How to Spruce Up Your Meals With Pomegranate

Who needs chocolate chip muffins when you've got pomegranate? The seeds in these muffins create a sour taste that contrasts with the sweetness of the sugar and creates a burst of flavor in your mouth. Aside from pomegranates, these baked goods only require your basic muffin essentials: flour, baking powder, salt, margarine, sugar, eggs and water. Make these muffins on a Sunday night and eat them for breakfast on the run all week!

Cucumber salads are healthy, delectable and easy to make. This salad pairs the tart flavor of pomegranate seeds with the watery taste of cucumbers for one of the freshest salads for any season. Add mint leaf and vinegar dressing into your salad for extra flavor that doesn't detract from the seeds.

The autumn salad might as well be called a fruit salad with its incorporation of persimmon, pear, grapes and pomegranates. Combined with roasted pecans, the autumn salad is ideal for a healthy lunch that doesn't sacrifice flavor. Coat your salad with a dressing that complements the fruitiness of the ingredients; sherry vinaigrette is just one of many dressings that goes well with the grapes and pomegranates. If you're not a fan of the fruits suggested above, substitute for your own favorites.

Said to have been created by the people of Puebla, this dish consists of a green poblano chili filled with a picadillo, covered in a walnut cream sauce and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds. This dish does require some effort, but the end result certainly justifies the means. It takes two days total to make, since the walnut sauce needs to be prepared a day in advance.

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These French fry alternatives are good for you, and the addition of pomegranate and figs into this recipe will make you feel like a true hunter gatherer. Season squash slices with your favorite spices such as ground coriander, sweet paprika, ground cumin and caraway seeds. Make the spices stick by brushing 2 teaspoons of extra-virgin olive oil onto each slice. Bake the slices for 30 minutes on each side for crispy, golden results. Add figs and pomegranate seeds after the slices are baked.

With its high levels of protein and fatty acids, salmon goes from good to great with a little pomegranate flavoring. Salmon steaks are easy to cook--all they need are 7-8 minutes of grilling on each side for crispy, well-cooked fish. Season your raw salmon in spices like thyme and rosemary for a burst of flavor, or add soy sauce halfway through grilling. Once removed from the grill, sprinkle the salmon with pomegranate seeds.

Not only does this recipe spin the classic cheesecake recipe, but it also tops it all off with pomegranate seeds. Fromage blanc cheesecake requires fromage blanc, a type of cheese made from cow's milk, sugar, gelatin, egg yolks and heavy cream. The crust is made primarily of graham cracker and must be made separately from the cheesecake filling. Add the pomegranate seeds to the top of your cheesecake once it's finished cooling.

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Poached plums are extremely simple to make; after you boil water and brown sugar, plop your plums into the water and let them cook for about twenty minutes. Poached plums go well with vanilla ice cream--and pomegranate seeds!