Melon Snacking for Weight loss?
Delicious, nutritious and low calorie... What more can you
ask of a snack? Well the cantaloupe has more. It fills you
up, is very refreshing and will satisfy your sweet tooth as
well.
Cantaloupe is also a great source of key nutrients. It's
the highest of all melons in beta-carotene. Beta-carotene
acts as an antioxidant in the body and may help reduce the
risk of some cancers. It's also a good source of potassium
and vitamins A and C.
Cantaloupes (although you might not notice the resemblance)
are related to squashes, and rank somewhere between summer
and winter squashes in terms of nutritiousness. They
resemble summer squashes in their high water content and low
calorie count.
The
melon that Americans call cantaloupe (the most popular melon
in the United States) is actually a muskmelon. True
cantaloupe comes from Europe and has a rough, warty surface
quite unlike the netted rind of our familiar fruit.
Cantaloupe is available year round but the peak season is
right now through August. California, Arizona, and Texas
provide the majority of the U.S. commercial cantaloupe crop,
but if you can find a local farmer they'll be even better.
Since
cantaloupes have no starch reserves to convert to sugar,
they will not ripen further once they have left the vine.
They're picked when they are ripe but still firm, to protect
them during shipping.
You
can improve the eating quality of a firm, uncut cantaloupe
by leaving it at room temperature for two to four days; the
fruit will not become sweeter, but it will turn softer and
juicier.
If
your market sells cut cantaloupes, the fruit should be
perfect for immediate consumption, as it will not improve
once it is cut. With cut melons, you can check the color and
texture of the flesh, and usually smell the delectable
fragrance of a ripe melon even through the tight plastic
wrapping.
Preparation of the melon is Simple. Just cut it open and
remove the seeds and strings. It can be served in many
attractive ways: cut into halves, quarters, wedges, or
cubes; or the flesh can be scooped out with a melon baller.
For
melon rings, cut a cantaloupe into thick crosswise slices,
scrape out the seeds, and remove the rind, if desired. This
makes a nice container for other things.
Once
cut, cantaloupe should be refrigerated and used within about
two days. (Mine never last that long). Enclose cut pieces in
plastic bags to protect other produce in the refrigerator
from the ethylene gas that the melons give off. Ripe
cantaloupe is also very fragrant, and the aroma of a cut
melon can penetrate other foods.
Snacking should be a planned event but the satisfying,
nutrient-dense cantaloupe is so low calorie (about 50
calories per quarter melon) if you're going to slip it
should be with cantaloupe. Keep some in your fridge.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Jim
Bolding is the publisher of Diet and Fitness News and the
Webmaster at
http://www.dietandfitnessonline.com
