Sweat Week: Beat the heat with watermelon

July 9, 2012

The Discovery Channel’s got Shark Week; well, I bring you Sweat Week — a week of posts on surviving the heat waves this summer.

In April, I had the opportunity to go to Fort Myers, Florida, to learn all about watermelon from an Ontario watermelon grower, Brian Arrigo. Here are a few things I learned about watermelon while down in Florida:

• Watermelon’s been shown to help reverse the effects of hardening arteries.
• It’s beneficial for the cardiovascular system (due to the citrolene it contains).
• It’s the cheapest per lb of anything you’ll find in the produce section.
• The watermelons I was seeing in Florida being picked on Thursday would be in stores up here in Toronto as quickly as Monday (ie. four days!).
• Once a watermelon is sliced, you should consume it within the next 10 days.

No worries about needing to consume it within 10 days for me, especially when there are delicious recipes such as this watermelon cairpirinha — yet another way I’m keeping cool in the heat.

Watermelon Cairpirinha

Muddle lime, ginger, sugar and mint and transfer to a martini shaker. Add watermelon purée, grenadine, cachaça and ice. Shake. Pour into a glass and serve.

Makes one cocktail.

TIP: Vodka or rum can be used in place of cachaça.

PER SERVING:283 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 12 mg sodium, 39 g carbohydrates, 0 g fibre, 0 g protein. % RDI: 0% calcium, 2% iron, 1% vitamin A, 13% vitamin C.

SOURCE: National Watermelon Promotion Board, www.watermelon.org.

Filed under: Diet,Healthy Swellness

Tags: antioxidants, cairpirinha, citrolene, fruit, heart health, heat wave, watermelon, watermelon promotion board