It’s October and that means it is Pomegranate Season in Alaska…at Costco. They have truly been one of my favorite fruits since I was a little girl and I loved introducing them to my children when they were toddlers!
Pomegranates may seem weird to those unfamiliar with this beautiful deep red fruit, but PLEASE, don’t be intimidated. Once you learn to “crack” it open, the small juicy seeds that fall out are truly a delight to eat. Pomegranates are sweet, tart and delicious!
“Let food be thy medicine,”
When Hippocrates, the father of medicine, said “Let food be thy medicine,” surely he was speaking of the pomegranate, one of the world’s GREATEST SUPER-FOODS. In his book, Super Immunity, Dr. Joel Fuhrman states that the pomegranate can inhibit breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer and leukemia. It lowers blood pressure and can reverse atherosclerosis that can lead to heart attacks. It also reduces kidney infections and can help with depression as it stimulates serotonin and estrogen receptors. Lest this all sounds too good to be true, there are now over 700 peer-reviewed medical journal articles (not all on just this fruit, of course!) that prove the medicinal values of different plants and this is important because they do not have any side effects like modern pharmaceuticals.
Finally, my little secret is that I enjoy opening up pomegranates. Many videos on youtube exist on opening up a pomegranate, but I like to score the outside, crack it in half and then in fourths and gently remove the seeds slowly and carefully. It is a meditative and mindful process for me and I feel like I am giving my family a precious gift in a bowl of pomegranate seeds.
