Falling for a New Fruit Juice

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Once upon a time a woman named Lynda and her husband bought a pistachio farm in central California and found it came with an orchard of exotic-looking orbs. Rather than raise the fruit trees to make way for another money-producer, the couple researched the market potential of this tart-tasting fruit and discovered these gems were nutritional gold.

I’ve eaten pomegranates since Shelly Yoder shared one with me in the ninth grade. But it’s only been in recent years that the fruit has reached the height of its popularity – thanks in part to medical research, marketing genius and health-conscious consumers who like their food loaded with vitamins and antioxidants.

And POM Wonderful, the juice that’s 100 percent pomegranate, is one of the best ways to get these benefits, I’ve just discovered.

The folks at POM recently sent me a small box of 8-ounce bottles of their juice to try and report my findings here at Run DMZ. When my older daughter lived at home, I bought pomegranates almost weekly in season because they are her favorite fall fruit. Then last year I discovered you could buy just the fruit seeds, which are actually called arils, at Costco. I ate them by the spoonful for weeks.

In all this time, though, I’d never tried POM Wonderful juice. Sure, I’ve seen it in the supermarket, but I didn’t really know how to use it. So, for the coming weeks, now that pomegranates are about to hit grocers again, I’m going to share my experiments in cooking with pomegranates and POM Wonderful juice.

First up: A Blueberry-Pomegranate Smoothie

I tried several different fruit combinations, but this is the one that tastes best to me.

  • Drop about a cup of frozen blueberries into a blender. (You can add some ice if you like really slushy smoothies.)

  • Add 8 ounces of POM Wonderful juice.

  • Add about 4 ounces of orange juice.

  • If you like your drinks sweet, throw in a few tablespoons of honey, sugar or a packet of artificial sweetener.

  • Blend together.


    • For a creamier version, substitute a ½ cup of frozen yogurt for the orange juice.

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