Pomegranates!!!

Like any mommy of a somewhat picky, tends-to-eat-like-a-little-bird toddler, I am always looking for new, healthy snack ideas. And this particular super food has become such a smash hit in our household that I simply had to share the “idea” with you…

I share this only because unlike other fruits and veggies, the lovely pomegranate does not seem to be a fruit that most mommies (including myself, for a while) consider trying with little ones (I mentioned the idea at playgroup the other day and the other moms looked at me like I was cuckoo!). I’ve happily discovered, though, that it about as close to the perfect snack food a mommy could hope to find. SUPER healthy, delicious, fun, and convenient. My daughter loves the brightly coloured, bite-sized little seeds, and gobbles them up as though they were candy.

If you don’t eat pomegranates regularly, getting at those shiny little gems inside can be a bit of a challenge. So here are a few tricks to try…

·         As with any fruit, be sure to wash the outer peel before cutting into it with a knife. I just use a little baking soda (a totally safe, natural cleanser) and scrub with a brush under warm water.

·        To avoid wasting seeds, don’t cut right into the pomegranate. Rather, use a sharp knife to divide the pomegranate in quarters, cutting just through the peel but not into the centre of the fruit. Then simply break the pomegranate into pieces along the cut lines.

·        To get at all those yummy little seeds, submerge the pomegranate in a bowl of cold water. The water will prevent pomegranate juice from spraying all over your walls (those tiny little seeds are juicy and can really make a mess!). As an added plus, the white pith will separate from the seeds and float to the top of the water.

And the best news about the juicy, delicious pomegranate? Mommies can dive into their little ones’ snack food and gobble it up by the handful without even the tiniest bit of guilt. Enjoy!