Here is a simple recipe for a healthy summer breakfast. A quick and balanced breakfast for one.
My excellently smart and organized VA Kate Tilton likes simple recipes. She’d prefer three ingredients, but Kate, this one’s for you and I hope you like it. Four ingredients, ten minutes (with plenty of cut-up cantaloupe to spare), a lovely balance of protein, healthful fat and fruit fiber, and the acid from the lime enhances the absorption of the antioxidants (like vitamin C) to boot.
When choosing a ripe cantaloupe (aka musk) melon at the grocery, find one that smells fresh and oh so slightly gives to the firm touch – you can smell and touch at the stem-end. If the stem area is mushy it may be over-ripe. The outside should be a rosy dusky tan, and a bit of green may mean best if you let it ripen on the counter a couple days before using (which is how I use musk and honeydew melons – let them rest for a bit). If the skin has indentations in it, you are fine until you see dark moldy spots which eventually reach into the meat, then you’ve let it hang around too long or chosen an older specimen than you intended. Fresh cantaloupe will keep in the fridge for 3 or 4 days once you slice it. Cantaloupe is a great source of vitamins A and C. More on recent studies and details of cantaloupe nutrition.
Cantaloupe Walnut and Cilantro with Lime Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup ripe cantaloupe, sliced and cut into pieces
- 1/2 cup raw walnuts
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
- Juice of 1/2 lime
Directions
Place the cut cantaloupe in a serving bowl, add the nuts and cilantro and give a toss with your clean hands or a spoon. Squeeze fresh lime juice over, toss and eat.
The flower topping this breakfast is actually a cilantro flower from my garden. Just the gifts of the garden available at the moment!
Enjoy the day, enjoy the season.
Thanks for thinking of me Annie! I’m super touched <3.
So I had a question, does the combination of these ingredients make it healthier? Or would you get the same benefit by eating walnuts and melon separately? And if combining them does help could you explain why? I'm curious to learn more! 🙂
Kate! Eating each of the good things in this breakfast is great.
But, there is a certain nutrient synergy when you for example have a little acid (lime juice in this case) with vitamin C in the melon. Acid enhances absorption of C. Throw in a little cilantro, which contains nutrients that support biotransformation of toxins in the liver, and all the better, as C helps with the same pathway. This simple recipe also has a nice balance of plant protein, fiber, and healthy anti-inflammatory fat. So, it’s a clean burner that will keep you from getting hungry quickly.
Thanks for the extra information Annie! I bought a melon because of this post, now to get my hands on the other three ingredients and give it a try. 🙂