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Why Watermelon Makes Us Feel Good

July 11, 2011   29 Comments

Snack Girl is chomping on watermelon and loving it. A hot day, a slice of watermelon, and watermelon juice all over the place. This is summer!

Watermelon Cucumber Lime Salad

I buy a watermelon, slice it up into cubes, and put it in a plastic container for munching. I leave it in the front of the refrigerator so it is the FIRST thing I grab when I want to snack.

So, why the attraction? Watermelon is:

  • 92% water
  • Usually pink
  • Crunchy and sweet

So you get pink, sweet, crunchy hydration!

How can you go wrong? I have been trying to find uses for it because when you buy a large one it can be difficult to finish.

Last year, I posted a watermelon feta salad recipe and it IS one of my go to salads during the summer months. And, I like to puree watermelon in the blender, add a little honey, and have a watermelon drink.

My latest watermelon love features lime, salt, and cucumber and it is ridiculously easy to make and I can't stop eating it.

Which is a good thing because it is low in calories and high in satisfaction!

My kids will scarf this down (and even eat the cucumber).

Don't add the salt until the very last second before serving and try to keep the salad COLD. If I was taking this to work, I would bring a salt shaker with me because as soon as you add the salt the watermelon begins to get soggy.

I would also add some high quality chili powder (1/2 teaspoon or so) if only my children would let me ;-)

What is your favorite watermelon salad?

watermeloncucumberb

Watermelon Cucumber Salad Recipe

1.5 from 22 reviews

(serves 4)

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Ingredients

1 English cucumber
3 cups seedless watermelon (cubed)
1 lime
3/4 teaspoon salt
chili powder (optional)

Instructions

Peel and cube the cucumber and mix with watermelon in a large bowl. Juice one lime and pour over mixture. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve. When ready, add salt and optional chili powder. Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts

51 calories, 0.3 g fat, 13.1 g carbohydrates, 1.3 g protein, 1.3 g fiber, 441 mg sodium, 0 Points+

Points values are calculated by Snack Girl and are provided for information only. See all Snack Girl Recipes

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29 Comments:

I don't like watermelon. :-( Give me apples, bananas, berries, mango, cantaloupe etc and I am in heaven. Everyone else can keep the watermelon.

I'm not a fan, either ~ love the taste, not so much the texture.

You're eating the wrong kind if you don't like the texture! The big one with seeds is much better than the new small seedless ones. Put some salt, well a lot of salt on it and it is heaven! I will have to try this recipe, it sounds wonderful!

OMGosh, i can't believe that watermelon can be disliked.....i love it and i eat it everyday and depression sets in when winter is here and there is no watermelon!!

i eat a whole seedless watermelon in a day by myself... that is how much i love it!

oh my goodeness i've eaten a whole watermelon by myself during the course of a weekend! my favorite watermelon salad recipe: take watermelon, cut it open, grab spoon, eat.

I cut the watermelon into triangles and freeze them. The kids love it. Like having a Popsicle.

YUMMY!!! This looks and sounds amazing! I have all that I need to make it too. I'm home with my son who has croup so we'll be enjoying some of this today. Thanks Snack Girl!

Summer = Watermelon. YUM YUM YUM!

I agree SG...Watermelon is the BEST! I don't even need the salt. I cut it up in chunks and can eat on it all day long. Super good and refreshing.

OH YUM!!!! I made a slightly different watermelon-feta salad (also had mint and olives), and took it to a party this weekend to RAVE reviews. I could have eaten the whole big bowl of it myself .... YUM!!!! LOVE melon of all kinds: just screams summer to me!

WHOA! I'm shocked to find that there are people who don't like watermelon, it's the favourite fruit in the entire universe!

ooh that sounds pretty neat! love your photo too, totally makes me wanna buy~

Buying a huge watermelon and cutting it up into cubes, store in plastic containers, and munching on it later is my FAVORITE way to snack too. :D Aside from the initial work, i love how easy it is to just bust it out and eat! unfortunately I tend to finish a whole tub of it by myself in one go...x___x that's a lot of sugar! at least it's good sugar lol. even with a large watermelon, i can finish it within a few days doing it this way (usually i get around 3 containers worth for half of a watermelon, so that's 6!). sometimes i eat a tub by itself as a meal (since i get so stuffed afterwards hehe).

another thing i love is if the watermelon rind happens to be relatively thick, i slice off the peel, then slice the rind into sorta strips (looks like rectangle if you lay it flat, but about a few mm thick), and then i STIRFRY it with dried red pepper and salt! it is SO GOOD. it's something my mom always makes when the rind's thick, and the mild sweetness mixed with the salty and spicy flavor is awesome :D

I lovelovelove watermelon but the sad fact is I haven't gotten a sweet one yet this season no matter where I've tried purchasing one from. This makes me sad, because it's not a small investment if you wind up throwing it away.

Never tried salt on it. Doesn't sound very appetizing, but maybe...

I have to try this! I LOVE watermelon, and now can't imagine NOT liking it. However, as a kid, I remember being very particular about it-sometimes it would be wonderful, and other times it would be very, VERY bland and a little pithy. Then I didn't like it so much - but still liked spitting out the seeds with my little brother! And I used to have it almost always with salt! Gotta try this.

I love watermelons! I too eat it a dash of salt... it brings out the sweetness. *note'if you purchased an not so sweet watermelon, keep the receipt and take it back to the store.

oooo...I LOVE chili pepper and a bit of sea salt on canteloupe, hadn't thought about it for watermelon. Sounds yummy.

This was a 4th of July accident (plate with sushi, watermelon on it.) Try your watermelon dipped in SOY SAUCE AND WASABI!

I have tried a variation of this salad with Quinoa and a small amount of an italian dressing of sorts. I love watermelon and have tried many of the varieties. The one I love the most is the seedless yellow flesh melon. Sweet (not overly), juicy, and memorable! :) I can't find it in the grocery store, but it is usually available at my local farmer's market.

Well I don't know, yes I love Watermelon but at Weight Watchers in a couple different meetings they talked about always gaining weight if they ate much watermelon. I really don't see why, but the salt could be the c ulprit because you will retain the fluid, But other than that can't see a reason. any ideas?

This might be a stupid question but, salt makes you retain water weight? I feel like I've heard it before somewhere but I am just trying to get it straight. I love salt so I'm always eating green olives, chips, cheese, etc. ( I know how unhealthy those things are, I eat everything in moderation when I do, except olives because I just can't help it) but I know I should stop eating them. I hope I'm not retaining water weight all the time due to that

I just started WW a couple months ago, have never gone over the 29 points per day but I've only lost 3.5lbs. Last week I even gained one pound. :(

I eat lots of watermelon and canteloupe. A 1/2 cup serving is 0 points but during the day I'll snack on 1/2 of a large canteloupe or 1/4 of a watermelon so that's about 4 -6 cups per day. The fruit has sugar so maybe that's why I'm not losing much??? How do I calculate 1/2 canteloupe or watermelon into the points plus system?

Summer and Watermelon....couldn't get any better. When I was a kid I can still see my Dad a road side stand, checking them out. A lot of times the farmers would take a plug out to show how good his melons were. My dad always tapped them. I have had a couple of good ones this year. I made a watermelon, cucumber, fresh basil salad with feta cheese on the fourth. It was great. Great Site will be visiting again.

Just made this for dinner last night. Delicious! I grated some of the lime zest into it, and it added a nice tangy kick! I will definitely make this again.

In response to the q about gaining wt on watermelon- it has a high glycemic index- the sugar content is very high, which makes our blood sugar spike, then fall, which can also make us hungrier faster. South Beach Diet lists watermelon at the top of "stay away" list! I am trying to start WW, And happy it's allowed, but will proceed with caution, given your statements - it's my fav food in the world!! I think fruits have too many health benefits to stay on a "never" list!

In response to the WW question regarding counting points for fruit, if you use etools, go into recipe builder and put the fruit into a recipe using only the fruit and it will assign it points.

Watermelon is a great softball tournament staple during the summer for me and my friends when we play!

The watermelon salad sounds unique & refreshing! I have loved munching on cubes of watermelon for many years. It is time to branch out & try some new ways of eating this old favorite.

Love watermelon - I've always put a little salt on mine - recently squeezing lime on it. Watermelon salsa is a nice cold summer substitute for tomato salsa - watermelon, jalapenos, lime, cilantro. and a few sturdy tortilla chips - or try it with grilled fish.

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