Eat This Superfood to Beat the Heat During the Dog Days of Summer

July 27, 2015

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Let’s talk about summer weather. Canadians work hard for their very few and very short dog days of the season. My hope is that you make the most of them with delicious hydrating, high-nutrient foods. Just for fun, take a look at what the Meteorological Service of Canada predicts the hottest day will be in your area. Then we can stock up on the high nutrient foods to keep you going.
Predicted Hottest Day of the year, by Canadian city
Provided by: Environment Canada’s Meteorological Service of Canada

Barrie Jul-24
Brandon Jul-29
Calgary Jul-31
Charlottetown Jul-28
Edmonton Jul-30
Fredericton Jul-26
Halifax Aug-01
Iqaluit Jul-26
Kamloops Jul-30
Kelowna Aug-01
London Jul-23
Montreal Jul-22
Ottawa Jul-22
Quebec City Jul-24
Regina Aug-02
Saskatoon Aug-01
St. John’s Jul-29
Sudbury Jul-23
Thunder Bay Jul-26
Timmins Jul-21
Toronto Jul-23
Vancouver Aug-02
Victoria Jul-31
Whitehorse Jul-20
Winnipeg Jul-28
Yellowknife Jul-17

Summer’s quintessential quencher, watermelon, can not only hydrate but also balance your electrolytes with its mineral content. According to Medical News Today, one cup of watermelon contains 17% of Vitamin A, 21% of Vitamin C, 2% of iron and 1% of your calcium needs for the day. Watermelon also contains thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B-6, folate, pantothenic acid, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium, choline, lycopene and betaine. Safe to say it’s summer’s superfood.

Delicious on it’s own, you can also incorporate waterrmelon into your summer snacks and meals. Here’s a few ideas:

Make watermelon water by blending one cup of cubed watermelon and adding to one litre of water.
Freeze cubes to suck on (great dog treats too!)
Use watermelon to make gazpacho in place of tomatoes. Check out a few recipes at watermelon.org
Make watermelon salsa (recipe below). It pairs well with corn chips (and a Riesling, just saying) but watermelon salsa is also a refreshing addition to grilled fish, chicken or pork.
Slip a slice of watermelon into a grilled cheese. Trust me, it’s delicious!

Any fruit or vegetable will help hydrate you to beat the heat, but there is something special about watermelon juice running down your forearms that brings you right back to summer camp days.

Watermelon Salsa

This is a high-nutrient, low-sodium salsa to serve in place of tomato salsas with bread or corn chips. It is also great as a topping for grilled chicken, fish or pork. And when you are done with that application, blend it and serve it as gazpacho.

Makes 4’6 servings
Takes: 10’12 minutes

You’ll Need: