Just a few days of sunshine and we’re already eating popsicles out here in California.  But these are not ordinary fruit bars, they are made from superfruits such as acai, blueberry and pomegranate.

Dreyer’s new fruit bars are made with real fruit and are a great source of antioxidants which helps fight free radicals.  Superfruits have been hitting the market for years.  They include fruits that are high in vitamin C and are consider to be antioxidants.  It’s rare to see them made into popsicles, when they are usually sold as health supplements or juices.

These fruit bars don’t just sound good, but are good for you!  It is sweet, but is also tart and tangy too.  I especially prefer the acai and blueberry over the pomegranate.  I assume you can whip up some of these fruit bars yourself if you can get your hands on some acai berries.

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Pomegranates are amongst one of the most popular superfruits. These superfruits are classified as fruits with very high antioxidant levels. They include blueberries, Acai berries, and goji berries. I remember years ago not many people heard of this fruit, let alone knew how to eat them. One summer I bought a huge pomegranate for my friend as a treat and she didn’t know how to eat it. The fruit ended up being part of her home decor.

Now you can find just the seeds (packaged in plastic containers) at the super market. It is commonly used in salads. The fruit itself consist of many small seeds. The colors range from white to deep red, and are called arils. I have found that the deeper the color, the more tangy the seeds. The ones my mom grows in her garden are very sweet. The skin is light red and the seeds are almost white to pink. It gets even sweeter when it ripes and the skin starts to crack a bit.

Just like the loquat fruit I mentioned earlier, the leaves of the pomegranate can also be used to make tea. The pomegranate leaf is narrow and glossy. You can use fresh leaves to make tea as well. Drinking tea made from the leaves also help with stomach disorder and digestive problems. A study came out in 2007 and was published in the International Journal of Obesity suggesting that the leaves of the pomegranate may also be a novel appetite suppressant. The same can be said for green tea as well. But you may have to drink at least 3 cups per day to get all the benefit of the tea.

This photo is taken from Mighty Leaf Tea of “Acai Pomegranate Black Tea” $9 for 4 oz. I think it’s very pricey, but it is premium whole leaf tea. Which many claim to have a fuller and better tasting cup of tea. I have yet to tell the difference!

“Made with black tea and superfruit Acai, this fruity and decaffeinated black tea blend combines antioxidant-rich pomegranate and Brazilian Açai (ah-sigh-ee) berries with rich black tea leaves. The tart notes of pomegranate are balanced by the slightly blueberry and chocolate notes of açai for a rejuvenating infusion. Açai berries, hailing from Brazil are known for possessing more antioxidants than pomegranates or blueberries and are also rich in omega fats.” - Mighty Leaf Tea Read the rest of this entry »