Nature's Rubies

Good Day Everyone,

I love fruit. I've always loved fruit and pomegranate has to be one of my all time favourite fruits along with strawberries, raspberries, mango, watermelon and guava...etc etc. See, I told you I loved fruit. I would struggle to tell you which is my favourite fruit as for me, it's impossible to choose just one. 

Living in Singapore was an absolute joy for me as not only did I have easy access to all sorts of exotic fruits but it was also pretty affordable. In Japan, this is simply not the case. For some reason fruit is ridiculously expensive here (as is everything else lol) and the variety is also quite limited.  However, one fruit that I've always seen at the supermarket since moving here almost 6 months ago, is pomegranate. Whilst we have pomegranates back home in England and in Singapore, I'll be honest, like many people I would often neglect this super fruit simply because of the effort required to get to those juicy little seeds inside. Especially with my arthritic hands and issues with grip, using a sharp knife to cut into it would often mean risking my fingers ;o).

In Japan, we've invested in a couple of Japanese knives, after ours were confiscated from our shipping boxes by customs for some reason, and that has made things a whole lot easier when it comes to cutting up this amazing fruit. Japanese knives are fantastic! They're super light weight which is great for my arthritic wrist but also very sharp making it easy to cut through the toughest of fruits and vegetables. Don't get me wrong, my kitchen still looks like a murder scene by the time I've finished getting all the seeds out of the tough pomegranate skin. The kitchen cupboards and kettle look like they've been in some kind of blood bath and even the next day I find signs of the battle that took place but when you look at the sheer goodness these nature's rubies provide, it is sooo worth the effort ;o).

Pomegranate is known as a super fruit because it is rich in antioxidants. In fact, it is thought that pomegranate has greater antioxidant power than green tea or cranberries. Antioxidants are needed by our body to mop up free radicals that can cause ill health. There is compelling research to suggest that pomegranate actually offers protection against cancer and heart disease, as well as lowering cholesterol and blood pressure. You can read more about the health benefits and results from clinical trials here.

With all these great health benefits and it's easy availability, pomegranate is now a staple fruit in my diet, and with my new knife, getting to those juicy seeds is a little bit easier :o). I know that some people chew the pomegranate seeds to suck out the juice and then spit out the hard part of the seeds that's left behind, but I actually eat all of it, as the hard part of the seed is full of fiber. Pomegranates are very versatile and can be eaten in a number of different ways. I like to eat them sprinkled on salads or my breakfast smoothie bowls, added to porridge or even on their own as a snack. I remember that whenever I visited Turkey on holiday there would be freshly squeezed pomegranate juice available on most streets and it tasted unbelievably delicious.

Have you tried pomegranate juice? What's your favourite fruit?

Love Sheen xxx