http://www.lawrence.com/users/photos/2013/nov/17/264766/

This week I was sick. A rare occurrence, honestly. I eat more than my fair share of vegetables, get my sleep, workout and wash my hands constantly. But I have a kid and he has little kid germs and every once in awhile, if whatever he has is especially potent, I’ll succumb, too. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, I’m toast.

The first thing I did when I felt the aches coming on along with full lymph nodes and a scratchy throat? Reach for a pomegranate. The result is the bowl of seasonal pomegranate seeds and clementines you see above. A full day’s worth of vitamin C in that picture right there.

Once I was feeling 100 percent again, my little die-cold-die snack had me thinking. It took me a couple of years before I perfected my method for seeding a pomegranate. Years where I would’ve saved myself a lot of stain-related stress.

Because pomegranates are as messy to work with as they are delicious.

Each of those little seeds is basically a sac full of densely pigmented juice. That pigment signals all the antioxidants involved, but at the same time, you don’t want to get any of it on your clothes or counters.

So, here’s how to seed a pomegranate and minimize your chances of a stain or frustration. Plus, if you already know you like pomegranate seeds, this will save you money. Buying the seeds that are already prepared is usually twice as expensive as just doing it yourself.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/photos/2013/nov/17/264765/

Step 1: Fill a mixing bowl with water to about the halfway mark and set it in your sink. Cut off the “cap” of the pomegranate.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/photos/2013/nov/17/264767/

Step 2: Score the pomegranate five or six times down the length of the sphere.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/photos/2013/nov/17/264768/

Step 3: Holding your pomegranate underwater, pull a section loose.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/photos/2013/nov/17/264769/

Step 4: Holding the section underwater, force seeds in the section out into the water. Any juice released in the process will go into the water. The yellow-white pith will float to the top of the water. Scoop it away. It’s bitter and you really don’t want to eat that. Repeat until you’ve seeded every section.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/photos/2013/nov/17/264770/

Step 5: Scoop away as much of the pith as possible with your fingers. Strain the water out by pouring the contents of the bowl into a strainer. That’s it!

http://www.lawrence.com/users/photos/2013/nov/17/264771/

I love to have the seeds straight up and on top of things like salads, roasted root vegetables, oatmeal, etc. And, obviously, I love them mixed up with clementines — even when I’m not sick.