Words of Wisdom (with a Side of Pomegranate Seeds)

I have to admit—before this post, I didn't really know who Joan Baez was. I mean, I always imagined her to be a folksy, acoustic guitar-totin' singer from the Woodstock era. But I wasn't sure if that was right. Thanks to Wikipedia (and Google Images), I stand correct in my understanding. Perhaps I did retain something from that stupid music history class I took in college. Or maybe it was my media course in high school. We'll never know, and I digress. Most of Joan Baez's lyrics were very much saturated with activism, which means she definitely had a way with words in her day. (I think she's still alive...maybe?) And it's those words that make her the topic of my post as I recently came across a great Joan Baez quote:

Appropriate, right? We can't really predict how our bodies will fare tomorrow, next week or in the next 20 years, but today...today we can live a happy, healthy life. Right? Choose to live your day in a way that promotes vitality. It doesn't matter what you did yesterday because in reality we all make unhealthy decisions. And since we can't predict the future, it's the healthy decisions we make today that count most. And we all need to be making more of them in our day-to-day lives. Sometimes if we think too big, we get overwhelmed. But when we set small goals, when we take it one day at a time—when we decide how we're going to live now in this moment—we can truly make a difference.

And speaking of making a difference, let's shift to pomegranates.


I've always been intensely curious about the pomegranate as it's an extremely healthy fruit. I've had the occasional pomegranate martini, indulged in a box of dark chocolate covered pomegranate seeds from Trader Joe's—but I've never tasted one cut fresh in my own kitchen. Until recently, when Meijer had them on sale for $1.

Turns out, they're a tricky little fruit to cut. You have to slice the ends off, then gently score the sides as if you were creating orange wedges. And since the juice is ever so squirty and stains just about everything, it's best to pull the pomegranate apart underneath some cold water. Which is really the easiest way, because then your shirt remains stain-free and the seeds drop to the bottom of the bowl, leaving the pulp floating at the top. After you drain and rinse the mess, you're left with a bowl full of fresh pomegranate seeds ready and willing to be eaten.

Trust me when I say that pomegranate seeds are like little pockets of pleasure, bursting with a delightful sweetness when crunched between your teeth. They are so very, very good. And so very, very good for you. (Antioxidants, anyone?) I've added them to my oats hot and cold, but my favorite place to put them is in a cup of vanilla Greek yogurt. Holy yum-yum, they are good in my vanilla Greek yogurt. Which means they'd also be super delicious in a smoothie, but alas I'm out of bananas which I typically use to thicken things up. So that'll have to wait until next time. For sure.

But, really. Run out and buy a pomegranate today! I've said this before about many a thing, but the pomegranate is truly...and I mean truly nature's candy. And it'll make a difference in anything you mix it with. And with that, I leave you. Remember to check in tomorrow. I'll be announcing the winner of my Journey Bars giveaway. Hopefully it's you! That is, if you entered. :-)

Question: What did you do today that promoted a happy, healthy you? Have you ever eaten fresh pomegranate seeds? If so, in what way?