Watermelon Workout & Recovery – Day 2 #LivingOnTheWedge

Watermelon for Exercise and Recovery

Even though it’s summer, I’m keeping up my fitness routine – in fact, I’m having a lot more fun with my workouts now that I my running season is finished until fall. The summer has always been a great time for me to cut back my mileage and focus on getting stronger – plus, I like to take my kids along to the gym for some family gym bonding time that features lots of barbells and burpees. But, it’s not always so fun to be stuck in a gym when the weather is wonderfully warm – so this week I’m grabbing a watermelon and heading outside.  Yes, you heard me right – WATERMELON! Who needs fancy equipment when you can use a watermelon for exercise? I’m dishing up a Watermelon Workout, are you ready to get served?

exercises with watermelon as the wieght

exercises with watermelon as the wieght

watermelon should feel heavy

A 35 pound watermelon! Glad I workout!

I dare you to do my Watermelon Workout, it will get your heart pumping and your muscles moving once you get into the rind, err . . .  I mean, grind! Choose a seedless watermelon that you can handle comfortable, but is still a challenge.  The one I’m using is about 18 pounds – but I’ve brought home watermelons as big as 35 pounds, but that bad boy was really too unwieldy to use in a workout.

 

Watermelon makes a great piece of impromptu workout equipment – as you can see from the Watermelon Workout photo, you can lift it, swing it, jump over it and more. Most importantly, you can eat it as a nutritious snack afterward!  Made of 92% water, watermelon is obviously hydrating. But did you know the fruit can help you with workout recovery? A recent study in the Journal of Agricultural Food and Chemistry reports that drinking watermelon juice before a hard workout helps to reduce an athlete’s heart rate and next-day muscle soreness. Why? Well, watermelon has an abundance of an amino acid called L-citrulline, which the body converts to L-arginine, an essential amino acid that aids in blood vessel dilation and improved circulation.

eat watermelon after you workout

watermelon and mozzarellaI love this idea for Gluten-Free Watermelon Mozzarella Sandwiches from Watermelon.org. Just pop this grain-free recipe in a to-go container and you’ve got a protein-boosted, post-workout recovery snack that helps your taxed muscles repair themselves in time for the next session. Plus, the salty pickles sandwiched between the layers will help get your electrolytes back to a healthy balance. Remember, you should always eat a mini-meal with a 3:1 to 4:1 carbohydrate to protein ratio within a 30 minute window after intense workouts and runs.

Do you have any watermelon inspired workout ideas or a refreshing watermelon recipe to share? If so, post in the comments or join my group #LivingOnTheWedge Pinterest board.

Follow this watermelon board on Pinterest

win a watermelon prize packAlso, check out my all the other posts on watermelon I’m featuring all week and don’t forget to enter the giveaway for a great Watermelon Prize Pack! 

The National Watermelon Promotion Board is providing me with compensation to share my love of watermelon. However, the opinions and content (unless otherwise noted) shared are my own and NWPB did not tell me what to say or how to say it.

The Hipster Berry | Blackberry Lemon Smoothie Recipe

blackberryDid you know that professional “flavorists” have named the blackberry as a flavor that will be trending over the next year?  That makes me pretty happy because I love sweet, juicy black berries and I’ve noticed my local grocery store doesn’t yet seem to know just how hip and happening these little brambling beauties have become. Despite the crescendoing cool factor, blackberries are often the cheapest berry in the produce section — shhhh!

 

You may be most familiar with blackberries in jam, syrup or baked up in a country cobbler or atop a pretty little dessert like my Lemon Chia Seed Tea Cakes with Blackberries. But blackberries also pair pleasingly well with unusual flavors such as pepper, ginger or balsamic vinegar. Of late, I’m seeing blackberries used as a feature ingredient with chefs and bartenders crafting delicious drinks, dinners and desserts everywhere from food trucks to fancy-schmancy venues, aren’t you?! It’s time to get creative making both sweet and savory dishes featuring blackberries – here’s a delicious and nutritious smoothie recipe to get you started:

berry lemon smoothie

Place ¼ cup lemon juice, 1/3 cup fresh or frozen blackberries, 8 ounces almond milk and ½ cup cottage cheese in a blender. Pulse on and off for about 1 minute, or until smooth and creamy. Serves 1.

Blackberries aren’t just the cool kids in the fruit basket, they are also super healthy — but you probably already knew that! The seeds of blackberries are rich in Omega-3s and the plump flesh is packed with vitamins and other nutrients including fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K and manganese.Serve them with other berries for a bonanza of healthy benefits — a side perk, the pairing will make strawberries, blueberries  and other (ahem) less fashionable fruits seem suddenly much more interesting.

blackberries

Blackberries make a sweet and simple snack during the summer — remember to hydrate too!

CookingLight.com has a Guide to Blackberries that will help you select the best basket (or bushel) at the market. While you’re there, check out the mouthwatering gallery for Blackberry Recipes for summer entertaining inspiration.

Don’t want to miss the Grilled Pork with Blackberry Sage Sauce:

pork tenderloin with blackberry sage

Wash it down with a Blackberry Margarita! Yee-haw!

black berry margarita

Nutritious Apricot + Almond Snack Ideas!

Frozen apricot almond milk smoothie

Smoothie-making season is in full swing at my house now that the weather is warm (pushing the 90s) and here to stay! My family thinks I’m crazy, but I love the hot weather and the way the sun feels on my skin – I just have to remember to wear my sunscreen and hydrate!

One of my favorite smoothies for May (when fresh apricots start coming into season), is my Apricot Almond Smoothie. While it’s made with fresh slices of apricot that have been flash frozen, dried apricots can be substituted. For best results, soak the dried apricots in water for about 30 minutes before blending to make them plumper and easier to incorporate. Almond Apricot Smoothie

Apricot Almond Smoothie Recipe 

Blend 1 cup almond milk. 2 tablespoons ground almonds, and ½ cup frozen apricot slices (about 3 – 4 whole apricots). Add ice as needed to achieve desired consistency. If fresh apricots are not available, substitute 8 dried apricot halves that have been soaked in water for at least 30 minutes.

While fresh apricot season is really short, it’s easy to enjoy dried apricot year-round. Due to their dehydrated nature, dried apricots are concentrated in vitamins, minerals and other healthy nutrients – especially iron, vitamins A and C, and dietary fiber.  Stick a zip-top bag of dried apricots in your purse or gym bag to stave off candy bar cravings – toss in some almonds and dark chocolate chips and you can whip up one of these sensible snacks! By the way, one of these apricot, almond and chocolate chip “bites” has just 20 calories! healthy apricot chocolate snacks

Check out CookingLight.com, they’ve got some great ideas on how to enjoy fresh apricots for the few short, glorious weeks they are in season.  I especially like the idea of grilling apricots to intensify the sweet-tart flavor and totally give a thumbs up to putting these caramelized, grate-marked apricots on a salad or alongside beef, shellfish or poultry.

I love this Cooking Light idea for grilled apricots on my salad!

I love this Cooking Light idea for grilled apricots on my salad!

Talking about healthy snacks — don’t forget to enter my giveaway for a month’s supply of Harvest Snaps  —- just click through to enter NOW!

harvest snaps border

 

Edible Bowls! Chickpea, Cucumber & Kale in Tomatoes

garbanzo bean and tomato salad

 

“The chickpea is neither a chick nor a pea. Discuss.”  Remember when Mike Myers chatted about this the “Coffee Talk” comedy sketch on Saturday Night Live?

The chickpea, also known as a garbanzo bean, is actually a legume that has been around for more than 7,500 years. A popular choice for man Mediterranean and Indian dishes, the little chickpea is packed with big nutrition – an excellent source of protein, dietary fiber, and vitamin B6 for vegetarians. Vitamin b6 helps to stabilize blood sugar, metabolize foods and make antibodies to ward off disease.

garbanzo beans tomatoes

I came up with this lovely dish for Litehouse Foods and just knew I had to share it here  – it’s perfect for a lunch or light dinner. The cool and crisp salad is dressed with flavors favored along parts of Greece and Italy and packed into a tomato serving as an edible bowl. Did you know the healthy, long-living people of the Mediterranean region eat, on average, nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day? This chickpea salad will get you well on your way to meeting this daily goal.

chickpea salad in tomatoes

Chickpea, Cucumber & Kale Tomato Cups with Feta Dill Dressing

  •  1 ½ cups packed kale or baby kale leaves
  • 1/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves
  • ½ red onion cut in chunks
  • 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
  • 1 Tbsp minced garlic
  • 1 medium cucumber chopped coarsely
  • 1 (15-oz) can rinsed and drained chickpeas
  • 2 large tomatoes (like Beefsteak variety)
  • ½ cup Litehouse Food’s OPA Feta Dill Greek Yogurt Dressing (plus additional for garnish)
  • 2 grape tomatoes cut in half
  • 2 ounces baby spring lettuce mix

Directions

  1. In work bowl of food processor, add kale, cilantro, onion chunks, lime juice and garlic. Pulse for approximately 1 minute or until ingredients are finely chopped like pesto. Set aside.
  2. In medium bowl, add chopped cucumber, rinsed chick peas and mixture from food processor. Add ½ cup dressing  and mix everything together until thoroughly coated.
  3. Cut large tomatoes in half crosswise and scoop out seeds and pulp with spoon (reserve for another purpose, if desired). Fill tomato cups with chickpea mixture and top with a dollop of dressing and grape tomato half. Serve on top of baby spring lettuce mix. Serves 4.

popsugar nature box hand heart

I have another yummy mention – POPSUGAR Must Have Snacks by Nature Box. I received a box full of these nutritious nom-noms in the mail and have been enjoying mixing up my normal afternoon snacking. Being stuck inside working on the computer (and nursing my sprained ribs) is much more tolerable with five bags of healthy snacks like Blueberry Almond Bliss and Lemon Pucker Pistachios.

Check it out for yourself. For a limited time, the POPSUGAR Must Have Snacks by NatureBox will be 50% off!

MHNatureBox_550x550 popsugar

Disclosure: POPSUGAR and NatureBox provided me with a complimentary POPSUGAR Must Have Snacks by NatureBox box. The opinions I have shared about the box are my own, and POPSUGAR and NatureBox did not tell me what to say or how to say it.

Strawberry Greek Yogurt Tart w/ Gluten-Free Crust

Is there anything that a strawberry dessert doesn’t make better? Not only do these beautiful berries make both sweet and savory dishes sing with the flavors of the season, just the smell of them lifts my mood for the better. Plus, it has only 202 calories per slices (with 12g fat, 16g net carbs, and 7g protein).

Chocolate Yogurt Tart with Strawberries - TheFitFork.com

This recipe for Strawberry Chocolate Greek Yogurt Tart (with Gluten-Free Coconut-Almond Crust) is made in honor of my mom on a past Mother’s Day. Read on to get the recipe and find out why I picked strawberries over other berries — you’ll be surprised.   Continue reading