POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice

One of my favorite drinks is fruit juice. The caveat is that many brands of juice either have unhealthy, unpronounceable ingredients or are made with imported juice from other parts of the world. Which left me with two options: (1) buy an expensive at home juicer or (2) give up fruit juice altogether. Yeah, I didn't love those two options. When the folks at POM Wonderful sent me samples recently, I found my tasty, healthy third option: POM Wonderful 100 % pomegranate juice. POM Wondeful's pomegranates are grown in the USA in orchards in California, not overseas. And there's no fillers or extra sugars. After learning that, it was goodbye to the juicer catalogues & the monotony of tap water for me.

Here are some easy recipes you can make at home, using POM Wonderful pomegranate juice and a few simple ingredients:



Pineapple, Onion & POM Burgers

4 vegan meatless burger patties, thawed
1 cup POM Wonderful pomegranate juice
1/2 cup chopped white onions
1/2 cup pineapple chunks

In a medium mixing bowl, combine vegan patties, POM, onions and pineapple. Marinate for 10 minutes. Grill for 5-7 minutes. This is one burger recipe where buns aren't really necessary, since the POM juice adds such a great flavor to the food.



POM And Buttermilk Biscuits

My biscuits were inspired by Vaish Ali's recipe for vegan buttermilk biscuits. Instead of 1 cup of buttermilk, I went with 2/3 cup buttermilk + 1/3 cup POM juice. Also, I used heart shaped muffin tins. These were the lightest, fluffiest biscuits I've ever made. The next time I make this recipe, I think I'll add in pomegranate seeds.



Buttermilk And POM Pie

The filling of this pie is Emeril Lagasse's recipe combined with 1/2 cup of POM juice. The POM replaced the lemon called for in the pie.

The crust was 2 1/4 cups of crushed sandwich cookies, 5 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of POM juice.

The buttermilk pie took about 45 minutes to bake. It was definitely worth making, though. You won't believe your mouth when you taste the filling of POM and buttermilk. It is out of this world good!



POM Rock Candy
My yummy homemade candy started with wikihow's rock candy recipe. I replaced the flavored food coloring with 1/4 cup POM juice. I'm normally not big on hard candy, but I was very impressed with how the rock candy turned out. I also liked the kick of natural flavor from the POM juice. This recipe is great for holiday gifts and wedding favors.

POM Kiwi & POM Nectarine

Lately, I have been craving fruit. Not my usual assortment of bananas & apples, but richer, juicier fruits like kiwi. So I was very excited when I got to try POM Kiwi & POM Nectarine!

Normally I don't care for kiwi or nectarine drinks. Kiwi beverages I tasted in the past had strawberry-watermelon aftertastes. Prior nectarine drinks reminded me of orange hard candy : P The POM juices were a refreshing change from my past negative experiences. POM Kiwi definitely tasted like fresh kiwis, with a slightly tart pomegranate twist. POM Kiwi goes well with simple yet decadent meals, such as a dinner of steak salad & a small slice of cheesecake. POM nectarine had a natural, light flavor that reminded me of fresh squeezed juice from home. I would suggest the POM Kiwi for a Sunday brunch or a bridal shower. It would be delicious by itself or as part of a custom punch.

Try my POM Kiwi & POM Nectarine recipes. They're delicious & easy to make : )

POM Nectarine Cupcakes
1 - 18 oz white box cake mix
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
2 Tbsp honey
2 cups chopped peaches
1/2 cup POM Nectarine
Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare cake batter according to package directions. Mix in pecans, honey, peaches & POM Nectarine to batter. Spoon cake mix into cupcake tins. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown. After cupcakes have cooled, sprinkle with powdered sugar.

POM Kiwi Chicken Salad
For the crust, I used rice flour, sweet potato flakes, butter & POM Nectarine. You'll need to eyeball the amount of POM added to the crust, just as you'd do when using water. I baked the crust for a few minutes at 375 degrees, then allowed it to cool completely. For the filling, I added 1/4 cup POM Kiwi to chilled chicken salad.

POMx Iced Coffee

"A delicious blend of antioxidants, caffeine and rich coffee"

Confession time: I don't drink hot coffee. Iced coffee, though, I love. Sipping an iced coffee at the park is just so relaxing to me. The downside to that past time is spilling your cup on the drive to the park : P But there is a solution to that: POMx Iced Coffee. Their coffees come in cute, portable bottles you can toss in your tote bag for a day at the park.

POMx comes in three yummy flavors: vanilla, chocolate and cafe au lait. Some of you are probably wondering "Wait, isn't POM a fruit juice ? I don't want juice in my coffee." No worries. Only the pomegranate antioxidants are in POMx iced coffee, not the actual pomegranate flavor. Plus, this beverage is preservative free and made with hormone-free milk.

Aside from drinking the POMx iced coffee, I liked trying it in recipes. For breakfast, I recommend a glass of POMx cafe au lait, fruit, toast and cafe au lait butter. The cafe au lait butter was easy to make. Just mix a smidge of the POMx and some butter in a small bowl with a fork. Don't add too much, as you just want to add the flavor and not make the butter soggy.

For dessert, I added 1/4 cup POMx cafe au lait to a chocolate chip cookie mix. That was the best idea ever. Like chocolate chip cookies aren't addictive enough! X D

As a late night snack, I would suggest the chocolate POMx. I had a bowl of black pepper popcorn and the chocolate flavor. That was a very odd combination, but absolutely delicious. (I sort of get the whole chili and chocolate craze now) I dipped the popcorn in the chocolate POMx. What, it tasted good.

Thumbs up for POMx Iced Coffee *skips off to produce aisle for more*


POMx cafe au lait & POMx chocolate iced coffees


POMx cafe au lait & POMx chocolate iced coffees


POMx chocolate iced coffee and black pepper popcorn


POMx cafe au lait iced coffee and toast with POMx cafe au lait butter

POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice

"A Taste Unlike Any Other"
"The Antioxidant Superpower"





If there's one thing the AMW family loves, it is fruit. We love fruit in desserts, in homemade smoothies and even with meat dishes. So I was excited when I received samples of POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice recently.

Some of you are probably thinking "Why is it called Wonderful ? And what health benefits do I get from POM Wonderful?" Apparently Wonderful is an actual variety of pomegranate, only grown by POM Wonderful. As far as health benefits, this pomegranate juice has 430 mg of potassium. That's 12% of your daily recommended amount and almost as much potassium as bananas have.

I had tried other pomegranate juices before. I found most of them to have an artificial, overly sweet taste. I discovered the source of that problem when I noticed one brand had blueberries, apples and a few other fruits mixed in with their pomegranate juice; that was noted on their ingredient list, but not on the front label of their juice. To say I was not thrilled at the deception is an understatement. In contrast to that, the POM Wonderful juice promised "100% authentic pomegranate juice" and "no cheap filler juices."

POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice was a big hit with the AMW family. I loved that the juice had a natural, lightly sweet, slightly tart taste. All of us liked the POM paired with chocolates and fine cheeses we had. Smoothies made from POM 100% Pomegranate Juice, ice and a sprinkling of chopped fruit were a favorite, too. I even added three tablespoons of POM juice to a brownie recipe, for a little extra zing. So good!

I also made POM Wonderful pork chops. Those got a rave review around the dinner table (I skipped the cabbage and mashed potato recipes) The POM juice and the Worcestershire sauce gave the chops an amazing flavor. I will definitely be making these again:
POM-Glazed Pork Chops With Red Cabbage and Mashed Potatoes



TIME TO TABLE: 1 HOUR; 20 MINUTES PREPARATION PLUS 30 TO 40 MINUTES COOKING)
Makes: 4 main dish servings

Ingredients:
Juice from 2-3 large POM Wonderful Pomegranates,* or 1 cup POM Wonderful 100%Pomegranate Juice
4 pork chops, about -inch to -inch thick
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 Granny Smith apples
1 1-lb. head red cabbage, shredded or grated
1 bay leaf
teaspoon fennel or caraway seed
cup water, or more as needed
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste
4 medium russet potatoes (about 1 lb.)
1 cup warmed buttermilk
1 tablespoon butter (optional)

Directions:
1. Prepare fresh pomegranate juice.*

2. Peel potatoes and cut into cubes.

3. Cover potatoes with water and bring to a boil; cook covered until soft, about 30 minutes.

4. Peel and core apples; cut into -inch slices.

5. Heat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil in a large skillet.

6. Brush Worcestershire sauce on pork chops.

7. Salt and pepper the pork chops and put them into the heated skillet.

8. Brown on both sides and lower the heat.

9. Mix cup pomegranate juice with balsamic vinegar and cornstarch, and pour into the skillet. Cover the skillet and cook until pork chops are tender, about 20 to 25 minutes.

10. In a large saucepan, add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and apples; cook until they begin to soften.

11. Add grated cabbage, bay leaf, cup pomegranate juice, cup water, fennel seeds, red wine vinegar and brown sugar.

12. Add salt and pepper to taste.

13. Cook for 30 minutes or until cabbage is soft.

14. Remove potatoes from heat and drain. Mash with a potato masher; add to 1 cup warmed buttermilk and butter (optional).

15. Serve pork chops and cabbage with mashed potatoes.

* For 1 cup of juice, cut 2-3 large POM Wonderful Pomegranates in half and juice them with a citrus reamer or juicer. Pour the mixture through a cheesecloth-lined strainer or sieve. Set the juice aside.