I am real close to finishing the A-Z blogging challenge. I ‘ve reached letter W already 🙂 W is for my favorite fruit watermelon. I love it so much I dedicated a post to it which reads “Getting The Most Out Of Your Watermelon “. I am sharing with you a simple smoothie. Watermelon has such a unique flavor I don’t add too much to it as in mixing fruits. A touch of lemon , ginger and mint is all it needs to bring out the flavor. I have added a variation adding coconut or almond milk for a milkier version of the smoothie. Both are quite delish !! Cut close to the rind when you make your smoothie. The often un-eaten white part is where all the main nutrients are and if you have a mix of the red flesh and the white, your smoothie will be quite sweet and extra nutritious. To read more on using the white part of the watermelon, click here !
Watermelon as a Sunshield
Watermelon is packed with lycopene that might lower your sunburn risk. It’s almost like eating sunscreen 🙂 Lycopene is a colorful carotenoid that may reduce the risk of heart disease and a range of cancers, mainly prostate. It is the same Lycopene that offers a Sun Protection Factor because of the high carotenoid content. In order to get the benefit of this you will have to drink one smoothie or eat 2 cups of watermelon/Day ! Not too crazy about watermelon every day ? You can get an equivalent amount of lycopene by consuming 4 tsps tomato paste, 1/2 cup pasta sauce, 4 tomatoes or 2 pink grapefruit / day. Apart from lycopene, watermelon is also rich in Vitamins A & C and is packed with hydrating nourishing fluids ! What’s not to love about it !!!
Lycopene Sun Shield Watermelon SmoothieSubstitute honey for stevia or agave nectar for a diabetic friendly drink !
Ingredients
- 2 cups watermelon chunks
- 1tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 inch piece ginger
- 4 leaves mint or 1 tsp mint paste
- 2 tsps honey ( optional)
Instructions
http://www.suesnutritionbuzz.com/2012/05/03/lycopene-sun-shield-watermelon-smoothie/
- Blend all ingredients together to get a cool refreshing lycopene packed watermelon smoothie.
- Variations
- Add 2 cups ice and blend to get a cool frosty
- Add 1/4 cup coconut milk or almond milk to get a smooth extra delish calcium packed watermelon treat!
To read more in my A- Z Blogging challenge, click here and check back tomorrow to read my post on the letter X. Not quite sure what am blogging about for X, but can promise you it will be Xtremly interesting 🙂
Hi there! I’m Sunithi, AKA Sue, a registered dietitian with a sweet tooth and a passion for eating healthy (quite a combo) currently working as an independent consultant in the DC Metro area. I’m also a blogger, health nut, nutrition geek who jogs to keep sane :)! I love to revamp recipes and add some ‘Nutrition Bytes’ to them. All my recipes are gluten free! I also blog on natural health and fitness! Visit often and drop me a note if you have any nutrition queries!
Love watermelon. I juice it so I can get the white part in. The part about the sunscreen is interesting. I like the fact that it’s natural. Will try to have all sources of lycopene through the summer I think. Glad you gave us choices. The pic is fab !!
I juice too. My kids won’t eat the white part, so I store it and juice it or smoothie it ! Thanks for stopping by & it is sunscreen in a glass 🙂
OOh, so pretty ! Am making some. Like the version with coconut milk. Mmmm… sunscreen huh ! Like that! great post sue 🙂 fancy icebox pic !
The coconut milk one is yumm too ! I’m playing with photoscape & made that ice cube 😉 Will master photoshop soon and start using that soon. Thanks Pen !
Thanks for finally writing about >Watermelon Smoothie :
Sunscreen In A Drink – Sue’s Nutrition Buzz <Loved it!
Thanks so much for this recipe! I found it whilst googling a way to use my watermelon and coconut milk.
I added chia seeds at the end and it was awesome! 🙂