One of the biggest perks of the summer is cooling off with a ripe and juicy watermelon. The beautiful, colorful melon really is a staple of the summer and there is nothing wrong with that. Watermelons are great snacks to have in your routine and keep you hydrated to take on your favorite summer activities.
- Drinking water is important, but it is sometimes hard to get enough in your daily routine, especially in this heat and humidity. Eating watermelon can help supplement that water and keep you hydrated as watermelon is 92% water.
- Watermelon has even less sugar than low-sugar fruits like berries and contains 21% of the Recommended Daily intake of Vitamin C as well as 18% of the RDI of Vitamin A.
- Watermelon can help lower inflammation and oxidative stress, also helping with brain health.
Recipes:
Watermelon Salad (acouplecooks.com)
- 8 cups Seedless Watermelon
- 2 organic mini Cucumbers
- 2 ounces Feta Cheese
- Zest of half a lemon
- 4 Basil Leaves
- Sea salt
- Chop the watermelon into cubes. Slice the cucumbers (if using an English cucumber, slice it into half moons). Chop the basil. Zest the lemon.
- Arrange the watermelon and cucumbers on a platter. Sprinkle with feta crumbles, lemon zest, and sea salt. Taste and adjust flavors as desired. (If you’d like, you can add freshly ground black pepper or a drizzle of olive oil.) Serve immediately. If making ahead, refrigerate the cubed watermelon separately: it releases a lot of water after it is cut. Then assemble the salad directly before serving.
Watermelon Sorbet (thethingswellmake.com)
- 2 cups watermelon, cubed
- 1/2 Lime, juice
Dice your watermelon, and place the pieces in the freezer overnight. After several hours in the freezer, you can proceed, but if the watermelon isn’t completely frozen, the sorbet will have more of a slushy texture rather than be a solid sorbet.
Place your diced, frozen watermelon into the food processor and add some lime juice. I used 2-3 cups of watermelon for each half lime, but it’s a good idea to just add a little at the beginning and add more, to taste, later on. Don’t add too much liquid at the beginning or it will tend to fly out of your food processor. (Don’t ask me how I know that!) Start with just a few drops, and slowly add in more as you process your sorbet.
Continue to process your watermelon and lime juice in your food processor until you get a sorbet-like texture. You can add a little more lime juice as needed for taste and texture.
If you want a sweeter sorbet, you can add in a little honey or another sweetener of your choice. I usually just leave it plain as I prefer it without. I have tried adding honey, and it works OK, but there were a few places where the honey froze up into small drops within the sorbet. It didn’t really bother me, but it’s something to consider before adding it because it does change the texture somewhat. Adding liquid stevia extract doesn’t usually change the texture, but I don’t like the flavor as much.
Serve immediately.
Watermelon Sangria (Lucismorsels.com)
- 2 cups watermelon juice about ¼ medium watermelon - watch video
- 750 mL Sauvignon Blanc
- 1 cup sparkling water
- 6 tablespoons Triple Sec
- 2-3 cups chopped watermelon flesh and rind
WATERMELON JUICE
Cut ¼ of medium watermelon into small cubes (smaller than 1-inch). Strain and juice fruit while pushing through a fine mesh sieve. Discard juiced watermelon.
WATERMELON SANGRIA
Combine watermelon juice, wine, sparkling water, triple sec, and chopped fruit in large pitcher. Mix thoroughly. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.
Can be made up to two days in advance.
