Healthy Pomegranate Breakfast

Enjoying a pomegranate breakfast will guarantee you derive all the benefits from this now-recognized super food. Healthy pomegranate recipes like this one are full of flavor and go very well in the summer to start your day on the right foot. And, only four ingredients.

The benefits of eating pomegranate in the morning are that you receive the full advantage of it throughout the course of the day. And, in addition to our pomegranate breakfast recipe today, breakfast is also the perfect time to enjoy a pomegranate juice recipe, should you not have the ingredients for your pomegranate breakfast.

Healthy pomegranate recipes are easy when all you need is pomegranate, yogurt, walnuts and honey. This combination of breakfast ingredients delivers a naturally sweet, creamy and crunchy breakfast, just perfect for the warmer months of the year. It almost feels like you are enjoying a pomegranate dessert rather than a breakfast!

We made this breakfast on many occasions when in Turkey, where pomegranates are ridiculously cheap.

Eating in a healthy manner is easy in Turkey as there is reliable access to fresh fruit, vegetables and meat products. There are many alternatives to shopping in a grocery store or supermarket for your supplies: choose a market or a small fruit and vegetable vendor, the local butcher or the local bakery. (There is a longer post about food shopping in Turkey using Fethiye as the example.)  Many of these small shops are much more common and easier to find than a supermarket. And you are rewarded with excellent quality food.

Read on to discover the health benefits for each of our four ingredients in our healthy pomegranate breakfast.

Pomegranates

One of the fruits that is very healthy and common in Turkey is the pomegranate. Many pomegranates are grown in the region near Fethiye and they were widely available throughout Turkey.

I have only discovered pomegranates in the last year or so. Whenever I saw them in the market at home I would shy away from them as I was not sure what to do with them. Trust me, that was a mistake.

They are easy to use and they have a unique taste. After each market visit in Turkey we would pass by a series of food and drink vendors. We made a habit of sitting down to enjoy a pomegranate juice recipe. There were quite a few combinations of juices available to try together.

We encountered more pomegranate drink recipes again out in the middle of nowhere on our hike in Cappadocia which made us realize how widespread and common these fruits are in Turkey. It inspired us to investigate pomegranate drink recipes.

It was a fun experiment. The bottom line is that pomegranate juice goes well with many other juices. If you are looking to enjoy the benefits of eating pomegranate in the morning, and you don’t have any of the remaining three pomegranate breakfast ingredients, then this pomegranate juice recipe might just do the trick. It’s just two ingredients!

Having some healthy pomegranate recipes in your back pocket will pay you back in spades. Pomegranates are widely considered to be a super food and the benefits of eating pomegranates in the morning may help to lower cholesterol, reduce the risk of heart disease and for men lower the risk of prostate cancer. Certainly no ill effects have been found and pomegranates taste great, and the crunch factor is very agreeable. It seems like a really gourmet treat to eat fresh pomegranate. Pomegranates can also be a healthy addition to desserts, salads and dips.

Indeed, we have served this pomegranate breakfast, as a healthy, pomegranate dessert!

Yogurt

Yogurt is a mainstay within this region. Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria all have outstanding yogurt and claim it as their own creation. I am not sure who has the best yogurt or where it started but I can tell you  the yogurt products in Turkey are excellent.

Yogurt is also a great health food. The bacteria found naturally in yogurt contains probiotics, excellent for helping to maintain healthy gut bacteria, which is essential for your health. When traveling, eating yogurt is a great way to stay healthy helping both to maintain your own gut bacteria but also to ward off any “unfriendly” bacteria you may encounter.

A few things to keep in mind when buying yogurt: Plain, full fat yogurt is best or make your own for a healthy alternative. (Once you get the hang of it you will wonder why you haven’t always made your own.)

Yogurt in Turkey is thick, creamy and cheap to buy but very high in quality. Labna, also easy to make, is filtered yogurt that is thicker again. It is also common in Turkey, as are Kefir and Ayran (a salty yogurt drink). As well, yogurt is used extensively in all types of recipes including, soups, dips and sauces. More about yogurt in Turkey can be found in our Yogurt Soup recipe. In Turkey, there is also a higher incidence of goat and sheep-based yogurts to choose from, reputedly healthier than cow’s yogurt.

Honey

Another star in Turkey is the honey and honeycomb. The honey in Turkey is just superb. Driving around Fehtiye we observed many honey bee farms. And eating fresh honeycomb was another delight! For more about honeycomb, read our post, Istanbul off the beaten path.

All markets have vendors selling their own honey in a variety of glass containers. It is unusual in Turkey to buy branded honey from a supermarket. I like that as I am convinced it has to be healthier for you as it has less processing and never enters the industrial food production system.

Walnuts

Nuts are another mainstay in Turkey. Pine nuts, peanuts, walnuts and pistachios are all grown within Turkey. For this recipe we are using walnuts, purchased fresh from the market.

Nuts are a beneficial source of antioxidants which can help reduce cancer risk, heart disease and improve brain health and reduce the effects of aging. Nuts are often called superfoods and walnuts are usually cited as being incredibly healthy. So if you have no adverse effects to nuts, including them in your diet in moderation can be quite healthy.

Healthy Pomegranate Breakfast

So this pomegranate breakfast recipe is one of my favorites because:

• It is quick and easy to make (only 4 ingredients!!) and there is no cooking
• It is healthy with every individual ingredient providing healthy benefits
• It is delicious being sweet, crunchy and creamy all at the same time
• It can be used as a starter for brunch or to make a great pomegranate dessert
• It is a real, gourmet treat and feels like it would be a treat fit for a king or a queen.

Turkish Yogurt Recipes

Yogurt is a feature of our pomegranate breakfast. If you are looking for some more Turkish yogurt recipes, you might try these:

Yogurt soup is a surprise and can be served cool in summer or warmed in winter. Easy to make and healthy.

In Turkey, we quite often enjoyed a meze platter, where yogurt always features.

Yogurt is a great way to dress shish kebaps and Turkish stuffed eggplants (one of my favorite dishes).

And if you want to try a “pasta” dish, Turkish-style, check out manti with garlic yogurt sauce. Manti is often called Turkish ravioli or manti dumplings and the garlic yogurt sauce is killer.

And, again if you are looking for a pomegranate juice recipe, we have it right here.

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Healthy Pomegranate Breakfast

Print Recipe

Here is a simple, quick, light and healthy breakfast. Pomegranate has been acknowledged as a super-food for some time now. And an added bonus is that it has become quite common in fruit and vegetable stores and good markets (when in season). With the addition of yogurt, crushed walnuts and honey, this simple dish ends up being a fancy treat for the whole family.

Servings	Prep Time
2people	10minutes

Servings	Prep Time
2people	10minutes

• Course Breakfast, Dessert
• Cuisine Turkish

Ingredients

• 1 pomegranate *
• 1 cup yogurt Turkish or Greek style*
• 1/4 cup walnuts crushed
• 2 tbsp honey drizzled*

Servings: people

Units:MetricUS Imperial

Course Breakfast, Dessert Cuisine Turkish Ingredients 1 pomegranate * 1 cup yogurt Turkish or Greek style* 1/4 cup walnuts crushed 2 tbsp honey drizzled* Servings: people Units:MetricUS Imperial

Instructions

1. Cut the pomegranate in half and prise out the seeds with a small fork or spoon. Place in 2 serving-size bowls. Hint: don't wear white whilst doing this!
2. Put a large dollop of yogurt over the top of the pomegranate.
3. Sprinkle the walnuts on top of the yogurt and then drizzle a spoonful of honey to finish off.

Recipe Notes

You will find pomegranates in better stores. 

Turkish-style yogurt is thick.  If you can't find then use Greek style yogurt.

If you have never tried Turkish honey then try here.