Plush Pomegranates: The quintessential holiday fruit

By Aparna Mele

Why eat pomegranate? Beyond being a beautiful accessory to make any holiday dish pop brightly with color, check out these health facts (source: Healthline):

• Antioxidants: Pomegranates have lots of antioxidants: punicalagins and punicic acid
• Fiber: 1 cup of seeds has 7 grams fiber.
• Vitamin C: 1 cup of seeds has 30% of your daily vitamin C.
• Other vitamins: Pomegranates are also a good source of vitamin E, folate, potassium, and vitamin K.
• Sugar: Like most fruits, pomegranate does have sugar! 1 cup seeds has 24 grams sugar.

Here’s a beautiful dish to add to your holiday spread:

Sweet Potatoes with Coconut, Pomegranate, and Lime

Source: Martha Stewart.com

Ingredients

• 4 sweet potatoes
• ½ cup light coconut milk
• ¼ toasted unsweetened coconut flakes
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1 cup pomegranate seeds
• Kosher salt
• Lime wedges

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange sweet potatoes, pricked with a fork, on rimmed baking sheet and roast until tender, about 45 minutes. Let cool slightly.
2. Slice tops and mash sweet potatoes with a fork. Divide coconut milk, coconut flakes, cilantro, and pomegranate seeds among sweet potatoes. Season with salt. Garnish with additional sprigs of cilantro and serve with lime wedges.