Tag Archives: watermelon

Your New Summer Favorite: Watermelon, Tomato, and Feta Salad

By Janis Jibrin, RD, Best Life lead nutritionist

Visiting Washington, D.C.? If so, you’ll inevitably wind up in the quaint neighborhood of Georgetown, which is also a bustling shopping mecca. My favorite place to have a bite is Kafe Leopold, a hidden oasis removed from the noise and crowds. The cuisine is loosely Austrian, and it happens to have some of the best salads in D.C. (Although, if you’re in a more decadent mood, the sausage, sauerkraut and spicy mustard is wonderful, as are the pastries).

I’d always loved Leopold’s Watermelon, Tomato, and Feta salad, but it just got even better—and more striking—after brand new executive chef Marcellus Coleman got ahold of it. He let me into the restaurant’s kitchen so I could watch him prepare the salad.

What to do with the rest of your watermelon? Turn in into yet another salad!

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Posted on June 24, 2023 by BestLifeDiet

Juicy Watermelon Jalapeno Twist Mojitos are the Official Cocktail of Summer

Nothing looks, tastes, or smells as much like summer as watermelon does. Maybe sunblock, but you can’t, and really shouldn’t, drink that. That hot pink melon just screams hot, summer days! Get as much as you can because it’s so hydrating; I don’t care who you are, that juice is going to run down your chin and arms!

Watermelon is as much a staple in our house in these warm months as is a good cocktail. I love nothing more than to gather friends on our patio and share a delish homemade cocktail. After our first round of watermelon mojitos, I’ve declared these the official drink of summer 2024!

The first sip garnered oohs, ahhs, and even a “oh that’s the stuff!” The muddling gives you a solid upper arm workout while the jalapeno is hot enough to keep your metabolism on its toes. I’m not trying to pass off a cocktail as being a part of your summer workout plans, but those facts alone make this drink seem like a no brainer, right?

To really make the flavor pop, you’ve gotta muddle. (more…)

Posted on June 3, 2023 by Natalie K

3 New Comfort Foods that Boost Mood While Improving Wellness

Most of us have heard of comfort food. Sticky, gooey, chocolate chip cookies straight out of the oven, a plate of warm mashed potatoes and rich gravy, or a bowl full of creamy chicken and dumpling soup are just a few items that come to mind when the need for some self-pampering arises. The problem is, the food we reach for when we need comfort is usually far from comforting. Indigestion and bloating, heartburn, or pure guilt are just a few of the nagging side effects that can actually worsen our mood as a result of our epicurean indulgence.

If you’re going to sink in to comfort food and eat feelings of happiness, sadness, or just overall feel good, try these three foods that you wouldn’t think of as typical comfort foods. These actually have the ability to lift your spirits and get rid of the blahs without the bloat.

Watermelon

This cooling fruit not only tastes great and has a pleasurable texture, but it conjures up memories or images of picnics, family gatherings, and summer vacation, too. When you eat a slice of watermelon, listen for the crunch, feel your mouth water, and have some fun spitting the seeds onto the ground. Turn an ordinary eating experience into an adventure, and before you know it, you will feel like a kid again, tickled by a childlike zest for life. (more…)

Posted on August 16, 2023 by Jill

Deliciously Creative Ways to Use Your Melon

By Kati Mora, MS, RD for Around the Plate

Melons might just be one of the most overlooked fruits of the season. And although other summer treats like berries and peaches are great, melons shouldn’t be forgotten.

Of course, watermelon is often a summertime staple, but what about the other members of the melon family like honeydew and cantaloupe, just to name a few? Melons are great fruit options worth enjoying during some of the warmest months of the year, and not just because of their high water content! Melons are virtual nutrient powerhouses. Let’s take a closer look at two of my personal favorites: cantaloupe and honeydew.

Cantaloupe Melon

Although the cantaloupe isn’t quite as orange as a carrot, it’s still a great source of vitamin A. In fact, some studies even claim that cantaloupes can have as much as 3,138 micrograms of the carotenoid beta-carotene for every 100 grams of fresh weight. That’s 30 times more than vitamin A’s poster child, the carrot. (more…)

Posted on August 9, 2023 by Around The Plate

HealthBuzz August 3rd: Best Olympics Commercial, Fab 5 Diet Tips, and No-Cook Recipes

Before you go out and enjoy the first weekend of the month take a look at healthy news from DIR and our friends. Plus, cool off with some no-cook nutritious recipes this weekend, too!

Best Olympics Commercial: Nike’s Find Your Greatness Jogger

Out of all the commercials aired during the Olympics, Nike takes home the gold for the most motivating commercial. Unlike Nike’s traditional commercial athletes, they use a 12-year-old boy, Nathan from London, Ohio. Nathan sends a powerful message and Nike has outdone themselves.

Saturday Morning Drills: Legs of a Dancer

This week’s Saturday Morning Drill features our fitness expert and Booty Barre founder, Tracey Mallett. Tracey teaches us how to tone and shape our legs to get them looking like a dancer’s legs. Watch the video now and start toning your legs in a fun way!

3 Eating Tips from the Fab Five Gymnasts

The U.S. women’s gymnastics team, nicknamed the “Fab Five,” just won a gold medal earlier this week. Do you want to know how to eat like an Olympic gymnast? We share the “Fab Five” eating tips. (more…)

Posted on August 3, 2023 by Samantha

How to Cook with Watermelon

Watermelon is one of my all-time favorite fruits. Its sweet flavor and light texture is refreshing every time I bite into it. While I’ve always known that watermelon is a fairly healthy food, especially if it’s taking the place of a heavy dessert, I had no idea how dense it was with good-for-you vitamins and nutrients.

Health benefits: Watermelon is an excellent source of Vitamin A, which is beneficial for eye health; Vitamin B6, which is beneficial for brain function and turning protein into energy; and Vitamin C, which helps strengthen the immune system, prevent cell damage and even promote healthy teeth and gums.

Watermelon also contains lycopene, which is an antioxidant that fights free radicals in the body and helps prevent heart disease and various types of cancer. It’s also an excellent source of potassium, which we all know helps muscle and nerve function, as well as helps maintain our body’s proper electrolyte level. (more…)

Posted on July 29, 2023 by Dana

2 Ingredient Melon Ball Soup is a Tasty Summer Brunch Dessert

When the peak of summer hits, I start craving light, refreshing foods to help cool me down and keep me feeling healthy. Two of my very favorite summertime foods are watermelon and cantaloupe. And while I love eating them as is, it’s fun to change things up every once in a while to make an old thing new again.

My grandpa used to bring black diamond watermelons in by the dozens during the hottest summer months in Kansas. He and my grandma had a garden just outside of their house and I always knew I was in for a treat when I’d peek outside and catch him moseying around, looking to see if anything was ripe. No matter how many times I’d bite into the sweet, ruby red fruit, I always declared “This is the best watermelon I’ve ever had.” That’s exactly how good watermelon should taste every time.

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Posted on July 24, 2023 by Dana

8 Ways to Eat Watermelon – Summer’s Most Perfect Fruit

Happy Fourth of July! If you haven’t lit a sparkler and stocked up on watermelon, you’re just not doing it right.

Watermelon is so hydrating and so filling that it might be summer’s most perfect food. That bold red hue is a sign that each bite is full of cancer-fighting lycopene, the most of any fruit. Each chin-drowning juicy bite of watermelon also boasts generous amounts of vitamins A, C, and B6. As well, watermelon is a rich source of potassium, an important electrolyte especially during these hottest days of summer.

The best way to enjoy watermelon, one of three super-healing summer melons, is to refrigerate and make thick slices for everyone to eat as-is. However, watermelon’s unique flavor, stunning color, and wide availability make it simple to incorporate in to a number of recipes.

If you’ve got more watermelon on your hands than you know what to do with this summer, start checking off these recipes:

Watermelon Agua Fresca

Watermelon Honeydew Kabobs (more…)

Posted on July 4, 2023 by Natalie K

Health Buzz: Make the Most of Summer’s Final Weeks

In this week’s Health Buzz, learn how to stay fit while you beat the heat and enjoy what’s left of this blazing hot summer.

With stories from Shape, SheKnows, MomGenerations, and our team, you’ll learn how to actually enjoy a swimming workout, how to finally fit yourself on the to-do list, make plans for your first 5K this fall, and get to the bottom of this whole raw food vs. cooked food argument (spoiler alert: it’s a bit of a tie!).

Plus, sip into one of the best recipes we’ve stumbled upon all summer – watermelon mojitos. In a popsicle. We’re loving Sugar And Charm for this one!

It’s all in this week’s Health Buzz! Click to watch it now.

See more Health Buzz episodes.

Posted on August 25, 2023 by Health Buzz

Watermelon’s Numerous Health Benefits and a Watermelon Agua Fresca Recipe

By Terri Hall for Care2.com

Some foods are fun to eat, and watermelon is definitely one of them. That triangular wedge of bright red/white/green and sweet juiciness forbids us to take life too seriously and shout, “SUMMER!!!” As if that weren’t enough, watermelon is packed full of nutrition, hydrates and is low-fat. While many of us think of watermelon as a great snack option, when you tally up its nutritive value, you might consider making this all-star a feature player in your cuisine.

Watermelons are an excellent source of several vitamins:

Vitamin A, which helps maintain eye health and is an antioxidant
Vitamin C, which helps strengthen immunity, heal wounds, prevent cell damage, promote healthy teeth and gums
Vitamin B6, which helps brain function and helps convert protein to energy. (more…)

Posted on July 20, 2023 by GuestBlogger

Healthy Sources of Disease Fighting Lycopene

Lookin’ for lycopene? Do you even know what it is? If not, lycopene is what gives certain fruits and vegetables their vibrant red color. However, it does more than make your food look pretty. Lycopene acts as an antioxidant in your body, which means it protects your cells against damage from free radicals.

What all this means in everyday language is that lycopene has been connected with the reduced risk for certain diseases, including cancer and heart disease, and may even help stave off age-related macular degeneration.

While more research definitely needs to be done on the health benefits of lycopene, in the meantime you can’t go wrong with the food sources that provide the highest doses: (more…)

Posted on April 27, 2023 by Jason

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