Watermelon After School Snacks

Who doesn't love watermelon!  I don't think I've met a soul to date who doesn't love it's sweet, hydrating, refreshing beauty.  Hand one of these three variations to your little ones (& yourself) after school and you'll all be saying goodbye to the 4:00 energy slump... happy as can be, devouring natures perfectly dreamy, living goodness.

1. Big, Juicy Watermelon Chunks satisfy sweet tooths and quench our thirst!

2. Watermelons come pre-packaged in their own perfect serving bowl ready for yummilicious scooping fun!

3. Watermelon Slushies! Always a hit.  Simply blend with a bit of filtered water.  Add extra cleansing power with ginger or mint into the Vitamix for a bit of zip. (Remember, for proper food combining, melons should always be eaten alone rather than paired with other fruits/veg/etc.  Adding ginger or mint are ok since they're fantastic digestive aids.)

Three yummy ways to fill your beautiful children (and your beautiful self!) with a deliciouso, nutritious & mega easy snacky.  I am fond of having half a watermelon as an easy-to-digest, mono-meal lunch.  So (seemingly) indulgent and satisfying, keeping me energized for hours. Besides, knowing how fantastic watermelon is for my body, spirit and mind doesn't hurt either.  In fact, I had to pare all the benefits I listed below, way down so as not to put everyone to sleep :-)

 

Watermelon is filled with living energy for our living cells.

 There is so much goodness packed into this perfect package... let's begin:

Alongside tomatoes, watermelon has moved up to the front of the pack in recent research studies on high-lycopene foods. Lycopene is a carotenoid phytonutrient important for our cardiovascular health, and an increasing number of scientists now believe that lycopene is important for bone health also. 

Scientists are becoming increasingly interested in the citrulline content of watermelon. Citrulline is an amino acid that is commonly converted by our kidneys and other organ systems into arginine (another amino acid). The flesh of a watermelon contains about 250 millligrams of citrulline per cup. Arginine is crucial for healthy blood flow and other aspects of cardiovascular health. There's also some preliminary evidence that greater conversion of citrulline into arginine may help prevent excess accumulation of fat in fat cells due to blocked activity of an enzyme called tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase, or TNAP.  Now that's bang for your buck!

When we eat living foods we feel alive! Just like our food!

Watermelon is an excellent source of immune-boosting, collagen producing, cellulite busting vitamin C.  It's also a very good source of free-radical-scavenging vitamin A (in multiple carotenoid forms, especially beta-carotene). In addition, watermelon is a good source of heart-healthy magnesium & potassium.

Eating raw, living foods helps us recover more quickly after exercise. And its cleansing, detoxifying abilities cause cellulite to melt away!

Allow your watermelon to fully ripen (and in fact do so with all your fruit)!  For example, research shows the biggest jump in lycopene content occurs when a watermelon's flesh turns from white-pink to pink. And when that flesh continues to ripen from pink to red, the lycopene content becomes even more concentrated. Prior to ripening, when the flesh of a watermelon is still white in color, its beta-carotene content is near zero.  Like lycopene and beta-carotene, total phenolic antioxidants in a watermelon also increase consistently during ripening, spiking at the appearance of fully red flesh. The bottom line: eating a fully ripe watermelon pays off not just in taste but in nutrient benefits too!

Yummy in my tummy!

 

Enjoy your wawa-mellies:-)  

Pardon my over-the-topness today... that's the energy we get from eating a watermelon- or any living raw vegan foods for that matter.  I've been busting at the seams as I write this!  Energy baby.  Life force!

 

Lots of love to you,

XOXO

Juliane

 

What are some of your favorite fruits?  

Have you ever eaten a fruit mono-meal? I just started this summer & love.

 

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