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Beat the Heat with Watermelon

By //  by Theresa Albert 1 Comment

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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.

FireandIceSalsa

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.

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Filed Under: Appetizers, Food & Drink, Recipes Tagged With: beat the heat, thirst quenchers, watermelon, watermelon recipes

About Theresa Albert

Theresa is a Communications Expert, Author, Speaker, Toronto Nutritionist, and sought after multi-media presenter. She is a regular guest on the international daily lifestyle show CBC’ Steven and Chris and covering news on CTV Newschannel making sense of health news as well as CBC The National.

You will find her tweeting at www.twitter.com/@theresaalbert, pinning at www.pinterest/friendinfood.com and on facebook at www.facebook.com/theresaalbert. To lurk all of Theresa’s social activity in one spot check out her personal page: www.rebelmouse.com/theresaalbert/

Named one of Canada’s Top 25 Tweeters by Today’s Parent Magazine and one of Savvymom.ca’s 35 Favorite Bloggers, she communicates about food and health where the action is. Boundless energy and the ability to distill complex concepts into simple, achievable ideas are her key strengths.

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Comments

  1. peady

    July 3, 2015 at 11:56 am

    This is so great! We have a tradition in our family. We *always* buy a big watermelon to eat the first week of summer break. When we were in Ottawa, we would share a giant watermelon with friends the day after school ended. We’d pack up and head to a splash pad and have a great day! We are no longer near our Ottawa besties, but we still honour our tradition. 😉 Delicious and nutritious. You are right. There’s nothing like the feeling of watermelon juice dripping down your arms. We were talking about this yesterday (as we were chopping up the watermelon) and I decided there are two kinds of people, those who enjoy the cool, delicious, face hug a slice of watermelon gives you and those who can’t wipe their faces fast enough. Guess which kind my family is! 😀

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