Beat the Heat
Summer heat means it’s both time to stay hydrated and peak melon season.
If you grew up in the South, putting cheese and olives with watermelon likely sounds like a train-wreck. But, several years ago I traveled to Greece and discovered that Greek Watermelon Salad is the equivalent your Grandmother’s Fruit Cup, not a recipe made up in a NYC food magazine test kitchen. And, most importantly, it’s delicious. Given the current Cyclospora and salmonella concerns, it’s time to take a look at non-lettuce salads
Greek Watermelon Salad is a balance combination of sour, salty, bitter, sweet, and savory. It can be made ahead and is packed with hydrating, nutritious ingredients: crunchy melon, crispy cucumber, creamy Feta, and bright, fresh herbs.
Meet Virginia
Welcome to the Good and Good for You™ newsletter, a quick 5-minute read with ideas and info on ways to help improve your life – including a tasty and healthful recipe.
If you are new here, I’m a French-trained Southern chef and James Beard award-winning cookbook author who lost #65 pounds and has kept it off for over five years. It changed my life, I changed my life, and I feel like a got a new lease on life.
This issue shares:
- Best Life Living Tip: Start with a Splash
- Self-Care Strategy: Tracking Hydration
- Ideas and Inspiration: Bradford Family Farms
- Good and Good for You™ Recipe: Greek Watermelon Salad
Thanks for reading! It’s awesome to see that this newsletter is making life better in some way for so many folks. We all need a cheerleader! You are never too old or too young to start working on a better life. You can do it.
Read on for more — including this quick and easy recipe for Greek Watermelon Salad.
Best Life Living Tip
Start with a Splash
If you’re feeling thirsty, that means that you’re already mildly dehydrated. Mild dehydration can symptoms like headache, fatigue, dizziness and more. Severe dehydration can contribute to life-threatening illnesses like heatstroke.
Dehydration is the absence of enough water in your body. The best way to beat it is to drink before you get thirsty.
The practice of Japanese Water Therapy consists of drinking several glasses of warm water before any other food or drink. Medical claims of curing diseases are unfounded, but starting the day with water makes sense.
- Better Hydration: Consuming water first thing ensures you start the day fully hydrated, which supports energy levels and organ function.
- Weight Management: Drinking water before breakfast can reduce overall calorie intake, increase feelings of fullness, and boost metabolic rate.
- Digestion and Regularity: Morning hydration helps “get things moving” by stimulating the gastrointestinal tract and can help prevent constipation
Self-Care Strategy
Tracking Hydration
Tracking hydration is a simple self-care strategy that can help you stay aware of your fluid intake and notice patterns in how hydration affects your energy and well-being.
Ways to track it:
- Set a daily water goal based on your wellness needs.
- Use a reusable water bottle with volume markings.
- Keep a personal pitcher or bottle in the fridge so you know how much you’ve consumed.
- Set reminders throughout the day if you tend to forget.
- Pay attention to your thirst.
One practice I find helpful is that when I feel hungry, my first response is to drink a a glass of water. It hydrates me and helps me feel less hungry — and less likely to overeat.
Ideas and Inspiration
Bradford Family Farms
Hydrating foods like the watermelon in this Greek Watermelon Salad are an easy way to “eat your water.”
Nat Bradford’s great-great-great grandfather bred a now-famous heirloom watermelon over 180 years ago.
According to Nat, “it has a delicate and succulent deep pink flesh that is sweet and refreshing. The aroma once cut fills the room and is intoxicating. The rind is thick, but so tender that it is eaten raw like crisp cucumbers. It was bred to have the perfect rind for pickling. It has been recorded in numerous publications and hailed by chefs and the public as quite possibly the best watermelon in existence.”
What happened? It could not hold up to shipping and fell to the wayside.
Nat “rediscovered it” and is now doing the great work of bringing it back — along with additional heirloom vegetables. Heirloom vegetables help with biodiversity.. They maintain a wider variety of plant genetics, which can make our food system more resilient to pests, diseases, and changing climates. And many, like his family’s watermelon are valued for distinctive colors, textures, and flavors that aren’t always found in commercially bred varieties.
Give them a follow on Instagram at @bradfordfarmsc and check out their website BradfordFarmSC.com
Good and Good for You™ Spotlight
Now that Yeti is in the news for being a part of the criminal destruction of Big Bend National Park, I thought it would be a good time to bring out my “Yessie.”
Good and Good for You™ Living celebrates the power of positive behavior. If you are doing what is Good and Good for You™ most of the time, and you’re headed in the right direction. From organic cotton tote bags to eco-friendly all-natural candles to gratitude journals made in the USA, you can choose from a selection of cheerful, uplifting items that celebrate whole body health and wellness.
Check it out. We’ve got new products coming soon!
Make it Count
Good and Good for You™ Takeaway
Our daily fluid needs come from more than just drinking water. About 20% of the water your body needs each day comes from food, while the rest comes from beverages.
Water is a great choice, but other drinks—including tea, coffee, and milk—also contribute to your daily fluid intake. Soda, sports drinks, and fruit or vegetable juices can count too, but be mindful of added sugar, sodium, and calories.
The goal isn’t perfection. Choose what’s Good and Good for You™ most of the time, and you’re headed in the right direction.
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy this recipe for Greek Watermelon Salad. If you make it snap a photo and tag @virginiawillis on Instagram.
Bon Appétit, Y’all!
Virginia Willis
Greek Watermelon Salad
Ingredients
- 4 cups cubed watermelon
- 2 cups chopped tomato or halved cherry tomatoes
- 1 medium cucumber
- 4 small peppers such as sweet or shishito
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup pitted kalamata olives
- ¼ cup fresh chopped parsley
- ¼ cup freshly chopped mint
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1/3 cup crumbled feta
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
Nutrition
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