In a hurry? Don’t tackle a pomegranate.
You need time for the ancient fruit, which is in season from September through January.
Split open the purplish-red rind and you’ll find a mass of seeds embedded in a spongy white membrane. Only by bursting the tiny bubble of liquid around each seed with your teeth do you get a squirt of sweet-tart juice. Whether you spit out or swallow the seeds, it takes time to eat.
On the other hand, when you just want something to nosh on, a 100-calorie (potassium-rich) pomegranate that takes half an hour to munch through is a good thing. (If you don’t have time, check your supermarket’s produce section for small plastic tubs of fresh pomegranate seeds.)
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Of course, you can also sprinkle the seeds over your salad or mix them with couscous and dried fruit (apricots, raisins, currants) and nuts. Or team them up with chopped oranges, red onion, garlic, and lime juice to spice up your seafood.
It’s too early to know if pomegranate can reduce the risk of heart disease or cancer (see “Super Fruit,” Nov. 2006, p. 11). If it does, you might be better off with a glass of 100% pomegranate juice than the seeds in one fruit.
But if you just want something exquisite to keep your taste buds grinning, give a pomegranate a go.
DOWN MARKET
“Hearty serving,” says the label on many of Boston Market’s new frozen Home Style Meals. They’re not kidding.
Boston’s Meatloaf with Homestyle Mashed Potatoes & Gravy and Salisbury Steak with Macaroni & Cheese have enough calories (some 700) to make a hearty contribution to your belly fund. And your ticker needs their day’s worth of bad fat (about 18 grams) and sodium (about 2,000 milligrams) like your salary needs a trim.
The Swedish Meatballs, “with freshly made buttered egg noodles,” will contribute 860 calories and 21 grams of bad fat to those freshly made fat depots under your belt and inside your artery walls.
Even the Home Style Meals that aren’t labeled “hearty” mount a stealth assault on your body parts. The Honey Boasted Chicken with Au Gratin Potatoes, for example, serves up 410 calories, 8 grams of bad fat, and 1,140 mg of sodium on an aluminum platter. The Lasagna with Meat Sauce is even worse.
A few of the company’s frozen meals keep the bad fat to around 3 grams, but the sodium will still pump up your blood pressure.
Boston has some of the greatest markets in the world. Boston Market isn’t one of them.
Boston Market: (800) 488-0050
TIP OF THE MONTH
Core an apple (try Rome or Gala), but don’t cut all the way through the bottom. Sprinkle with 1 Tbs. brown sugar plus a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg. Top with ВЅ tsp. no-trans-fat tub margarine. Microwave on high for 2 minutes (3 minutes for two apples), or until tender.
Nutrition Action Health Letter, Dec2006
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