Financial Education Benefits Center Gets Creative With Watermelon

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Aug 08, 2018, 08:00 ET

SAN RAMON, Calif, Aug 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- What started in Africa as a natural canteen and now makes an incredible salad or creative alcoholic beverage? Of course, that would be watermelon. As healthy as it is versatile, watermelon is both delicious and visually appealing. Financial Education Benefits Center (FEBC) promotes healthy living for its clients by offering health and wellness benefits and encourages its member to eat healthy foods, such as watermelon.

"Though watermelon is a super-food that is now available year round," said Jennifer Martinez, manager at FEBC, "it might taste the best when the sun is out, making summer the best time for fresh, local watermelon."

Since watermelon is 92 percent water and lasts for weeks before beginning to break down, African travelers used watermelon for thousands of years to transport water across distances where water was scarce. It made its way north to Egypt to Jerusalem and eventually to the Mediterranean. As watermelons were carried out of the desert and grown in milder climates, they became known as more of a dessert and were grown sweeter and sweeter, which made them redder and redder.

With a hard green, psychedelic rind and rich pink and red spongy middle, nothing says summertime party quite like a watermelon. There are as many salad possibilities as there are people to dream them up. Recipes mix watermelon in creative combinations with ingredients such as feta cheese, cucumber, basil or mango and with everything from balsamic vinegar to a lemony Asian dressing with ginger and jalapeno. For those wanting to impress, a Watermelon "Grill" with Fruit Kebabs is a hollowed out watermelon made to look like a barbeque with blackberries as coals and fruit kebabs stretched across the "grill." There are also dozens of adult drink options blending watermelon with tequila, rum, or Grand Marnier with agave, simple syrup and lime juice.

One challenge for watermelon users is trying to decide which watermelon is ripe and ready to be eaten. A yellow splotch signifies that a watermelon has rested for a long time in the field, whereas a white splotch means that it did not get enough growing time and sun. Brown webbing on the rind means bees put in overtime, which makes the fruit sweeter. Also, shape is important. A longer, narrower watermelon is male, while a round watermelon is female. Female is the sweeter of the two. Size is also important; average is best since the larger and smaller versions of the same watermelon are less sweet. Finally, if there is a tail, make sure that it is brown and dried because a green tail means that it is not ripe.

"From July 1 to Labor Day is the absolute best time for watermelon," said Martinez. "However, all year round you can use our benefits for healthy living including discounts on groceries and other items to support a physically active life, such as local fitness programs and workout supplies."

About Financial Education Benefits Center

Financial Education Benefits Center is located in San Ramon, California. The membership company has already helped thousands save money and obtain the necessary education required to live a financially healthy life.

Financial Education Benefits Center has partnered with several name brand third-party companies to expand the financial and educational products and services available to its members and to provide a variety of wellness services as well.

Financial Education Benefits Center Newsroom

Contact

To learn more about Financial Education Benefits Center, please contact:

Financial Education Benefits Center
2010 Crow Canyon Place Ste. 100
San Ramon, CA 94583
1-800-953-1388
[email protected]

Related Images

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Woman Eating Watermelon on a Beach
Credit: vitaliymateha/Bigstock

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Related Links

FEBC home page

SOURCE Financial Education Benefits Center