Sunday, July 13, 2014
Watermelon- The Versatile Summer Fruit
11:59 AM | 
Posted by
Kaplan Center for Health and Wellness
By Jeanette Andrade, MS, RD, LDN
Summer
is in full swing and if you live in the mid-west you have likely taken part of
the traditional summer foods- hot dogs, brats, corn on the cob, and watermelon. In
this episode, I will be discussing the delectable, sweet fruit - watermelon. As
a child watermelon has been the summer fruit of my choice. I would literally
eat a whole watermelon in one day and look for another one the next day. I can
no longer eat a whole watermelon by myself, but I can certainly eat a large
piece. Watermelon is great to eat as a side dish, snack, or as a meal as it is
low in calories and contains several nutrients.
I
know several of you will be shocked when I mention watermelon has antioxidants
(as that appears to be the go to word I use all the time when describing these
foods) such as lycopene. Here is a fun fact- the US population gets the
majority of their lycopene from eating watermelon than from eating any other
type of fresh fruit (George Mateljan Foundation, 2014).
Watermelon
also contains an amino acid citrulline that when consumed will convert into
another amino acid arginine. Arginine has been shown to improve blood flow and is
beneficial for cardiovascular health (George Mateljan Foundation, 2014). As you
can likely guess watermelon also contains vitamin C, this nutrient has also
been shown to be beneficial for cardiovascular health. Many B-vitamins and potassium
are found in watermelon, so even though this fruit is low in calories, it packs
a powerful punch in each serving. The typical serving size for watermelon is 1.5
cups cut or 1/16 cut of a watermelon = 85 calories, 0.4 grams of total fat, and
22 grams of total carbohydrates (CalorieKing, 2014).
So
how about using watermelon to make a nice, fresh salsa?
The
recipe is from All Recipes (2014) and makes 2 cups:
Ingredients
2
cups seeded and coarsely chopped watermelon
2
tablespoons chopped onion
3
tablespoons seeded, chopped Anaheim chile
2
tablespoons balsamic vinegar
¼
teaspoon garlic sauce
Directions
In a serving bowl, mix together the
watermelon, onion, and chile pepper. Season with balsamic vinegar and garlic
salt. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour to blend flavors.
Per 2 tablespoons: 8 calories, 0 grams
total fat, 2 grams total carbohydrates, 0.2 grams total protein
AllRecipes.com
(2014). Watermelon Salsa. Retrieved
on http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Watermelon-Salsa/Detail.aspx?evt19=1
CalorieKing
(2014). How Many Calories in Watermelon,
Raw? Retrieved from http://www.calorieking.com/foods/calories-in-fresh-fruits-watermelon-raw_f-ZmlkPTYzNjA1.html
George
Mateljan Foundation (2014). Watermelon. Retrieved
from http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=31
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Calories in Watermelon
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