Ready, set, make memories! Summer is in full swing and I have been living on the “wedge” since the very afternoon my children’s schools let out for break. This “wedge” isn’t the crazy-busy, over-scheduled, about-to-have-a-nervous-breakdown ledge from where I just recently teetered, holding on by only thread. Instead, this “wedge” is the sublimely sweet, slow-motion, swing-by-a-rope-over-a-creek and hang-out-with-the kids kind of attitude adjustment that was way overdue. So, what’s behind this purposeful change in perspective and ready to fuel my memory making? Watermelon, of course! Every single day this week, I will be sharing facts, tips, recipes, and other just plain awesome uses for my favorite fruit (well, actually it’s a vegetable, but I’ll get into that later) – WATERMELON!
Fun times at the lake last weekend. Where’s the watermelon? Well, not a slice left in sight for our family photo!
Just one look at a watermelon and I feel relaxed and worry-free — it’s like a day at the lake and a day at the beach all rolled into one! Plus, when I take a big, juicy bite, it’s like being transported to the magical age of six or seven. It’s interesting how certain foods are forever associated with warm-fuzzy feelings and memories. With peak watermelon season (and National Watermelon Month) happening in July, it’s no doubt that many of you also have great memories of watermelon – fireworks, parades, picnics, seed-spitting contests, thumps and such! Watermelon also has me recalling fireflies caught in a jar, rivers traversed in tied-together ‘tubes, and permission to eat all the watermelon I wanted because “there’s no way it was fitting in the fridge.”
I have even more great memories interwoven with watermelon because my birthday is in July – in fact, it’s just a couple of days away! So, what is the perfect gift for the gal that has everything — how ’bout a big ole watermelon with a bow on it!
This year, I’m requesting my kiddos make me these cute and healthy Watermelon Cupcakes as their birthday gift to me.
Even though a slice of watermelon is pure heaven, I’ve also used watermelon as an ingredient in many of my healthy recipes – both sweet and savory. However, I’m terrible about organizing my recipes, so I’ve created this “Living on the Wedge” Watermelon Board on Pinterest to help me keep the memories alive so that I can recreate them again and again! I’d love for you to follow the board and if you have recipes, tips or anything watermelon related, please follow the instructions to join as a pinner to the group!
Remember, I’ll be sharing a week’s worth of sweet ideas on how to use watermelon in recipes, running, workouts and more, you really don’t want to miss any of this #LivingOnTheWedge – so come back to visit every day!
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.
Also, I’m hosting a giveaway for a fun Watermelon Prize Pack featuring all of these goodies, enter via the Rafflecopter app below.
no not yet but this sounds amazing!! i need one
Summers with my cousins having watermelon seed spitting contests!!! I love watermelon and quickly made memories with my boys and seed spitting contests!!! We all love watermelon!
We just had a cousin summer reunion — and watermelon was involved!
I love watermelon so much it’s hard to use it in recipes without eating it all first! I tihnk our kids are deprived of the fun memories of seed spitting contests, since most watermelons in the stores are seedless!
I know! I have mixed feelings about the seedless — way more convenient but you loose that seed-spitting rite of passage!
oh how i love this!! i don’t eat watermelon much, but i would for this and all these fun recipes…err memories. haha
I love watermelon, which makes me miss Austin since it is too expensive in New York. Plus it is a bit hard to find in stores here unless you trek to Trader Joes or CostCo.
Hey Lindsay — hope you are doing well up there and surely you mom will have you a nice big slice of watermelon next time you come home!
Cute prizes! I remember having a watermelon themed birthday party at some point in elementary school, maybe 4th grade? It seemed appropriate for a summer birthday. 🙂
omg those watermelon cupcakes…how ingenius!
I love this-can’t wait to try!!!
My favorite memory about watermelon is at leadership camp in college… having a watermelon seed spitting contest. 😉
Hot summers in Texas as a kid and cooling down with big slices of watermelon… the original with black seeds!
I love the first time I tried watermelon (after thinking I hated it for years) and then I found out I actually love it!! It’s one of my favorite summer desserts. What a fun blog concept!
My little brother used to dislike watermelon and cantaloupe — he said they tasted like armpits. I thought he was crazy and wondered when he had tasted an arm pit – lol. Glad y’all both came around!
definitely eating watermelon when we’re laying out by the pool and swimming all day!
I can’t remember a great memory form my childhood, but I loved the first time I gave my son a big wedge, and he was so in love!
My favorite memory of a watermelon was when my daughter was little. She wanted a watermelon really bad and we decided to let her pick it out. She picked it up and wouldn’t let us put it in the cart. She wanted to carry to make sure we bought it for her. We got all the way to the checkout and she dropped it and it exploded lol. I can laugh about it now but she was heartbroken. We convinced her to go back and get another one and put it in the cart this time.
Oh my — that is a funny story!
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Love, love, LOVE watermelon!!!! It’s the perfect chilled fruit for these hot temps!! Going to try some of these recipes!!
I remember attending a watermelon seed spitting contest. It was lots of fun.
My mom always used to tell me that if I ate the seeds watermelon would grow in my tummy 😉
I was always afraid of that too!
my husband eating it exclusively for his ultra run.
Teaching my boys to spit the seeds when they were small!
When I think of watermelon, I think of so many fun summers spent at day camp when I was younger. We’d often have it for snack.
My daughter entered a watermelon seed spitting contest and won
One of my favorite memories is sitting on our back porch as kids and enjoying watermelon with my Grandpa.
That is an awesome memory, thanks for sharing!
Playing outside with my friends then coming in for a cold watermelon slices
My favorite memory eating watermelon is when we would go camping as a child and eat watermelon around the evening campfire.
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Watermelon eating contests with my brother! I even have pics to prove it 🙂
I definitely associate watermelon with family 4th of July picnics from my childhood, which were always special days that brought most of my relatives and hometown friends together for all-day shindigs!
I remember summer Cook outs with my family as a kid. Eating watermelon and running around with my cousins. It was a fun time.
probably the time we filled one with vodka… yup. i have issues.
Finding one in the stream in the mountains of Colorado that someone left behind. It was delicious.
The first time I ever gave it to my daughter, she knew she liked the taste but hadn’t ever had something with that texture in her mouth. Wish I had it on camera some of the faces that she made.
My grandma hated cake so each year since her birthday was on the 4th of July we would put sparklers in a watermelon and sing Happy Birthday!
I love that — have you seen all the fancy watermelon “cakes” they do now? A big hunk of watermelon in the shape of a layer cake with whipped cream and other fruit for garnish — YUM!
My favorite memory is eating Watermelon with my granny on the back porch when I was young.
My favorite memory is watching my baby girl eat a big slice for the first time.
In high school, I ate it on the beach in Monaco. For some reason they were just handing it out.
I remember eating watermelon at picnics and spitting seeds when we were kids.
Having pool parties at my house when I was a kid and eating watermelon.
I remember having lots of watermelon during outdoor roller hockey games back home in TX during the hot summer months! Good times!
Years ago we were at Six Flags over Texas. It was beyond hot, so we went on the log ride to get wet and cool off. While riding, we spotted a stand selling slices of watermelon. They had the watermelons in big metal tubs filled with ice. It really quenched our thirst and cooled us off at the same time.
Oh wow, I wish they still sold watermelon at Six Flags, I would be first in line!
Hanging out at the farm eating it on the porch with my grandparents and mom.
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I remember my sis and I picking watermelons on the farm.
We couldn’t wait to get indoors and sample one!
thank you
My favorite memory about watermelon is getting a big slice after playing outside on a hot summer day. Thanks for the giveaway!
I remember as a kid having seed spitting contests with my siblings.
I just relocated to the Midwest and the house I bought has a huge garden area. I decided to make use of it and I am growing my own watermelons. Right now they are just starting to vine and flower, so as long as the bees fulfill their end of the bargain, I should have fresh melons in six or eight weeks.
I am sooo jealous about your garden — enjoy the bounty!
I remember when we were little and visited our grandparents, they would make us watermelon juice. It was the best thing ever.
Eating watermelon with my grandfather. We would always sit in lawn chairs, during the summer, and share a watermelon together.
Watermelon is one my favorite summertime things! ANd year-round as well, when there’s watermelon flavored candies and treats laying around. Watermelon balls were the best when I was really little, and watermelon slushies in the summer when it’s really hot out are great, too!
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My mother used to make watermelon pickles.
Thanks for the contest.
As a kid we used to have it as an afternoon snack and put salt on the wedges!
Oh, I forgot about putting salt on it — we used to do that too!
I remember enjoying watermelon after Sunday dinners in the summer. We would also tease my brother and tell him a watermelon would grow in his stomach after he freaked out after eatin a seed .
My favorite memory is when I was young and my sister and I had fun competing at an all you can eat Watermelon Contest. We did not win but I still remember it.
janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com
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My favorite memory was my grandmother always taking watermelon on our summer trips to the amusement park.
My favorite memory about watermelon….
Being pregnant with my first daughter and eating watermelon and feeling her move. Very tender moments. Watermelon is my favorite and now my 3 girls enjoy just as much as I do.
I don’t have one favorite memory, but watermelon always reminds me of summer and camping when I was a child, and those were great memories!
I love Watermelon. It is so delicious. I ate Watermelon a lot when I was growing up, and a memory that I have is eating watermelon with my Mother and her telling me that she was going to have twins! I was 10 years old and excited to have some siblings.
My memory was when I was around 8 yrs old my father bringing home a watermelon and us eating it after we had our grilling cookout many years ago and how good that watermelon tasted
Eating it in the summer time at family picnics.
Thanks for the chance to win this!
my favorite memory is that of my kids eating watermelon on the bank of the river
Memorial weekend friends invited us over and had a watermelon, they were actually worried they bought too much. Wrong. My 2 year old ate nearly the whole thing by himself. First time he had it, he’s addicted.
My Favorite Watermelon Memories Was As A Child Enjoying Watermelon At My Family BBQ’S!
The only memories I can come up with as a child eating watermelon and having a watermelon seed spitting contest!
I remember having it since I was a child but one memory I had with it was doing the cabbage soup diet and eating watermelon the entire day which is said it was gthe best fruit to eat. I was up all night going pee, think I lost 7 lbs. that day….lol
Lol, that eating too much watermelon before bed problem has happened to me too!
As a kid, I always like playing outside. It was nice on a summer day for mom to call me in for a cool watermelon snack.
I remember eating watermelon with my sister and cousins after we went swimming.
My brother and I would sit on our front porch and eat juicy sweet watermelon on hot Texas nights. Great memories!
My grandma used to give us cold watermelon after playing outside all day in the sun.
My mom searching for everything andfd anything watermelon. She has so many watermelon things
my fav memory is going watermelon picking
When we were small we used to sit on the deck eating watermelon and spitting out the seeds in the flower bed below. Once late in the summer my dad called us over to reveal four small green watermelons that had grown from those seeds.
jweezie43[at]gmail[dot]com
as a kid my parents told me if i swallowed the seeds i would grow watermelon in my belly
Eating it in the backyard as a kid with all the neighbors!!!~
My favorite memories are going to the Pageland Watermelon Festival with my parents as I was growing up! What watermelon heaven!
My favorite memory is making watermelon popsicle with my kids
It was always a treat to get one in the summer and eat it with salt.
My Uncle Bill used to bring me watermelons from his garden every year when growing up. Yum!
eating watermelon after school with my sister is my favorite watermelon memory.
We used to have watermelon feeds at our church as fundraisers.
We always had watermelon at my grandparents at every barbecue.
I remember my grandpa growing watermelon. During our summer trip to his and grandmas, he would go pick a juicy big watermelon to put on ice. Then he cut it up and we enjoyed eating it!.
Eating them on the porch on a hot day.
eating it during the summer as a kid.
I don’t really have a favorite memory of watermelon. Perhaps my favorite memory is how my relatives couldn’t believe I hated watermelon and would give it to me with salt or sugar on it to see if I’d like that. It was sweet of them, but it still tastes like yucky watermelon. My mother on the other hand never cared that I didn’t like it. She didn’t think it was all that healthy compared to the other things I’d eat.
making spiked watermelons and bringing them to concerts
Eating it at the river in the summer with my family.
Eating it by the poolside while relaxing!
My only memory of watermelon is eating it.
My favorite watermelon memory is remembering big slices served up on the fourth of July each year when I was young.
Eating it with my Grandfather.
When I was a kid, being told that if I swallowed the watermelon seeds a watermelon would start growing in my stomach.
Sharing ice cold watermelon in the backyard with my sisters when we were little.
Thanks for the giveaway…growing up, we had a crazy dog who would eat watermelon, eat the watermelon seeds we would spit out, and then chew on the rind like a bone.
that is hysterical to picture!
When my grandparents were still with us, I would always drive down with them to Detroit to the Farmer’s Market to get watermelon. They swore it was the best watermelon (it was!) and was well worth the drive to Detroit.
I remember sitting on the porch as a kid and eating watermelon with my dad,mom,grandma,and my two brothers.We would see who could spit the seeds the furthest.It was a treat during the hot summer months here in Florida.
Memory about watermelon, my nieces threw some out by moms shed and the next thing you know, we had a watermelon patch.
My favorite memory is when my girls learned to spit watermelon seeds. LOL Carol was so neat she had to spit them into a cup 🙂 LOL
We use to go to the lake on the weekends with our
Mom and Dad and have fun swimming and boating and
eating tons of good food and we always had ice cold watermelon it was so good
Eating it at my grandparents house
eating watermelon on a hot Summer day.
My favorite memory about watermelon is going to big family reunions every summer growing up.
I don’t really have a watermelon memory – I never liked it
annabella @ centurytel dot net
my favorite watermelon memory was eating watermelon when we went to the beach every summer
Backyard BBQs, swimming and eating cold watermelon! Loved it!
Oh I remember whenever I was growing up and went to my grandparents house, they always had watermelon waiting for us! Such precious memories!
Every year my dad would give my sisters and I some watermelon seeds and let us have a little plot of land to grow them on. I remember how we all took care of them so carefully and were so thrilled the day we could each pick one. No other watermelon has tasted as sweet as those that our dad let us grow ourselves.
My favorite memory of watermelon is picking them out of our garden and hauling them to the house.I remember how heavy they were when I was little.
My favorite memory was having friends over, eating Watermelon and having a seed spitting contest.
I’ve loved eating watermelon, ever since I was a child and it’s still one of my favorite fruits to eat. It’s especially good to snack on when it’s hot outside and the watermelon is nice and cold. Thanks for having this contest.
When I was little, we used to drink this watermelon drink when we’d eat sandwiches.
My favorite watermelon memory was a couple of years back when I had been very sick and hadn’t had any watermelon all Summer. My Mom and Dad asked what they could get for me and when I told them watermelon, they tried to pick the best one possible and worried if it would be good or not! Bless their hearts, it was the sweetest and best watermelon I have had ever had!!
Those are some thoughtful, loving parents you are blessed with!
My favorite memory about watermelon is that first watermelon of the year. You kind of forget what watermelon tastes like in the winter, and than when summer comes, that first bite. Oh my!
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