Cantaloupe Smoothie Salad Recipe

No. of Servings: makes 3 to 4 cups
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: nil

Ingredients
1/2 a ripe cantaloupe, de-seeded, peeled, and then cut into large pieces
1 large diced pineapple
1 cup vanilla fat-free yogurt
1 large apple roughly chopped
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 cup skim milk
1 cup crushed ice
2 tablespoons sugar or 1 tablespoon honey to taste (optional)

Directions to make the smoothie:

• Combine all the ingredients in a blender and process it until smooth. Serve chilled to achieve best results.

Cantaloupe Health Benefits:

• One cup of cantaloupe that has been cubed contains only 56 calories and is highly packed with vitamin C that makes up 111% of the daily recommended value and also vitamin A. It is also a great source of vitamin B6, fiber, folate, niacin and potassium. Vitamin C is a known to be a water-soluble antioxidant which helps protect the body’s cells from free radical damage. This is known to decrease a person’s heart disease, risk of cancer, and even the possibility of a stroke. It also helps to maintain healthy skin and it helps the body fight off infections that are caused by virus and bacteria by stimulating the white blood cells.

• Cantaloupe is known to have a high concentration of beta carotene which is an additional powerful antioxidant, thus helping to make it one of the best sources of vitamin A. In the human body, if required, the beta carotene converts itself into vitamin A. All Vitamin A enriched foods, like the cantaloupe, help in promoting lung health, including benefitting all those who smoke frequently or who are often exposed to secondhand cigarette smoke. Studies have shown to indicate that this can play a large part in why some of the smokers have lived to the ripe age of 90 years old. It helps the body in protecting itself against macular degeneration eye disease and also from cataracts.

• The cantaloupe fruit is an excellent alternative to eating sweets. It is high in nutrients and extremely low in calories.  The cantaloupe fruit is a part of the Cucurbitaceae family, which is the same family as the pumpkin, cucumber and squash. Fruits that are similar-looking to the cantaloupe have appeared in Egyptian paintings that have dated all the way back to the Biblical times approximately 2400 BC. The cantaloupe became a major crop in the United States at the end of the Civil War in 1865.