Easy Summer Watermelon Salad
Now summer is officially here I feel a celebration is in order. A salad? Really?
Not just any old salad. Watermelon salad? Yes please.
As you might expect given its name, watermelon is excellent for hydration in the summer months. But it’s more than just 92% water. A nutrient-dense food full of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and electrolytes, it also has anti-inflammatory properties, is great for digestion – and it’s one of the richest natural sources of lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that’s been quietly accumulating an impressive health CV and is better sourced through diet than a supplement. A 2020 study found lycopene particularly helpful in slowing the progression of prostate cancer, but its benefits are known to extend well beyond that: research on lycopene points to cardiovascular protection, reduced blood pressure, support for bone density, and a possible role in delaying age-related eye conditions such as cataracts and macular degeneration. There’s evidence it supports metabolic health too — helping to regulate blood sugar and reduce inflammation associated with obesity and diabetes – and its antioxidant properties may protect against age-related cognitive decline, including conditions such as Alzheimer’s. There’s even evidence it boosts procollagen levels in the skin, which may help reverse some of the visible signs of ageing.
Not bad for a summer fruit.
For a full list of the health benefits of watermelon, read this article here.
How to choose a watermelon
- Size matters Watermelons are gendered. ‘Boys’ are bigger and oval while ‘girls’ are smaller and rounder. Boys have less flavour, girls are sweeter. As a general rule, the larger the melon, the more watery it will taste and the smaller it is, the sweeter it will be (unless of course it isn’t ripe!).
- Colour If possible, buy a watermelon whose insides you can see. In supermarkets this isn’t often possible, but lots of greengrocers halve or quarter their watermelons for display so you can see what you’re buying. As a general rule, the brighter and darker the inside of the melon, the better it will taste – and the more health benefits it will have. For the lycopene benefits specifically, it’s worth noting that the bright red flesh varieties tend to have more lycopene than yellow or orange, and seedless watermelons tend to have more lycopene than seeded ones. Avoid ones with cracks or white lines.
- Check its tail The tail (where it was attached to the vine) of a watermelon indicates its ripeness. A green tail indicates it was cut too soon, while a withered one means it will have been allowed to ripen on the vine.
- Webbing Webbing makes the skin of the watermelon look as it has been disfigured or damaged, but is actually an indicator of how any times bees have touched the original flower. The less “perfect” the skin looks – ie, the more webbing there is and the more disfigured it looks – the more pollination the watermelon will have had and the sweeter it will be.
Now you know how to choose your watermelon, aside from just serving it up as it is (which is perfectly acceptable in our household), here’s a delicious and incredibly easy recipe suggestion for a summer salad that will provide you with a burst of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants – including the electrolytes sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium that your body needs more of in summer.
More excitingly it combines sweet and juicy watermelon (assuming you’ve chosen well) with salty feta cheese and mint that will make your taste buds zing. So you see, summer on a plate.
Watermelon Summer Salad
Ingredients
- Watermelon;
- Cucumber;
- Pomegranate seeds (to scatter);
- Feta cheese (to crumble);
- Mint.
Method
- Chop the watermelon and cucumber into bitesize cubes;
- Toss together;
- Sprinkle feta, mint and pomegranate seeds on top.
Dressing
Dress this salad with your favourite dressing or perhaps with a little oil and lime juice, salt and pepper. Or maybe use any reserved pomegranate or watermelon juice. Feel free to get creative!
Do you have a favourite summer salad recipe you’d like to share? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.
