pretty in POMegranate

So, for lunch today, I repeated last night’s salad dinner because it was oh.so.delicious.  I had a few less ingredients today but it was just as yummy.  For my crouton crunch, I toasted 1/2 of a sun dried tomato bagel from Einstein.  It added a nice flavor and good texture.

Lately, I have been buying whole, loose carrots, instead of the bagged baby carrots.  I think they taste better and I like that I can buy a specific amount.  The baby carrots can tend to get quite slimy!  I decided to shred half of the carrot and then chomped on the rest as I was eating my salad. 

SO fresh + SO satisfying

I was super excited to try out my peppermint chai tea drink that I bought a few weeks ago.  The directions say to mix 1/2 of the latte concentrate and 1/2 milk.  I did exactly that with unsweetened rice milk.

It smelled awesome but was waaay too sweet for me.  I think I might be more sensitive to sweetness because I really try to stay away from adding much sugar to things and when I’m baking I almost always decrease the sugar by 1/2.

I’ll try making it again but next time I’ll use 1/4 concentrate and 3/4 milk.  I’ll let ya know if it’s any better…such a good flavor idea though!!  

I looove Rachel’s cottage cheeses!!  I have had a few flavors and they have yet to disappoint.  My favorite by FAR was cucumber dill.  Such a great combo!  This one was nice and fruity but I didn’t taste orange at all…and it was a tad watery…but still good!

Pomegranate time people!!!  I peeled another pom and documented it this time to show you guys exactly what to do.  I’m actually not the biggest fan of just eating the seeds plain, but in things like my oatmeal this morning, they are amazing!  They would probably be really great on a fruity salad or in fruit salsa too.

Angela, at Oh She Glows, had a funny story about the stickers that come on fruits and veggies.  Her husband gets annoyed that she peels them off and leaves them on the kitchen sink, haha.  This is too funny.  I have the same problem as to what to do with the darn sticker.  Sometimes there are 3 of them!  Obviously I could put the fruit down and go throw it away, but it’s just annoying to try to take off and actually get to go in the garbage.  It is much easier to just stick on something.

So, here is my idea!  Stick them on a bottle that you leave out and that is close to your sink! :)

 

peeling a pomegranate:

Step 1: Cut the top off

Step 2:  Score the pomegranate in appx. 1” increments all the way around.  You don’t need to cut more than 1/4” deep.

Step 3:  Submerge in a large bowl of cold water. 

Step 4:  Peel back one of the chunks that you scored.  It should pull right apart.  [try to keep it submerged in water so you have less change of the seeds bursting and making a mess…I am only holding it out of the water for the photo]

Chris took this one!

One of the peeled apart chunks.  Such a vibrant color for photographing!!

Step 5:  The seeds should kind of snap right out of the honeycomb.  It does take awhile.  Probably a good 20min to de-seed a whole pomegranate.  Patience :)

Step 6:  Make sure you get off all of the yellow skin off the seeds.  It has a bitter taste if eaten.  Skim the water to get all of the skin pieces that floated to the top.

Step 7:  Strain water + dry with a paper towel.  Store in an airtight container in your fridge for 2-3 days.  You can also freeze them!

Remember…the juice stains!!!  ;)  Hmm, my recipe….what could I be making???

Daaa da da daaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…

Pomegranate granola bars!!!!!!!!!!

This is an original recipe that I created last night.  It is somewhat similar to ota.bars but I made a point to change a few things since this recipe would be out for everyone to see :)  Although, these may be getting better than ota.bars, haha. 

They are nutrient dense and pack in a lot of fiber!  I used mostly brown rice syrup [for sweetness] which keeps your glycemic index level more stable, so you don’t get an energy spike and crash.  They are chewy and nutty with an amazing BURST of juice.  Chris is absolutely loving them and Natalie was chomping on them throughout the day too.

This was trial 3.  I have a few more changes to make, but they are getting there!!  I am also working on one other pomegranate component to add to the bars.  More on that soon!

I saw a photo of a Hasselback potato [super amazing photography!!], which I had never heard of before.  I couldn’t get over how amazing the photo was and how delicious the potato looked.  My daylight ran out, but here it is!  It had the best texture.  Nice and crispy but creamier towards the middle and the bottom was nice and crispy from the pan too.  Might have to make these for thanksgiving, with a few minor adjustments ;)

Super busy FOOD day!!  I’m pooped but still have a bunch to do. 

Later bloggies! 

~Ashley