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Thanks for checking out my Equal Exchange Bananas blog post. Want to win an EE t-shirt to show your support for EE bananas?

Write a comment below about anything EE related. Have you seen EE bananas in your local grocery? Do you already have a favorite EE coffee or chocolate? I’d love to hear about it! I’ll select one person at random to win by the end of the week!

Disclaimer: I am not being paid by Equal Exchange to promote their banans. I just support their fantastic cause!

POM Giveaway

Today's post is a loaded one. Not only do I have a yummy recipe for you, but it also ties in to Holiday Food Fest and National Pomegranate Month and a sweet POM giveaway. Shirley, who I met on the POM Blogger Tour, is the blogger behind Gluten Free Easily and boy does she know her gluten free stuff. She invited me to participate in a bloggers' Holiday Food Fest - to link one of my posts during a food-themed week to share with other bloggers and readers. Hop on over to Tasty Eats at Home to check out more Fall Dishes, which is this week's theme.
It's also National Pomegranate Month, the height of the pomegranate season! To celebrate, I cooked up a pomegranate-fall-themed-dish for dinner last night and the wonderful people at POM offered to send two of my readers some POM goodies. So when you're done reading, leave me a comment to tell me about the best pomegranate themed food you've ever had. I'll pick two winners at random, so make sure you leave me your contact information in the comment so I know where to find you!

Now onto the recipe. I'll call it Pomegranate Quinoa with Peas and Celery. That's not only the title, but also the ingredient list!

1 cup quinoa - rinsed and drained in cold water
2 cups POMx iced tea - I used the hibiscus green tea but you could use any flavor, or POM juice, or even plain old water or vegetable broth
1.5 cups frozen peas
5 celery stalks, diced salt to taste

After rinsing the quinoa, bring quinoa and POMx tea to a boil. Once you're at a rapid boil, lower heat to a simmer, add the celery, peas and salt, and cook until all of the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut open your pomegranate verrrryyyy gently so the arils don't pop and splatter all over your white ocuntertops and white cabinets. I cut off a thin slice from the top, and make a shallow slice on one side then grip my pomegranate on either side and crack it open. Tip: I do this in a bowl of water so if those arils are going to pop, they're not going to pop all over me or my white kitchen! Then just poke and prod the arils out into the water, drain, and voila! Nearly two cups of gorgeous ruby red arils.Once the quinoa is done cooking, stir in one cup of the pomegranate arils and your dish is done!

This meal is packed with protein from the quinoa and peas, fiber from the quinoa, veggies, and fruit, and an antioxidant overload from the POMx iced tea and arils. It was a sweet and savory dish that we enjoyed piping hot. And no, it didn't taste like iced tea! The POMx tea added a subtle flavor of hibiscus but nothing overpowering. I love adding sweet fruit into my savory dishes so this one hit the spot.

Happy Holiday Food Fest and National POMegranate Month - don't forget to comment to enter to win some POM beverages!

Disclaimer: I am not being paid by POM to promote their products.

POM Wonderful: Blogger Harvest Tour of the processing plant

On the last day of our POM Blogger Harvest Tour we got to go to the main POM plant. There we learned all about the life of the pomegranate from picking to juice bottling. We decked ourselves out in hard hats and hair nets before taking a tour of the plant, led by Brad. He told us all about the 15-week pomegranate harvest while truckloads of pomegranates came to the plant that morning.

The POM plant tour was eye opening. It was amazing to watch hundreds of pomegranates roll through the plant to determine their fate: POM Wonderful Juice? Kept as fresh fruit and put into a bin headed to Wal-Mart? Or packed into a smaller case to be sold to Costco shoppers? The plant was so organized and detailed – you could sense all of the dedication and hard work that goes into every POM product.

I was in awe as I watched the pomegranates roll down a chute where they’d be photographed rapidly 25 times so computers and cameras could detect any scratches, cracks, bumps and bruises. It was like a pomegranate photo shoot! As if that attention to detail wasn’t high tech enough, there are POM people who still check each and every pomegranate by hand.

We got to see (but not photograph) some top-secret parts of the POM processing plant that really help POM Wonderful be the successful brand that it is. The whole tour was making us SO thirsty for POM juice! Can you believe we hadn’t had a single sip yet? I assumed we’d be bathing in the beverage! I loved learning about the bottling. Those little POM bottles are so unique – designed to look like two pomegranates stacked upon each other. It’s not an easy shape to create and label!

The entire experience made me so much more appreciative of where my food comes from. Sure there is a whole farm-to-table movement going on, locally grown food is becoming more popular, and I regularly consider where my food is coming from, this POM experience made me think even more of those who picked the pomegranates by hand that morning in the hot sun, and the individuals who hand-checked for a little bump or bruise in every piece of fruit. I rarely eat an apple or carrot as a snack and truly think of the work that went behind getting me that fruit or veggie. I’m a big food fan, but now my appreciation for good, wholesome, sound agriculture has been heightened even more.

We finished the tour with lots of POM samples and even got to see a new product: POM Arils. For all of you intimidated by the idea of cracking open your own pomegranate, now you can purchase containers of arils! These are not yet in the Boston area, but hopefully soon! Though I don’t mind the work that goes into plucking these lil’ arils out of their pomegranate shell. They’re well worth it.

We made a quick trip back to the airport and we all said our goodbyes. It was a whirlwind trip and I loved every second of it. I am still in awe that I got to take part in this Blogger Harvest Tour and now that I’m home, it feels like a dream! Pinch me…POM, you’re wonderful.

POM: Blogger Harvest Tour Talk & Dinner

(Sorry if you've already been emailed this post twice...technical difficulties!)

After our day of pomegranate pickin’ I was scheduled to give the bloggers a talk about Antioxidants and an Anti-Aging Lifestyle. I was excited to share my nutrition knowledge with the group, especially after they shared all of their blogging expertise with me!

• I told the group that we do have the ability to reverse, slow or prevent age-related diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, cancer, etc.
• In order to prevent age-related diseases, we need to focus on eating antioxidant rich foods, which combat the free radicals doing damage in our bodies.Antioxidants protect our body, and they’re in delicious foods like fruits and veggies, whole grains, nuts and seeds.I told the group about foods to limit or eat sparingly in the diet, like foods that have saturated fat, refined grains, trans fat (keep out!), and added sugars.
• But I also told them what to eat for an antioxidant rich diet, including fresh fruits and veggies, lean meats, probiotic-rich foods like yogurt or kimchi, tea, dark chocolate (70% or more cacao!), POM 100% juice (obvi!), fresh herbs and spices, and more.
• I also reminded the group that they have huge readership on their blogs, and they can use their blogs as a platform to educate their readers on healthy eating just by leading by example. And let me tell you with this group, they ALL lead by healthy example! It was a pleasure speaking to everyone.

After that, we had all worked up an appetite and were ready for our POM themed dinner! We headed to Vintage Press where we were served some of the best food I’ve ever tried! I sat withHeather and Sagan and had some great conversation with them. Both share a similar food-philosophy as me and it was fun to bounce some of my nutrition ideals off of them.

We started off with some delicious appetizers but my all time favorite was this Wild Mushroom Puff Pastry. Oh so good. I was honestly so stuffed after that but couldn’t pass up the rest. My vegetarian entree was couscous, quinoa with pomegranate arils, pickled beets, pureed carrots,

some squash and the cutest part of all: a baby stuffed pumpkin. Every bite was better than the one before it!

I finished off my meal with a POM sorbet, made on site by the fabulous chefs. We were seriously wined and dined at Vintage Press. All of the bloggers on this trip were so fun to spend a few days with. I felt like I was on an episode of The Real World: POM Style! You can check out their popular blogs below:

• Roni – GreenLiteBites
• Coco (Qian) – Balance Joy and Delicias
• Tina – Carrots and Cake
• Gina – fitnessista
• Kristy – This Wicked Noodle
• Sagan – Living Healthy in the Real World
• Bren – flanboyanteats.com
• Pace – Taste of Pace
• Caitlin – Healthy Tipping Point
• Janel – Dine Dish Delish
• Shirley – Gluten free easily
• Emily – Visions of Sugarplum
• Eric Rivera Cooks
• Heather eat almond butter

Up next: Our tour of the POM Wonderful Plant

POM Wonderful: Blogger Harvest Tour Day 1

Last week was one of the most surreal weeks I've ever experienced, hands down. Let me back up...a month or so ago I was invited by Andrea of POM Wonderful to come to the first ever POM Bloggers Harvest Tour. Andrea and I had been in touch because I'm now writing articles for the (fabulous newly designed) POM website. Obviously, I jumped at the chance. Other guests of this Harvest Tour were 15 well-known food, fitness, wellness, and life bloggers. Some of them I knew already, and some I "knew" from following their blogs. While I do have an itty-bitty baby blog, I wasn't invited for that reason, but rather to give the group a talk on healthy eating. You don't have to ask me to public speak twice. Sold!

So last week I hopped on a plane in Denver (was conveniently already halfway across the country for FNCE) and headed out to Fresno, California. I met up with the group at BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse for a late dinner and was so warmly welcomed by everyone. I was excited to see Tina and Caitlin who I already knew from Healthy Living Summit and meet some new bloggers too.After a good night's hotel sleep, we were off to visit the pomegranate orchards, and by visit I mean fly in a private 6-seater plane over the miles and miles of beautiful orchards. Pinch me - seriously!?

When we arrived to the orchards, our planes weren't yet there, so we wandered over to the almond trees. While I eat almonds daily, I had never seen an almond grow and was surprised to see each little almond growing in its own protective case. I can't imagine picking all of these little guys - no wonder they're so expensive! I ate one right off the tree (shhhh, totally not supposed to) and it was so perfect and fresh.

When our planes arrived all 15 bloggers swarmed over for some photo ops. Then we hopped in and got ready for takeoff! It was such an exhilarating thrill. I shared a plane with Kristy , Caitlin, Tina and Sagan and we all shrieked as we went up into the sky. Our pilot took good care of us and the views were breathtaking. Once we landed, I hopped right into the other bigger (8-seater) plane for a second ride. You can watch our POM Orchard FLY over video here!

If our trip stopped there, I would have thought it was the most amazing experience ever. But there was more excitement to come and we drove over to the orchards to pick our pomegranates! This was my first time seeing pomegranates grow and boy are they gorgeous. They're deep red with perfectly perked crowns and I twisted and yanked my very own off of a branch. I can't wait to crack it open and use it in a recipe now that I'm home!

Brad, the VP and General Manager of Produce for POM taught us all about the harvesting process and showed us how to neatly cut open a pomegranate. I've had fresh pomegranate arils before, but these tasted better than anything. Everyone at POM is so passionate about their great products and all the work that goes into making them. We were joined on our trip by Andrea, Jeff, Brad and Daniel.

Kristy of The Wicked Noodle summed it up best in her blog: Friends, it was glorious. That word is perhaps a bit cheesy, but it’s the best way I know to describe to you what an absolute fabulous time this was. It was like arriving to a party where you’re the guest of honor and the sole job of everyone around you is to make sure you know it. And the best part of the adventure? How freakin’ awesome the POM folks are.

Stay tuned for more posts about the nutrition talk I gave, our POM themed dinner, and tour of the POM plant.