Health benefits of Pomegranates, your winter remedy!

The pomegranates are in season! 

I love this beautiful, sober looking fruit, full of benefits that we will need with the festive season approaching. With winter coming, some of our problems are aggravated, but no panic, the pomegranate is there for us. There is a down side: they are a nuisance to pare. It takes a bit of knowledge and know how to cut them, but the trouble is it all worth!

Pomegranates from our friends garden

Have a look at this gorgeous colored fruit. Is the color red? or pink? Lets open them up.

Where do you start?

First of all, get dressed! Yes, get dressed: tie on your apron, the biggest one you have and be sure there is nothing uncovered because the juice will find this uncovered spot and stain it! and you know: fruit stains are difficult to get rid of. You got the message: paring a pomegranate is a messy job.

Now you can cut off a thin slice of the top of the fruit; you'll see paper thin yellowish meridians that divide the fruit in sections: follow one of this meridian while cutting the skin very carefully along this meridian, don't touch the berries. As you have split the pomegranates in 2 or in multiple pieces, your second challenge is visible: how to get all this berries out without cutting them up; the paper thin yellow membrane should not get mixed up with the berries because it has a bitter taste.

Cut pomegranates

When the cutting business is finished, clean your knife, put it away and grab your kitchen gloves or latex gants, that is if you don't want stained nail beds and finger tops. Start handpicking the berries. Use the top of your fingers and your thumb but don't put pressure on them, do not crush the berries; try to get the berries out of their bed. You want them to stay whole without spilling the precious juice. Either you pare the whole fruit or you dig out how much you want or need, put the berries in a nice bowl, take a dessert spoon and enjoy.

Warning: the seeds inside the berries might taste bitter, chew them or squeeze out the juice in your mouth and spit the seeds out. The juice is deliciously refreshing with its own special taste, miles away from the ready made grenadine you might remember from your child hood! 

Cut pomegranates

Why it is worth the trouble

As I told you above, you went through all this trouble because the benefits are greater than the nuisance! As you are savoring your "work" know that your are getting vitamins and minerals, that you are protecting yourself from inflammation, cancer, high blood pressure and the more. Why paying for artificial enzymes to help your digestion when you can have the real ones? You can find all the benefits  on the internet, but here are some of them in a row: pomegranates

1. provide you with vit A, C and some B
2. give you: calcium, potassium and iron
3. have anti-inflammatory effects
4. reduce your risk of heart diseases
5. lower your blood pressure
6. are good for your joints
7. are a natural anticoagulant
8. prevent your arthritis
9. have lots of anti-oxidants
10. enzymes help your digestion
11. are a protection against dental plaque
12. prevent cancer spread

If after reading this you say: wow, I could use this, don't go out and get ready made juice! It is most likely full of additives, conservatives and added sugar. Be brave and buy the fruit. Look for unblemished fruits and choose the most colorful ones: the more color the healthier. The fruits in the picture are a bit blemished but they are a gift from friends who grow them in their garden. I know the source!

Pomegranates have a long season and they stay good for a long time, they don't spoil easily. Buy a couple of them and view the fruit as medicine in a nice and colorful package

For more details, read here and here. 

Symbol of prosperity and fertility.

I have some Greek friends and they gave me pictures, cards, paintings and glass pomegranates as a gift, especially around New Year. How can a not even sexy looking fruit be a symbol of fertility? As you can see in the picture, the pomegranate has no flesh but only berries, that are actually SEEDS!
The function of seeds is reproduction! Every pomegranate contains 400 to 650 seeds. You get that much trees out of 1 pomegranate. You easily fathom why the pomegranate is symbol of fertility and prosperity.

When pomegranates are in season, flue season is not far away; I have a couple of flue symptoms and if I want to get better I have to get rest. Yes, 1 necessary remedy is to get rest. There are some more things you can do, but that is for the next post.

This is it for this week. I hope you all are in good health. Walk to your vegetable store and treat yourself and your family with pomegranates!

See you next week!