Product Review: Cheribundi Tart Cherry Juice

When I received a pack of Cheribundi Tart Cherry Juice to review, I was pretty excited. I received a packet of information that boasted some pretty impressive things. For starters, Cheribundi was featured on the Dr. Oz show last year. Health benefits shared on the show included faster pain relief caused by sports and every day activities, encouraging natural melatonin production to aid sleep, and fighting triglycerides which are often the cause for heart disease. Wow. This juice, chock full of antioxidants, sounded really effective.

I like cherries and cherry pie but had never had cherry juice before. I was a little unsure if I'd like the taste, but when I realized I had four different flavors to try I figured I had to like one of them! The first one I tried was the Skinny Cherry, which I was drawn to for the lower sugar content. At only 17 (still high to me) grams of sugar, it was much lower than the other flavors which were between 28- 32g. It was very tart - no surprise here - and I found myself wishing it was a little sweeter. However, always looking for solutions, I decided that I didn't have to drink it on its own and I used it to flavor one of my morning spinach-protein-banana smoothies. Good stuff! The next one I tried was the Ginger Cherry which was actually really good and I enjoyed that over ice. Tru Cherry was much sweeter than the Skinny, at 28 grams of sugar that was no shocker. I did enjoy the flavor but found myself making a blueberry-banana-spinach smoothie with this blend. The Cacao Cherry was a little tough for me but this is not typically a flavor combination I like anyway.

Cheribundi juice is the antioxidant leader among other cherry juices, acai, mango, orange, noni juices -  as well as other well known antioxidant-rich fruits such as grapes, pomegranates and blueberries. Within 4 days of adding this juice to your diet, you can battle free-radicals and repair cell damage inside of your body with a high dose of anthocyanins. Antho-what? These are a specific class of antioxidants which have a high concentration in Cheribundi.

Cheribundi is sold in stores, but I have been given a sample 4 pack which I will send out to one lucky reader to try for free. Comment below if you have ever tried Cherry juice and what area you need help with (pain, sleep or heart disease). Winner will be chosen randomly on Friday, August 10, 2012.

Cheers to Cheribundi!


*giveaway open to US readers only.

Red Kale Pomegranate Smoothie

It's a rainy Sunday at our house. My kitchen is a total disaster and I am procrastinating. I just made this fabulous smoothie, with the tart flavor of pomegranate balanced with the sweetness of a ripe banana.

I do realize my pictures suck. Working on it.

I came back from squeezing in a 3.5 mile run before it started raining again, and wanted to have something healthy. Let me preface this by saying we took the kids to the drive-in to see Puss n' Boots last night and my dinner consisted of massive amounts of homemade popcorn seasoned with salt and olive oil accompanied by many M&M's and a large plastic cup of red wine. Yeah.

So back to my healthy smoothie. I bought this pomegranate at the Farmer's Market and I wasn't sure what to do with it. I always do that. I buy them because they are in season and they look so good, and then I end up just snacking on them plain. Not that there is anything wrong with that...but I was hoping to be more creative since I have time on my hands. I'm procrastinating from cleaning my kitchen (and folding laundry too), remember?

You will need:
1/2 pomegranate, seeded
1/2 cup crushed ice
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup almond milk
1 small banana flavored yogurt
1/2 ripe banana
3 red kale leaves, chopped in small pieces and tough bottom stems discarded
a blender - slotted spoon - strainer


Well this turned out to be a little time consuming but I am happy with the finished product. Start by putting on an apron, dark shirt, or other shirt that you don't mind getting stained. Cut the pomegranate in half, and gently peeled off the larger hunks from the seeds. Then, I got a bowl of water and submerged the pomegranate and continued to "detail" the removal of the outer peeling. I learned this from an episode of Martha Stewart years ago. The yummy pom seeds will sink, and the yucky white stuff that you are removing will rise to the top. It's not a perfect system, but it does make it a bit easier because the water keeps the white stuff from sticking to your hands.

Then I took a slotted spoon and removed all the white stuff from the top. Gosh, I am sorry I keep staying "white stuff' but I don't know what the technical term is. I poured out the water and I was left with this:

Beautiful right? So I added the ice, almond milk and water to my blender. Next I added the pom seeds, the kale leaves and banana. Whirrrrr.....

 
I will share with you my trial and error. I am used to adding water to my kale smoothies because it is usually required to blend up the kale leaves easily and prevent the "chunk" factor. I think the pom seeds contained enough water that extra H20 may not have been necessary. When I poured the smoothie it was more like a juice. Which would have been fine, but I like a little more substance. Plus, I knew I needed a protein source anyway. Back to the blender with the yogurt I had in the fridge:

I also realized that the edible seed portion attached to the fruit - which is an excellent source of fiber, by the way - did not grind up in the Bullet. Great if you want fiber, and annoying if you are trying to drink something and keep getting little bits in your mouth. After blending in the yogurt, I poured the smoothie through a strainer and into a glass. Much better!

This was so yummy! Definitely worth it if you have a little extra time on your hands. You can also buy the pom seeds without having to do the work, but they are pricey. I'm sure pomegranate juice would also be a good short cut, with less fiber. 

Pomegranate is an excellent source of vitamin C and B5 as well as antioxidants. Kale is an excellent source of Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B and betacarotene. (source: Wikipedia).

Enjoy!