Watermelon, Feta, & Rosemary Salad

~Jackie~

Is it really already the middle of August? This summer has gone by way too fast! I can’t get enough of the fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs that summer provides us with. There is something so tasty and satisfying about biting into something fresh from the garden. Although I don’t have a backyard or large outdoor area at my new house, we had just enough room in our front yard for two small planting beds for some flowers and herbs this spring. My husband planted all my favorite and most-used herbs on one side, and his bonsai trees and colorful flowers on the other. It’s not much, but being able to go outside and pick fresh herbs for a meal makes all the difference! I actually can’t take much credit for this recipe because my husband planted the herb featured in it, rosemary, and he actually came up with the ingredient combination one night when we were making a side dish for a bbq. Now we make it weekly just for ourselves! 

This might be the most simple, easy to make, and fewest ingredient recipe we will ever post, but it is SO GOOD. I could eat it all day. If you can’t already tell from the pictures, we mix together watermelon, feta cheese, fresh chopped rosemary, and sea salt. That’s it. Now you might be thinking… rosemary, that’s odd, isn’t mint supposed to go with watermelon? #mindblow I am here to let you know that rosemary pairs even better than mint. My husband does some wacky pairings when he cooks, but he definitely nailed this one. In no time we are going to be seeing this pairing in sophisticated cocktails at happy hour. And apparently everyone eats sea salt on their watermelon, but that was a new one for me. Salty and sweet, makes perfect sense now. 

In the hot summer months it can be a struggle to constantly refuel our bodies and stay hydrated; and I know several people that don’t even like the taste of water which makes it even harder. I actually love water and drink it all day long, but I also sweat a lot when I work out so I’m constantly having a hard time drinking enough. This can cause our bodies to feel extremely tired and not function at their best. A lot of people don’t realize that we don’t just have to drink to hydrate ourselves, we can eat it too. Out of all the fruits we eat, watermelon has the highest water content at about 92%. This isn’t quite as high as celery, but honestly, who wants to eat celery over watermelon. As long as it is fully ripe, watermelon is also soaking with nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin C, and full of lycopene, antioxidants, and amino acids. Score, we can eat watermelon instead of eating celery with ketchup. Even if you are fully hydrated, I still recommend you sharing this refreshing salad with your friends at your next bbq or dinner. It also pairs nicely with a glass of white wine – that’s hydrating, right? Cheers!