Hello Pomegranate Juice!

A few weeks ago I received a nice e-mail from a blogger asking if I would be interested in trying some POM Wonderful pomegranate juice.  I have to tell you, my very first thought was what a cool job that has to be- “Hi, I’m so-and-so and I’m this company’s blogger.”   And my second thought was that I love pomegranate flavored anything, but I couldn’t recall trying a straight-up pomegranate juice.  I was in, and a few days later a box arrived on my doorstep which contained eight gleaming bottles of POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate juice.  The kids were excited, and asked if they could have some.  I told them they could split a bottle, and to go ahead and taste it.  They opened it up, took a taste, grimaced, and handed it back.  So I tasted, and I knew what their problems was, it’s a little on the sour/tart side.  But behind that sour/tart flavor is a delightful fruity flavor.  Andy enjoyed the flavor straight out the bottle, and thought that he could drink it on a regular basis and he would enjoy it.

What really attracted Andy though, and I’ll admit it, I was pretty blown away as well, was the material tucked inside the box with the juice.  It turns out, pomegranate juice is pretty darn good for you.  It has more powerful antioxidants than red wine, acai, blueberries, green tea, and grape juice. In addition, 100% pomegranate juice has been shown to improve both cardiovascular and prostate health, among other things.  It’s a nutritional powerhouse!

What makes POM Wonderful a unique brand of pomegranate juice is that it is what it is.  When you buy other brands of foreign juice, it’s often diluted with grape juice or has added sugar to make it more sweet and appealing.  POM Wonderful squeezes it’s juice from fruit grown from their own trees in California.  That makes it a relatively local product in my book.( Although if you ever find yourself in Israel, apparently you can walk up to a stand and order pomegranate juice, and they will squeeze it right there for you in front of your eyes. )

But then we get back to the part where the juice is pretty sour on it’s own, so what do you do with it?  Well, that very first bottle we opened?  Andy drank half of it on it’s own.  I took the other half, and added it to a can of 7-UP for a very delicious mocktail.  Then I took blogger Janny’s advice and headed to the POM Wonderful website and all the amazing recipes they have there.  They have quite the collection of different ways to use pomegranate juice!  I looked around the site and settled on using the juice in a salad dressing for Easter dinner.  The Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad with Crisp Prosciutto and Mustard Dressing sounded like a fun take on a normal salad, so I picked up a few ingredients and tossed it together Easter morning.

I did make a few changes.  First, I just used straight up all-natural bacon instead of prosciutto, because I had some on hand to use up.  And secondly, I left off the pomegranate arils.  Fresh pomegranates are not to be had in my neck of the woods this time of year.  I made the decision to use dried cranberries instead of raisins to make up for the tang that would be missing by leaving out the pomegranate seeds.  I tossed the broccoli, cauliflower, sliced grapes, and dried cranberries in a bowl, and then made up the dressing.  The recipe, as written, makes a lot of dressing! I ended up using half of it to toss with the salad,and the rest is in the fridge to use to drizzle on spinach salads and such.  It’s delicious, and I don’t mind having it in the fridge as an everyday salad dressing.  If you’re conscious of ingredients though, consider using half the recommended quantity when it comes to the dressing.  I tossed the salad, added the bacon pieces, and we were good to go.  I sliced my red onion and served it on the side, because I know not everyone at our Easter dinner enjoys or can eat onions, and I wanted it to be available to all.

Everyone enjoyed the salad- I loved the play on a familiar salad, and I really enjoyed the dressing.  I rather liked being able to tell everyone at dinner that they were loading up on antioxidants.  The best part?  I still have several bottles of POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice in my fridge, and a whole website of recipes to choose from.  I’m already convinced that I want to add this juice to my regular shopping lists- the healthy benefits are definitely worth it.  At my local grocery stores, a 16 ounce bottle costs approximately four dollars, although I know I’ve seen it on sale at one time or another.  It does need to be refrigerated for storage, so don’t stock up on too much of it at one time or another. Keep an eye out here over the next few weeks.  I have my sights set on a few more recipes to feature this delightful juice, and I hope to be able to share them with you right here.

POM Wonderful Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad

from POM Wonderful

1 cup arils from 1-2 large pomegranates

4 ounces prosciutto, cut into 1/2-inch strips

1/2 pound broccoli, cut into florets (about 2 cups)

1/2 pound cauliflower, cut into florets (about 2 cups)

1/2 cup red onion, thinly sliced

1 cup seedless grapes, cut in half

1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins

3 tablespoons fresh basil, cut into strips

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons whole grain dijon mustard

1 tablespoon sugar

juice from 2-3 pomegranates or 1 cup of 100% pomegranate juice

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Prepare fresh pomegranate juice if needed.

Score 1-2 pomegranates and place in a bowl of water.  Break open the pomegranates under water to free the arils (seeds).  The arils will sink to the bottom of the bowl and the membrane will float to the top.  Sieve and put the arils in a separate bowl.  Reserve 1 cup of the arils and set aside.  Refrigerate or freeze the remaining arils for another use.

Cook prosciutto strips in a nonstick skillet over mediuim heat until crisp.

In a bowl, toss together the broccoli, cauliflower, grapes, dried cranberries and basil.

In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, mayonnaise, mustard, sugar and pomegranate juice.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Toss the dressing with the salad.  Add the pomegranate arils and the prosciutto.

Serves 6