Thrilled when I got the POM!!!

This past weekend I received a case of POM Wonderful juice from the peeps over at POM’s pomegranate pumping factory (think I got enough “P’s” in there?). I was thrilled, as this was my 1st go at tasting the decadent juice of the POM AND I adore it! Normally, I am not by any means the advocate of juice. When you can have the real deal fruit with the satiating fiber in its whole form … why have juice? Don’t get me wrong–100% juice is A-okay, as long as you’re not guzzling a half a cartoon per day, but the whole fruit just has that extra fiber punch, causing you to not be hunting in your fridge later (sorry, the nutrition just comes out of me!!!). BUT—I dig the POM!!! Because it tastes good and is perhaps the most healthifyingly delish antioxidant loaded juice out there.  And, NO, just in case you’re wondering, the POM peeps did not ask me to write this.

The juice is earthily sweet, rich and 100% straight-up authentic juice—no added nonsense! Plus, it is packed to the max with antioxidants!!!  And, what you say does this mean for you?!? Well, my friend, it simply means that you’ll have an added boost to help keep your immunity up and you protected from disease. Yup, this ain’t no Sunny D! By the by, did you know that “stuff,” the Sunny D, has canola oil in it?!? Ick!!! Product exposed!

SO excited about my recipe til I looked at last year's winner!

Now, that I’ve just dished on POM’s wonderfulness, I’ll expose my recipe making excitement … soon followed by reality.  Now, I am not a decadent cook, a healthy one yes, but don’t expect to see me on Iron Chef anytime soon OR ever … remember—the skillet is my best friend. But, I do try to make elaborate meals—every now and then. Anywho, POM was and still is holding a contest for best recipe using POM of course, so I set out on a Trader Joe’s (TJ’s) trek to inspire me. And, what did I find?!? Voila! Gingerbread mix and apple sauce …  in my cart they go! On my way home I was imagining how awesome my gingerbread with POM juice would be and how just maybe … maybe … maybe … I could win this recipe contest! Upon my triumphant return home, I Googled POM to see what recipe won last year. You wanna know what won? Seared Duck Breast with Pomegranate Juice Reduction. Ha! Yea … something tells me my boxed gingerbread mix with juice and some applesauce just isn’t gonna cut it. But, they were delish and worth sharing, SO here I go …

Steps to Ginga-POMa-Muffins!

• Buy a box of TJ’s Deep, Dark Gingerbread Cake & Baking Mix (it’s extremely difficult … I know:) )
• Follow directions on the box, BUT replace POM juice for water & unsweetened applesauce for oil
• YES, still use the egg!
• Eat & enjoy!!!

So, as you can see this was a very labor intensive recipe … just kidding! Hopefully, you don’t think it is, if so, please let me know because then I might be outdone!

As you noticed, I swapped the oil for applesauce to cut down on calories and fat. Note, you can do this for any baked good in a 1:1 ratio (i.e. 1/3 cup vegetable oil for 1/3 cup applesauce) , but realize that it will change the texture of your baked goodie, making it softer and a bit chewier. In this case, it worked out fantastically for the Ginga-POMa-Muffins, as I made them in lil’  muffin tins—the applesauce allowed them to take on the light n’ fluffy texture of a muffin rather than a bread.

Remarkably, the POM juice shined through in these lil’ Ginga-POMa-Muffins, giving them a decadent fruity hint. Who’d a thought? There’s no other way to say it, but the POM brought out the ginger and together they did a little jig, celebrating their new found yumminess!

Finally, you may notice that I topped these nuggets with something. And, I betcha really want to know what in the world I topped Ginga-Poma-Muffins with … I would! Well—powdered sugar! It simply rounds out the rich tangy bite of the ginger plus the POM. A touch is all that’s needed.

Finally, I did some calculations to determine what the nutrition stats of my version of this recipe looked like verse the box’s recipe. I just had to see if my alterations had made a difference. So—here’s the down and dirty info …

Stats for my version aka TJ Gingerbread mix + POM + unsweetened applesauce + 1 egg per 1/9 mix:

• 173 calories, 1 g fat, 2 g protein, 37 g carbohydrate 1 g fiber (kinda low, I know, next time I was thinking of adding a little fiber pack and nop … I am not kidding)

Stats for TJ’s version aka TJ Gingerbread mix + 1 egg + 1/3 cup oil + 3/4 cup water per 1/9 mix:

• 230 calories, 9 g fat, 2 g protein,33 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber

Woo-hoo my recipe is the nutrition winner!!!

If you try this, you MUST let me know what you think!

Go out & bake some Ginga-POMa-Muffins!!!

Happy Healthifying!

P.S. I must issue a disclaimer, if you do NOT like Gingerbread, don’t try these … they are very gingery … Good news for all you ginger lovers!!!