Watermelon Recipes by Health and Wellness Club

Watermelon Slushies

• watermelon
• limes
• mint

It’s fun and easy to make these with children. Cut the watermelon off the rind, and let them chop up the melon with kid friendly knives.  We are using these-   and these-  but any plastic knife or not-too- sharp knife will work, too.

An adult should slice the limes in half, and then children can juice them.

Come visit our gardens and pick mint! Pull off the leaves and toss them in the blender with the lime juice and melon. Blend and drink! If you want to make it frostier, add some ice before blending.

You can make popsicles by pouring them into molds or dixie cups.  The popsicle sticks will fall over unless you let them freeze a little bit first. Or you can puree frozen watermelon, and they will stand up easily.  Hill’s Kitchen has a variety in fun shapes (stars, rockets, etc.), there are a lot online, and Frager’s sells popsicle sticks. Make sure your mold is BPA-free.

For an adult version- it’s easy to turn into your favorite Mexican beverage. You know what I mean!

Watermelon and Tomato Salad with Mint and Feta

• Watermelon
• Whole large tomatoes or grape tomatoes (I recommend the heirlooms sold in farmer’s markets)
• Mint
• Limes
• Feta or soft white cheese (like chevre/goat cheese or cojita)

Cut about equal amounts of watermelon and tomato into bite size pieces. Pull mint leaves off the stem. Chop if you like, but it’s not necessary if they are small. Squeeze lime juice to taste on the salad, and crumble feta or chevre on top.  Serve immediately.

Watermelon and Tomato Salsa/Gazpacho

• Chopped watermelon
• Chopped tomatoes
• A little finely chopped onion (yellow, red or sweet Vidalia)- too much will taste like onion salsa
• Chopped cilantro or mint
• Chopped hot pepper  (if that’s what you like)
• Lime
• Kosher salt
• Fresh, cracked pepper

Toss together watermelons, tomatoes, onion, cilantro or mint and hot pepper.  Add a few squeezes of lime and fresh, cracked pepper. Serve with fish (any grilled or broiled fish), chicken, shrimp or with chips (I like the whole grain pita chips from Trader Joe’s).

Or you can throw this in the blender, and voila- you have gazpacho.

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Restorative Watermelon Smoothie

• 2 cups frozen watermelon chunks
• 1 cup coconut water
• 1 fistful mint
• 1 thin slice ginger
• 1/2 small cucumber, peeled and rough chopped

Blend and enjoy!

Why Watermelon is Good for You

Watermelon is a fantastic food, supplying fiber, vitamins C and A, sodium, potassium, lycopene and other good stuff in a delicious package.  Potassium and sodium are important electrolytes that are lost when we sweat a lot or participate in intense exercise. Instead of reaching for a sugary, pricey Gatorade- bite into a hunk of watermelon! Lycopene may lower the risk of heart disease, macular degenerative disease, and lipid oxidation (the damage to normal fat molecules that can cause inflammation and disease).  Tomatoes are also a great source of lycopene. Watermelon can also lower LDL (the “bad” cholesterol).