These are all very random and over half have to do with watermelon, but I find watermelon to be a very summery fruit. I also foresee it becoming a trend. The possibilities for watermelon are endless at this point. If it's not your thing, I've got several other ideas listed below, highly inspired by items I have seen, said "Ooh, that looks good," and tried over Spring Break. So break out your flip flops, soak up some sun, and try some new foods.
1. Watermelon Raisins
I did not know this was a thing till I went to our Alabama Dietetic Association meeting a few weeks ago. Our expo is combined with a school foodservice expo, so there were several options designed for school lunches, but excellent snacking options for humans of all ages. One such example - raisins infused with fruit juice. There's peach raisins, lemon raisins, and most importantly - watermelon raisins. Sounds weird? It's kind of like nature's Sour Patch Kids, and actually pretty tasty.
2. Watermelon Craisins
Raisins aren't your thing? Well, craisins are here for you as well. Slightly different texture and taste, but the magic of watermelon dried fruit has shifted from the humble grape to the spunky cranberry. Perfect for those who prefer their dried fruit in cranberry form and with the flavor of watermelon.
3. Wtrmln Wtr
For those of you who like juice, watermelon water/juice is a thing. Apparently endorsed by Beyoncé, one bottle of this stuff has 24% of your daily value for potassium, and 90% of your daily vitamin C. Plus it's pretty tasty. So for those of you who love the "water" in watermelon, your day has come. They also come blended with the flavors of cherry, ginger, lime, or lemonade.
4. Watermelon Applesauce
I haven't had a chance to actually try this one yet, but it is definitely on my list. It comes from this really fun company that also makes whole grain birthday cake flavored graham crackers along with a bazillion other fun flavored applesauces, graham crackers, and even hummus, all wrapped up in super cute packaging. Definitely designed for kids, but definitely found cute by my 21-year-old self.
5. Watermelon Italian Mineral Water
I saw this beaut while perusing Whole Foods the other day, and you can get a liter of watermelon flavored sparkling Italian mineral water in a beautifully designed glass bottle. Zero calories, and not too long ago it was actually on sale, so…
6. Cactus Water w/ Green Tea & Starfruit
Finally getting somewhere beyond just watermelon. This is from the company Steaz, who has famously provided the world with various teas and various degrees of sweetness with sugar and/or stevia. This offering is slightly different, and a treasure I have actually not tried before - cactus water. What's even niftier - it is combined with green tea and the sweet flavor of starfruit. The taste was similar to that of those other green tea beverages, crossed with a juice-type flavor. It was a little sweet for my taste, but I frequently water down my drinks, so it's probably on par for most people's tastes.
7. Sweet Potato Tortilla Chips
These aren't made entirely of sweet potatoes like traditional sweet potato chips, but rather, are tortilla chips made with sweet potatoes, and they are incredible. Pro tip: serve with spinach dip. The package says the serving size is 2 Tbsp. I must confess, I define the serving size differently.
8. Honey Mango
Mango is a very tasty fruit that can be enjoyed sliced, diced, carved all fancy, as a topping, or in foods of all types. I often will slice off part of a mango and will end up getting several breakfasts from one mango, placing my unused mango in a bag within the refrigerator. Still tasty, but sometimes the texture starts to go downhill. The honey mango, however, is smaller, a little yellower, and perhaps a little sweeter. It fits inside the palm of your hand, and is super cute.
9. Soba Noodles (with broccoli, carrots, & sugar snap peas)
This beauty I found when I came home. My father, an aspiring Chinese food chef, had some soba buckwheat noodles within his collection of foods from our local Asian market, and I find these noodles are superior to most other noodles. They have a kind of gray or brown color, but they add an extra dimension to your noodle dishes. For my recipe, I created a variation of this Thai Curry Soba Noodle Bowl from one of my favorite RDs I follow on Instagram - @hummusapien. It was quite tasty, and I put several portions in resealable containers to freeze for ready-to-eat meals.
10. Zucchini
Last but not least, a vegetable that makes me think of the taste of summer. My dad has grown some zucchini in our garden in the past, and it's like squash's interesting green cousin. You can eat it raw in salads or tacos, or sautéed, grilled, baked, as zoodles, or however your little heart desires. (Hey, it looks kind of like watermelon too…)
