Watermelon Mint Salad with Light Feta

If you want an awesome, sweet, refreshing and totally delicious summer salad, look no further. This watermelon mint salad is a crowd pleaser and loaded with good nutrition too. Watermelon is especially high in lycopene, a nutrient known for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action. Very few foods are rich in this nutrient. Lycopene is good for heart health, bone health and may reduce the risk of some cancers.  Serve this salad as an appetizer or with your main meal (nice with grilled fish or chicken). Enjoy!

Serves 6 to 8

Salad Ingredients:

10 cups (2.4 L) diced, seedless watermelon (cut into 1 inch/2.5 cm cubes)
1/3 cup (80 mL) light feta cheese
¼ cup (60 mL) chopped fresh mint
4 finely chopped green onions (including the green part)

Salad Dressing Ingredients:

1 very finely chopped jalapeño pepper
3 tbsp (30 mL) extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp (15 mL) apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp (15 ml) fresh lime juice
Zest (grated peel) of one lime
¼ tsp (1 mL) freshly ground pepper

Please note: You need a medium to large size watermelon.

Directions:
1.  Dice watermelon and place in a colander so that all excess juice drains away. Leave in the colander until you are ready to combine with the salad dressing (just before serving time).
2.  In a small bowl or measuring cup, mix all of the salad dressing ingredients together. Ideally, let the dressing sit for at least half an hour before combining with the watermelon so that the jalapeño pepper softens and the flavours mingle.
3.  Just before serving time, in a medium to large size bowl, gently toss together the watermelon, feta cheese, fresh mint, green onions and prepared salad dressing. Garnish with fresh mint leaves.

Nutrition Per Serving (about 1 ½ cups/375 mL serving size): 137 calories, 7 g fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 17 g carbohydrates, 14 g sugars, 1.2 g fibre, 3 g protein, 55 mg sodium