POM Wonderful - Review

While it's true that "owning" a blog isn't all VIP parties, limos and Cristal, there are a few benefits... Like the other day when Janny emailed me regarding POM Wonderful.

"Not another 6 figure sponsorship offer..." I thought to myself.

And, no, it wasn't... she just wanted to give it to me to try... feedback was all she asked for. The relief was immediate, those six-figure deals are more trouble than they're worth...

So, after giving her the green light, we hammered out an intricate deal whereby I would consume three or four bottles of POM Wonderful and issue an opinion. I drive a hard bargain, nobody takes MJ to the cleaners...

The Review

With the word "Wonderful" in the name this beverage has a lot to live up to... not just that but it has a price tag of $4.99 per bottle (473 ml)!

At first I was a bit outraged by the price (though it was free for me as a result of my wheeling and dealing). I found myself almost hoping that it would be gross so that I couldn't develop a $4.99/day habit. Just as that thought crossed my mind I stopped to think about my morning latte - $4.30 from Starbucks. I'm not sure how Starbucks has programmed me to be OK with $4.30 for a latte, but POM should employ the same techniques...

NOTE: 473ml (16ozs) is meant to be a TWO DAY supply. So, really, the price of POM Wonderful isn't much more than a lot of other high quality juices. I just didn't realize this until much later.

Benefits

Unlike my morning latte, guzzling POM Wonderful pomegranate juice offers several health benefits:

- Cardiovascular Health Benefits

- Prostate Health Benefits

- Erectile Function Benefits

- Antioxidant Potency

- and more

I know the one you're looking at... here are the study results:

Compared to patients taking a placebo, those men drinking 8 oz. of 100% pomegranate juice daily for four weeks were 50% more likely to experience erectile improvement in this study of 53 subjects.

I would imagine those results compare favourably to the products mentioned in the emails I get from time to time...

In case you are doubting the legitimacy of all of these health claims... POM Wonderful has spent an incredible $32 million since 1998 to fund scientific research on pomegranate juice.

Taste

Testers: Meyrick, Sacha, Mattias (7), Aia (5), Viggo (18 months)

Pomegranate flavour - The juice is pretty potent. It tastes exactly like pomegranate seeds which Sacha and I like a lot. There is a tartness very similar to grape juice.

Bluberry Pomegranate flavour - The blend makes the juice quite a bit sweeter and much less tart. The kids liked this flavour a lot more than the pure Pomegranate.

Mango Pomegranate flavour - Still good but we liked the blueberry blend more.

Sacha and I liked the Blueberry Pomegranate the best.

The kids found all three a bit too powerful at first... after we diluted the POM with sparkling water they LOVED it a lot. In fact they ask for it every time now and have begun calling the resulting cocktail a POM Spring... which I think is catchy!

Conclusion

Once you realize that the bottle is not a single serving, and/or you water it down for some sparkling POM Springs it actually goes a long way... and the price becomes a lot more palatable. It tastes far better the next day than the second half of your Starbucks latte would...

I am sure we'll be buying more - Sacha and I both enjoyed the juice, but more importantly it's not everyday you hear 5/7 year olds begging for a "treat" that is as healthy as this.

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Swedish Goggles Review

I was down at Team Aquatic the other day trying to find my son a swimsuit that wouldn't cost $50. (I shouldn't be cheap but damn... the suit is the size of a handkerchief!)

Never one to pass up a chance to shop for myself instead, I wandered over to the goggle section...

At $7.70 the Swedish Goggles were calling my name. I have wanted to "go swedish" for some time now... and this time I did.

For those of you that don't know, Swedish goggles are the equipment of discerning, competitive swimmers everywhere. They are primarily distinguished by the complete and utter lack of rubber or foam seals. Plastic meets skin in the same no-nonsense way that meatballs meet gravy in the Ikea restaurant.

First Impression: Just like Ikea - I will have to assemble these myself. No allen key required however. No instructions required either evidently. (Do Swede's assemble everything themselves? "Jesper put together the flatscreen Entourage is on in 15 minutes!") Find instructions here if you need them.

Assembly: Unless you are unfamiliar with how human eyes are aligned on the face (i.e. one beside the other) you should have no issues assembling these goggles. The single complexity is to get the distance between the eyepieces correct. This is not hard. Having said that, there are several choices that one may not be aware of in the assembly.

Choices:

1. Colour. The first choice comes at the shop.... there are LOTS of lens colours: clear, amber, red, pink, green, blue, mirrored, black and so on. Since these are self-assembly you could even mix and match eyepieces... which might cause some sort of swim vertigo for all I know.

2. Nosepiece. Whether to use the string+blue nosepiece combo, or to use a piece of the rubber strap as the nosepiece. I tried both and far preferred the rubber strap. It also looked WAY cooler (if I do say so myself.)

Click below to enlarge and compare for yourself...

2. Double strap or single strap. Seems obvious to go double... but there's a photo down below that could convince you otherwise...

3. Tightness. Since these goggles are so cheap I think it would be prudent to have two pairs (at least) - one that is snug (for training) and one that is tight (for racing.) Arrange yours accordingly.

Result: Ouch! WTF? The initial result was terrible. The plastic was sharp and my skin was suffering. I fired up google to find out what part of this swedish jigsaw I was missing... Turns out everyone files or sandpapers the edge of the eyepieces. Thanks for mentioning that in the non-instructions Bjorn!

Result (take 2): OK. That feels better. Nerdlinger mirror check - yeah! these are cool looking! Wait! Is that a draft I feel on my eyeball? Yes, it is... $%!#. I bet they're going to leak.

Swim test: Push off the wall, streamline position... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and... yep they're full of water. Stand, look around... ok, good nobody looking... walk back.... What the hell is wrong with these things?

Adjust, readjust, re-readjust. Push off again.... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5... come up, stroke, stroke . . . . . . No water! I swam a full workout - readjusted the goggles a few times and found the sweet spot every time.

If the Swedes aren't on properly they are about as leak resistant as a "waterproof compartment" on the Titanic. BUT, put them on properly and they are sealed as well as any other goggle.

Final Verdict: Name another instance of arguably the BEST product (well, at least the one worn by tons of Olympians) costing the LEAST. It's awesome!

This is the goggle for you if:

- you like the retro chic of an all-time classic

- you are a two-practice-a-day competitive swimmer that blows through goggles like a Swede blows through tealights

- you want to look like a two-a-day competitive swimmer

- you like total customization

- all things being equal you'd rather go fast!

- you like insider tricks like the sandpaper... makes you feel like you're in the know (glad to help;)

- you like to save money

This is NOT the goggle for you if:

- You don't know how to put together a puzzle suitable for a 6 year-old.

- You like to look slow and uncool.

- You are happiest when others can immediately identify you as a beginner swimmer.

- You'd rather pay MORE for goggles that Olympians DON'T wear.

The Thorpedo in Swedish Goggles

Don't let Speedo see this one Michael... (note: MP goes single strap...)

I'm not sure that eyelash will fit inside the Swedes...

Yes. You in the Speedo...

This guy looks crazy so he's the perfect guy to follow...

Yours truly...

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