it's the most wonderful time of the year!

~The wise man should consider that health is the greatest of human blessings.  Let food be your medicine.~

- Hippocrates

It's Pomegranate Season! My favorite time of year, and my favorite fruit. Why mention this on The Vegan and The Carnivore? Because, as I will explain, pomegranates do wonders to the human body. Whether your diet consists of Big Macs and Whoppers or entirely raw, the pomegranate tastes good (crunchy like a seed, sweet like a fruit), and can help push out all that gunk in your arteries. Not that I'd consider super sizing it gunk. :)

Pomegranates are considered a "super food."  They contain powerful minerals (calcium, potassium, and iron), plus compounds known as phytonutrients, which are proven to help the body protect against heart disease, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer. The powerful antioxidants in the fruit also help prevent aging and can neutralize almost twice as many free radicals as red wine and seven times as many as green tea. As a further benefit, some researchers suggest that the crunchy seeds help flush fats from the digestive tract. Adding pomegranate juice to a persons diet has been proven to improve blood flow in people with coronary heart disease, patients with atherosclerosis (clogged arteries) demonstrated a reduction in arterial plaque growth, and studies by The American Association for Cancer Research found hopeful results for prostate health. Amazing!

Below you will find my method of opening a pomegranate, and a fun fall recipe to try out!


Opening a pomegranate:  Score (lightly cut the outside, do not cut through) fresh pomegranate and place in a bowl of water. This will allow any free juice to escape into the water, withot dying your hands, clothes, or carpet! Break open the pomegranate under water to free the arils (seed sacs). The arils will sink to the bottom of the bowl and the membrane will float to the top. Continue freeing the arils underwater until all are released. Eat the arils, discard the membrane. Enjoy!

Pomegranate Oatmeal Cookies

(Thanks, Squidoo!)

Ingredients:


* Juice from 1 large pomegranate or 1/4 cup 100% Pomegranate Juice
* 1 cup arils from 1 large pomegranate
* 2 1/2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened (vegans, use Earth Balance or similar)
* 1 cup granulated sugar (vegans, do not use cane sugar with bone char--look for beet sugar)
* 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar (vegans, same story as above)
* 1 large egg (vegans, use ener-g egg replacer)
* 3/4 cup chopped dried apricots, cranberries, cherries or apples
* 1/2 cup raisins



Directions:

1. Open pomegranate. Reserve 1 cup of the arils from fruit and set aside. (Refrigerate or freeze remaining arils for another use.)
2. Prepare fresh pomegranate juice.* (see directions below, or buy Pom 100% Juice)
3. Preheat oven to 375F. In a bowl combine oats, flour, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl beat together butter and sugars until smooth. Beat in the pomegranate juice and egg. Stir in the flour mixture, reserved arils, apricots and raisins.
4. Drop mixture by rounded tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto lightly greased baking sheets.
5. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes until edges are golden brown; do not overbake.
6. Transfer cookies to wire rack with spatula; cool. Store in a tightly covered container or freeze for up to several months.



*For 1 cup of juice, cut 2-3 large pomegranates in half and juice them with a citrus reamer or juicer. Pour mixture through a cheesecloth-lined strainer or sieve. Set the juice aside.