Watermelon, Cucumber and Grape Salad

Living in south Florida I can never have too many fresh fruit salad recipes. I usually go to the grocery or to Costco on Fridays, buy a ton of fruit and then make a big batch of fruit salad Friday night. This way, we have a grab-and-go snack ready to eat all weekend (it usually won’t keep past Sunday, so you have to eat it up pretty fast.) The “twins” (Andy & Blake) eat triple servings of my salads on wave runner days; something about the sun and heat makes you crave fruit. I find fruit-based raw food recipes are the most refreshing and rehydrating to serve after a day of sun and fun.

Anyway, I suppose I could just leave all the fruit as-is in its whole, untouched form straight from the grocery. But, for whatever reason a whole apple is never as much fun to eat as one that’s been sliced or diced. And, since fruit is a clean eating staple in our house, I find it most convenient to make my fruit salad recipes in advance.

This particular recipe was my mom’s idea and it combines ultra-cleansing watermelon (did you know watermelon is 92% water?), cucumber and grape. This veggie-fruit trio perfectly compliments the spicy jalapeno pepper and salty flavors from the marinade. And by the way, you’ll want to marinate this fruit salad for at least 5 hours, overnight would be even better. The longer it marinates the more intense the flavors.

I’m practically addicted to this stuff and can be found eating it for lunch, snack and even breakfast. The basic recipe is below, but feel free too add a few things for variety. To give it extra richness you could add in some avocado chunks or drizzle a little bit of avocado oil on top. For me, the perfect Saturday morning breakfast would be a large bowl of this fruit salad recipe along with a slice of sprouted whole grain bread spread with a soft-boiled pastured egg on top. Too bad it’s only Wednesday….

Watermelon, Cucumber and Grape Salad

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

• Prep Time:15 mins
• Total Time:15 mins
• Yield:4-61x

Scale1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice
• 1 tablespoon raw honey
• 1/4 teaspoon unrefined sea salt
• 1 heaping tablespoon chopped fresh jalapeno, seeds removed
• 1 cup finely chopped parsley
• 6 cups watermelon cut into small chunks (some can be scooped with a melon baller)
• 1 or 2 cucumbers, cut lengthwise into four strips, seeds removed, and then cut across into small even chunks
• 1 cup white seedless grapes, cut into halves

Instructions

1. Pour the lime juice in a large mixing bowl and whisk in the honey and unrefined sea salt. Add the jalapeño peppers and parsley to a mini food processor and process until finely chopped. Add the jalapeno-parsley mixture to the lime marinade.
2. Add the watermelon, cucumber and grapes to the bowl with the lime juice; gently toss to coat. Refrigerate and marinate for a minimum of five hours, tossing occasionally so the marinade reaches all ingredients for maximum flavor. Serve chilled.

Notes

This salad tastes best if you take extra care to cut the watermelon and cucumber the same size.