Watermelon Mint Detox Salad

Growing up, as long as we ate healthy meals during the day, our parents allowed us to have a small serving of dessert every night. Thank goodness– this kept us sane! Typically dessert was one of our mom’s healthier low-sugar baked goods that she made from scratch, but in the summer, if watermelon was in the house, we we’re all over it !–and even for our dessert! It was sweet and refreshing and we didn’t mess around –we’d plow through an entire watermelon in no time 😉 and found it squashed our sweet cravings! We still love watermelon and now that we know how much it fights puffiness and bloat we’re especially fans and are always whipping recipes up like our Watermelon Frosty, our Watermelon Snow Cone and this Skinny Tomato Watermelon Juice.

As registered dietitians, we can relate to our clients as we’re not immune to having weekends away from our veggie –filled kitchens where we’re dying to get back to our typically healthy eating plan. Watermelon is an especially great food to have when you want to get back on track after overindulging—one reason is that it kicks sweet cravings to the curb. And in this “Detox” salad, watermelon is part of the entire anti-bloat, de-puffing, immune boosting, toxin-defeating combo!

Here’s how this salad works its’ magic:

The watermelon is rich in water (92% water), hydrating you and helping you to “rinse” out bloating sodium from your body, “de-puffing” you and making you feel lighter. The potassium from the mint and lime will also fight bloat as it helps to restore normal hydration status.

The lime helps to promote the activity of a liver enzyme that converts harmful, toxic substances to less harsh chemicals (via the liver through a compound called d-limonene.) Citrus fruits are also packed with vitamin C, which keeps the skin radiant and youthful by helping to boost levels of collagen, which helps to keep the skin elastic. And they add a refreshing perk to this salad!

The Mint: Mint is a calming and soothing herb that helps calm an upset stomach and indigestion (buh-bye bloat!). Mint is thought to improve the flow of bile through the stomach, speeding and easing digestion. This helps food to pass through without sitting in the stomach, causing tension and bloat.

Other health promoting bonuses:

Crunchy watermelon is packed with lycopene, a carotenoid phytonutrient that’s especially important for our cardiovascular health and bone health.

Limes (and other citrus fruits)

contain compounds called flavonoids—which have anticancer properties, .

can offset free radicals and may protect against disease. Studies show that citrus flavonoids may improve blood flow through coronary arteries, reduce the ability of arteries to form blood clots and prevent the oxidation of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol (isn’t that amazing!).

Watermelon Mint Detox Salad

We suggest having this scrumptious “detox” salad any time you want to squash a sweet craving without getting sugar bloat, or as a side or starter to a meal when you want to start it off on an healthy foot or reap the “detox” and bloat-“flushing” benefits.

Makes 9 servings

Ingredients: