The Live Green Smoothie Diet

As a child, I used to love the tedious ritual of my dad picking out the seeds from a fresh pomegranate and presenting them proudly in a bowl at Christmas time. I always thought of pomegranate as something rarified that one just didn’t eat very often, because it’s such a pain to de-seed.

Then I discovered the pleasure of cutting the pomegranate in half and giving it some good whacks with a wooden spoon to dislodge the seeds. Great! Much easier to enjoy! I could even squeeze half a pomegranate to extract the juice, like an orange.

But when I got my Blendtec blender and discovered that a whole pomegranate (minus the skin) can be blended up into a creamy froth, with no bittery flavor from the pith, I was quite impressed!

By using the fruit whole, now you can easily enjoy the flavor — and significant health benefits — of pomegranate any time you feel inclined to pick a few up at the grocery store!

You can make this smoothie with or without the greens. I’ve provided a few different variations in the recipe below.

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Health Benefits of Fresh Pomegranate

Pomegranate is packed with anti-oxidants and is known to be good for the blood. And there’s even a study reporting that, similar to the consumption of watermelon juice, long-time consumption for pomegranate may help combat erectile dysfunction! 

Here’s an article highlighting 11 health benefits of pomegranate juice. It states that, based on research findings, drinking pomegranate can:

• Fight breast cancer
• Prevent lung cancer
• Slow prostate cancer
• Keep PSA (prostate-specific antigen) levels stable 
• Protect the neonatal brain
• Prevent osteoarthritis
• Protect the arteries
• Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease
• Lower cholesterol
• Lower blood pressure
• Protect dental plaque

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Today’s Live Green Smoothie Recipe: Fresh Whole Pomegranate with Mango, Spinach, and Watermelon 

• 1 fresh whole pomegranate
• 1 mango, peeled and pitted
• 3 heaping cups fresh watermelon chunks
• 1  cup fresh spinach
• spring water to 32 oz.
• 1 cup ice

Put the whole pomegranate, except the peel and any tough bits of pith from the inner core, into the blender. Add remaining ingredients and blend til smooth. 

Variations:

• Make without the greens for a pretty pinkish-orange, cream-textured Pomegranate-Mango-Watermelon Cooler.
• Use red grapes instead of the watermelon.
• Add 1/2 teaspoon orange blossom water.