Summer is upon us and this week watermelon seems to be coming at me from all directions. Whenever things are appearing everywhere I take note, so this week the topic is watermelon!
First, Dr. Oz featured it on his show as one of the best summer fruits to consume. He says watermelon is great because it is a big, bulky food but doesn't have lots of calories, so you can eat a lot more of it without consuming excess calories. Watermelon is also in season now and is very abundant in stores.
Then my mother-in-law called to tell me that OK! Magazine recently featured Jennifer Aniston's new trick to get rid of bloating: frozen watermelon smoothies. I was intrigued. Immediately after hanging up the phone I Googled the recipe.
Let's face it: Jennifer Aniston has an incredible body, so when she does something, we all take note. According to OK!, before Jen went to Hawaii in April to film her new movie, Just Go With It, she went on a strict raw food diet to reduce bloating. During that time, she enjoyed a frozen watermelon smoothie every morning for breakfast!
Here is the smoothie recipe: Freeze three cups of watermelon chunks (organic if possible). Then blend the frozen watermelon with two and a half cups of unsweetened almond milk.
This smoothie tastes amazing, is very filling and also low in calories. I will be drinking it for breakfast all summer long.
Watermelon has lots of nutritional value. It is an excellent source of vitamin C and a very good source of vitamin A due to its abundance of beta-carotene. It is also a great source of lycopene, which is also found in high amounts in tomatoes. Lycopene has been studied a lot for its high levels of antioxidants and cancer-preventing properties. Watermelon is also rich in B vitamins, specifically vitamin B6 and vitamin B1!
Watermelon apparently comes from Africa but was first cultivated in Egypt. It was valued so much that it was placed in the tombs of many Egyptian kings.
You can keep up with Sandy by signing up for her daily living tips, following her on Twitter, or becoming a fan on Facebook.