Pomegranate Madness!

If it wasn't for the photo I would have no idea what I ate for breakfast today. It's been a long day! I had a repeat of yesterday's breakfast: Cascadian Farms high fiber cereal with a banana, almonds and organic 1% milk.

It held me over better today than it did yesterday. Strange! I wasn't hungry for lunch but I wanted a little something and my pomegranate has been calling my name. If you haven't heard, pomegranates are all the rage due to their health benefits. If you've never tried one, I highly recommend them. Here's a photo tutorial to guide you through your first pomegranate experience.

Step 1: DO NOT WEAR WHITE

Pom juice stains.

Step 2: Get a large bowl of water and your pomegranate

Step 3: Score your pomegranate from top to bottom at about 1.5 inch intervals around the entire circumference, being careful not to cut too deep. The objective is to score the skin so you can break the fruit apart to access the seeds, which are the edible part of the fruit.

Step 4: Carefully break the pomegranate apart over your bowl of water. The pom seeds will sink while the white material holding the seeds will float, making it easy to separate the seeds from the waste.

Step 5: Carefully dislodge all of the seeds from inside the pomegranate allowing them to sink to the bottom of your bowl.

Step 6: Toss the occasional stray seed to your dog who is patiently waiting for her first pomegranate of the season, too.

Step 7: remove any extra floating bits from your bowl of seeds.

Step 8: Relish the fruits of your labor. Look at those beautiful little rubies!

I immediately took about half of the seeds and mixed them with some greek yogurt and sprinkled a little granola on top. Delicious. I love the satisfying crunch of the pom seeds.

Pom seeds are also excellent sprinkled on hot or cold cereal, as a smoothie ingredient or as a salad topping. I even enjoy them plain.

After my pom-yogurt snack I had a mug of tea and six peanut butter M&Ms. I just randomly grabbed a few M&Ms out of the bag, opened my hand, and the colors were all in order! And they matched my mug!

Around 4:30 I went for a hot, sweaty 5k run. I checked the temp when I got back to the house...96 degrees! No wonder I was dripping. I showered and changed before heading out with Bella for her dog training class. We've been remiss with our homework so I was worried she'd embarrass me in class.

I was STARVING so I grabbed a Larabar on my way out of the house.

And I stopped for an iced latte, which was conveniently located directly across from the PetSmart where we were meeting for training. My training program is not through PetSmart, but we met there tonight to work on training in an environment that's full of distractions.

She did great! But no matter how hard I try I cannot get her to stay in the down position. She immediately pops right back up. She's a great sitter, but terrible at staying down.

I debated stopping for food on my way home but decided that our full pantry and refrigerator could yield a healthier and tastier dinner. I settled on soup and grilled cheese.

I started with this Amy's tomato soup as my base.

I microwave steamed some broccoli, carrot, and zucchini in a ziploc zip-n-steam bag. I don't use the zip-n-steam bags too often, but they work great when you're throwing together a quick, healthy meal.

I added the steamed veggies and some fresh cherry tomatoes to my bowl of tomato soup. On the side I lightly grilled an Arnold's 100 calorie whole grain sandwich thin with some extra sharp cheddar and mustard.

It was a VERY filling dinner. Now I must digest before bed. Good night!