Monday Special - Watermelon

Every Monday I'm going to try to feature a new food (fruit/veggie/herb/nut/seed/grain/etc) so that we can arm ourselves with more knowledge about what we are eating (or, at least, what's good for us to eat!).

This Monday, I'm starting with watermelon. This is a fruit probably most of us have eaten at one time or another. I have some friends partial to yellow watermelon, but it's hard to find. Watermelon is in season right now, a very affordable treat, and stuffed with hydration for those hot summer afternoons.

Here are some things to know about watermelon:

• source of vitamins C and A
• source of the carotenoid antioxidant, lycopene (what gives tomatoes their cancer-fighting powers)
• contains an amino acid the body uses to prevent erectile dysfunction, improve insulin sensitivity and lower blood pressure
• a cup contains only 48 calories so eat up!!

Pick a watermelon that has lost its glossy sheen and its belly has turned from white to yellow. The tendril should also have turned brown and started to shrivel. Store your watermelon at room temperature, but put in the refrigerator after cutting. Always wash any fruit/vegetable before cutting - watermelons are no exception.

It takes my household a few days to go through a big watermelon so we only cut enough to last for the next day or two and put saran wrap on the exposed side of the watermelon and stuff it in the fridge. The pieces we cut up for the next day we cut very large (not bite-size) so as to reduce moisture loss. When we cut individual portions for the week, we learned quick that the juice would drizzle out and settle at the bottom. The top bites would be dry and not very sweet and the bottom pieces would be mushy. Some people even juice the rinds, but this depends on your particular tastes and/or access to a juicer.

So, watermelon is GREAT for you, super tasty, and nice to your budget (and I mentioned in season, right - so go get one!). I mostly eat it raw or juiced, but I have also had it grilled (but this is rather tricky and, as I understand it, to be successful you need to freezer seal it right away to prevent juice loss). I also prefer the seeded variety - something about eating sterile food is odd to me.

Hope you learned a little something about watermelon today without being overloaded with information. If I have piqued your interested, google away! There is a ton of info out there for those curious of minds.