Beat the Heat with Watermelon

Welcome to summer! Canadians work hard for their few and very short dog days of the season. My hope is that you make the most of them with delicious hydrating, high nutrient foods. Take a look at what the Meteorological Service of Canada predicts the hottest day will be in your area, and then stock up on high nutrient, refreshing foods to keep you going.

Predicted Hottest Day of the year, by Canadian city

Provided by: Environment Canada’s Meteorological Service of Canada

Barrie	Jul-24		Quebec City	Jul-24
Brandon	Jul-29		Regina	Aug-02
Calgary	Jul-31		Saskatoon	Aug-01
Charlottetown	Jul-28		St. John’s	Jul-29
Edmonton	Jul-30		Sudbury	Jul-23
Fredericton	Jul-26		Thunder Bay	Jul-26
Halifax	Aug-01		Timmins	Jul-21
Iqaluit	Jul-26		Toronto	Jul-23
Kamloops	Jul-30		Vancouver	Aug-02
Kelowna	Aug-01		Victoria	Jul-31
London	Jul-23		Whitehorse	Jul-20
Montreal	Jul-22		Winnipeg	Jul-28
Ottawa	Jul-22		Yellowknife	Jul-17

Phew! Hot enough for you?

You can beat the heat with watermelon — summer’s quintessential thirst quencher — because it not only hydrates, it also balances your electrolytes with its mineral content. According to Medical News Today, one cup of watermelon contains 17% of vitamin A, 21% of vitamin C, 2% of iron, and 1% of calcium needs for the day. Watermelon also contains thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B-6, folate, pantothenic acid, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium, choline, lycopene, and betaine.

Don’t grab a sugar loaded sports drink to rehydrate, try these methods instead:

• Make watermelon water by blending one cup of cubed watermelon and adding to one litre of water.
• Freeze watermelon cubes to suck on (Great dog treats too!).
• Use watermelon to make salsa or gazpacho in place of tomatoes. Check out a few recipes at watermelon.org
• Slip a slice of watermelon into a grilled cheese. Trust me, it’s delicious!

Any fruit or vegetable will help hydrate you to beat the heat but there is something special about watermelon juice running down your forearms that brings you right back to summer camp days.

And when you have had your fill of the fruit out of hand, chop up any that’s remaining and make salsa with this recipe from Watermelon.org. It pairs well with corn chips — and a Riesling — but it’s also a refreshing addition to grilled fish, chicken, or pork.

Watermelon Salsa

This is a high nutrient, low sodium salsa to serve in place of tomato salsas with bread or corn chips. It is also great as a topping for grilled chicken, fish or pork. And when you are done with that application, blend it and serve it as gazpacho.

Makes 4-6 servings                        Takes: 10-12 minutes

1 cup diced seedless watermelon

3/4 cup diced strawberries

1/4 cup diced red onion

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves

2 tablespoons diced seeded jalapeno chile

1 tablespoon lime juice

Toss together gently in a bowl and chill in fridge at least one hour before serving.

                                                                                             Theresa is an on-camera food and health expert, nutritionist and writer who loves to spread the word on food.

 

 

Image sources: Flickr, Watermelon.org.