegranate in the palm of your hand
- Squeeze the outer skin some more to loosen it up even more, over the bowl
- Take a wooden spoon and bang on it; get the hang-of-the-bang
- As you bang, the seeds will fall between your fingers as it lays in the palm of your hand over the bowl
- Do the same with the other half
It can splatter a little as you are doing the hang-of-the-bang so wear an apron or dark clothing.
That process will empty out the juicy sweet seeds from the membrane and skin. Now you have the treats to use in salads, dressings, sauces, desserts, drinks, and more.
Keep the empty skins to dry for decoration (see below for directions).
Big-Bang-for-the-Buck in Pomegranate Nutrients
Pomegranates are among the top 10 Bible foods that heal the body and the mind!
These little sweet juicy seeds have a big-bang-for-the-buck in nutrients.
- loaded with fiber
- vitamins C & K
- potassium
- potent antioxidant
- rich in flavonoids, anthocyanins, punicic acid, ellagitannins, alkaloids, fructose, sucrose, glucose, simple organic acids
Health Benefits include…
- antiatherogenic properties
- antihypertensive properties
- anti-inflammatory properties
- prevent and treat several types of cancer
- prevent and treat cardiovascular disease
- prevent and treat osteoarthritis
- prevent and treat rheumatoid arthritis
- prevent and treat other diseases
- improves wound healing
- beneficial to the reproductive system
- can influence gene expression
Pomegranate is a potent antioxidant. This fruit is rich in flavonoids, anthocyanins, punicic acid, ellagitannins, alkaloids, fructose, sucrose, glucose, simple organic acids, and other components and has antiatherogenic, antihypertensive, and anti-inflammatory properties. Pomegranate can be used in the prevention and treatment of several types of cancer, cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and other diseases. In addition, it improves wound healing and is beneficial to the reproductive system. Pomegranate can induce its beneficial effects through the influence of its various bioavailable constituents and metabolites on gene expression.
~ NCBI; Potent Health Benefits of Pomegrante
More science on breast cancer ~ NCBI; pomegranate extract in breast cancer cells
Sourcing Pomegranates
Your local farmer’s market is usually the best source, especially if you know your farmer and how he/she farms with a lack of harmful chemicals.
Your local grocery store or health food store will usually have fresh pomegranates in the produce aisle. Always try to get certified organic if they are available.
Pomegranates are normally sold in Autumn (in the U.S.). If you want some for the holidays, grab them when you see them and store them in a cool place. By Christmas time they can be hard to purchase.
Although pomegranate juice can easily be found, it is filled with additional sugar and is processed. That defeats the purpose, greatly diminishing nutrients and adding harmful ingredients.
You can purchase sour/tart pomegranate molasses. It is frequently used in Persian and Mediterranean cooking. You can replace any vinegar with this product in salad dressings or sauces. Even though it has sugar added, you are using a small amount because it is a molasses.
- Sadaf Pomegranate Sour Paste (Molasses) NOTE: this has added sugar
Drinking Pomegranate
During the holidays, we can find ourselves in social situations that create more stress than we desire. While we are chronically ill, we need to reduce the stressors.
Trick – when others are drinking alcohol and you don’t want the comments or pressure, drink pomegranate drinks. Use the Pomegranate Molasses in any drink to make it look like a cocktail or red wine. Fun for kids too.
Trick – if you want to enjoy an alcoholic beverage, add the Pomegranate Molasses to it for fun and nutrients. My thinking goes like this; if you are going to drink the alcohol anyway, you might as well add color, big taste, and nourishment to it.
Pomegranate juice (made from pomegranate seeds) has been shown to have antioxidant activity three times higher than red wine and green tea! Might as well use it in your holiday drinks.
Decorate With Dried Pomegranate Skins
Keep the skins after emptying out the seeds and dry them to make holiday decorations.
To dry, arrange whole pomegranates in a single layer on a rack. Keep them in a cool place a few weeks for use in centerpieces and for decoration. Rotate the fruit periodically to prevent flattening on one side. Once dried, pomegranates can last many years.
Skin Health Pomegranates
Pomegranate seed oil is nourishing to the skin. It is widely used in skincare products.
Pomegranate seed oil possesses rich polyunsaturated fatty acid composition, predominantly comprising of punicic acid, that has potent cell-regeneration properties. Great for wrinkles or scars…
- Pomegranate Seed Oil – 100% Pure Unrefined Cold Pressed
- Pomegranate Seed Oil for Skin Repair – Certified Organic and Cold Pressed
Science…
Pomegranates in Season
Pomegranate Council has a very useful website all about pomegranates. Pomegranates.org
Produce Geek – Videos
A fun way to keep up with what is in season is receiving Produce Geek’s FREE newsletter. Eating seasonally helps us rotate our food and eat the freshest produce possible. Produce Geek keeps up with all the fresh produce providing their service for FREE. Easy sign up with your email address – CLICK HERE to sign up. I have no affiliation with them, just think they provide a great service for REAL FOOD EATING. Produce Geek is a fun way to keep up with FREE email alerts to the latest videos for seasonal produce.
