Have you ever seem a pomegranate? Have you ever eaten the tiny, juicy seeds of a pomegranate?
They’re a little bit different looking on the inside, but this tasty fruit is packed with vitamins like:
- Vitamin C.
- Vitamin K.
- Iron.
- Calcium.
- Potassium.
- Folate
and pomegranates are in season in the winter! Getting all the arils (the fancy word pomegranate seeds) out of the skin is a bit tricky, but Captain Create’s friend Cara knows how! Check out her demo:
Now that you’ve got a bowl full of pomegranate arils what do you do with them?!
They are delicious by the handful (yes you can eat the entire aril, seed bit and all), or add them to salad, stir them into oatmeal, add them to salsa, or even sprinkle them into traditional Persian dishes like Fesenjan (spiced chicken stew!).
Pomegranates bring a bit of bright color and lovely light flavors to anything you pair them with, which makes them perfect for winter, when its dark early and foods can be a little more rich tasting. One way to start your day with pretty red pomegranate seeds is to add them to the top of a layered yogurt parfait!
Parfaits are an easy way to include foods from the dairy, protein (nuts), grain, and fruit groups in your day in a beautifully layered way. For a holiday colored parfait, Captain Create layered Greek style yogurt that had a bit of orange zest stirred in to a glass jar, then topped it with layers of granola, toasted pumpkin seeds, and ruby red pomegranate arils. Then she put the lid on the jar and took her parfait to work to eat at her desk later! A parfait will do a lot more for her body than a candy from the hallway vending machine for a morning snack! Try a parfait for breakfast or snack during this busy week of holidays and holiday prep and see for yourself.
Thicker type yogurts, like Greek or Icelandic style, work best for parfaits because they are sturdy enough to hold up all the layers added on top. Be sure to check the label for added sugars you may not want to eat; plain yogurt with a bit of orange zest has a lot of flavor, without added the added sugar some flavored or fruit added yogurts can have. Crunchy granola, like the recipe below, adds a tasty crunch, and you can create any kind of granola you’d like. Top your parfait with fresh or bits of frozen fruit and you’re good to go! What layers can you think of to make other holiday parfaits? Maybe something like blueberries and raspberries with white yogurt for a mid-summer, Fourth of July snack? What would an Easter Parfait look like?
