It is officially summer and time to eat my favorite fruit - watermelon!
Watermelon is a great summertime snack due to its taste and low sodium contents.
Watermelon, like most foods, naturally has sodium. However, an entire average watermelon contains only 45 mg of sodium.
While watermelon on its own is great, I try to incorporate it in different ways since it is so tasty and low in sodium. My favorite "unconventional" way to use watermelon is in salads, and for today's #lowsaltsundays here is my favorite: Low Sodium Summertime Watermelon Avocado Arugula Salad
This low sodium summertime salad serves 4 people and has contains under 400 mg of sodium for the entire recipe. This recipe is easy to make, since it requires no cooking, and it only has 8 ingredients, Avocado, Arugula, Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, Red Onion, Watermelon and Feta cheese.
Of all the ingredients listed, seven of the ingredients are naturally low in sodium. Avocado, Arugula, Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, Red Onion, and Watermelon naturally have under 50 mg of sodium. Besides watermelon, the other ingredients have the following average sodium amount: an avocado has 15 mg of sodium per avocado, 1 cup of arugula has 27 mg of sodium, Olive Oil has no sodium, Balsamic Vinegar 4 mg of sodium per tablespoon, and a full red onion has 1 mg of sodium.
The ingredient that has the most sodium amount here is the feta cheese. Feta typically has high sodium content, averaging around 1,674 mg of sodium per cup of crumbled cheese. However with the right product and moderation you can use it and still have a low sodium dish.
I suggest using Athenos Reduced Fat Feta Cheese, which can be found in most grocery stores.
This Feta cheese product has the lowest amount of sodium for the serving size - 1/4 cup for 340 mg of sodium.
It is worth the splurge in sodium amount for the recipe, since everything else is so low and the recipe is still under 500 mg of sodium. However, if you have had too much sodium that day, you may want to consider reducing the amount in the recipe or leaving this off.
Without further ado, here is the salad you'll be wanting to eat all summer.
Low Sodium Summertime Watermelon Avocado Arugula Salad
Ingredients:
3 cups arugula
1 a ripe avocado, sliced
3 cup seedless watermelon, diced
1/4 red onion, sliced
1/4 cup Feta Cheese Reduced Fat, Crumbled
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
Black pepper to taste
Instructions:
Wash the arugula, pat dry and set aside
In a bowl, combine olive oil and balsamic vinegar and whisk
Place sliced avocado, watermelon, red onion, and feta cheese into a bowl and mix
Plate salad mixture and drizzle balsamic vinegar and olive oil mixture on top when ready to eat.
Like I said above, the entire recipe has under 400 mg of sodium and has under 120 mg of sodium per serving. This is an easy and great low sodium option for any barbecue or eating outside on a hot summer day. You can even switch it up by grilling the watermelon, too for a different take on this recipe.
Hope you enjoy! Let me know if you try this recipe by tagging me online with @travelingwithoutboundaries and #LowSaltSundays.
See you next week for another Low Salt Sunday Recipe!
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