Watermelon 'Cake' with Summer Fruit & Raspberry Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1/2 seedless watermelon (crosswise section) rind removed
• 1 small cantaloupe, halved, peeled, and seeded
• 3 kiwifruits, peeled and sliced
• 1 pint fresh blueberries
• 1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
• 1 (12 oz.) bag frozen unsweetened raspberries
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 3 tbsp. granular sugar

Makes 16 Servings 

1. Cut watermelon into 1 1/2-inch-thick rounds. Stack rounds on a serving plate so they resemble a cake. 
2. With a melon baller, scoop out balls from cantaloupe. Decorate top of watermelon and plate with cantaloupe, kiwifruits, blueberries, and strawberries. 
3. Combine raspberries, orange juice and sugar in a blender; pulse until smooth. Pour mixture through fine sieve set over a small bowl. With spoon, press on solids to extract all juice; discard seeds. 
4. To serve, cut watermelon 'cake' into 16 wedges and serve with raspberry sauce. 

WW POINTS VALUE 1 pt.

Note: This recipe appears in the WW Family Meals Cookbook. You can have your cake and eat it too and it can be good for you. This colorful cake is cold, refreshing, tasty and filling. You get your daily servings of fruit in this cake and it will leave you satisfied. If you don't have cantaloupe on hand, substitute pineapple and the cake will be just as delicious. If you don't want to use granular sugar in the sauce, substitute honey and the sauce will be just as sweet. 

Melon Slush

Ingredients:

• 5 ice cubes
• 4 cups cubed cantaloupe
• 1 1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tsp. granular sugar substitute

Makes 4 (1-cup) Servings

 

Place ice cubes in a blender and blend until just crushed. Add cantaloupe, lemon juice, and sugar substitute. Blend until combined, about 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

 

WW POINTS VALUE: 1 pt.

 

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Quick & Easy Cookbook. This is what I call a refreshing drink or snack to enjoy anytime of day. This drink is better than the juice you would get at the grocery store or even a slushie you would get at the local food mart. You know what's in it and you can add a little more lemon or lime juice to the melon slush for a more tropical flare.

Grilled Fish Tacos with Spicy Melon Salsa

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 3 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 lb. skinless sea bass fillets
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups finely chopped cantaloupe
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
• 2 (10-inch) whole wheat tortillas
• 1 lime, cut into wedges

Makes 4 (2-piece) Servings

1. In a 9- by 13-inch baking dish, whisk together 1 tablespoon of the lime juice and 1 teaspoon of the oil. Add fish and turn to coat. Sprinkle with salt and season lightly with black pepper.
2. Lightly coat a grill or grill pan with cooking spray and heat to medium-high. Grill fish until opaque and tender, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer fish to a cutting board and cut into 1-inch chunks.
3. In a small bowl, combine cantaloupe, cilantro, scallions, jalapeno, remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice, and remaining 2 teaspoons oil.
4. Grill tortillas until warm, about 30 seconds per side. Cut each into 4 quarters. Divide fish among tortillas, top with melon salsa, and serve warm with lime wedges.

WW POINTS VALUE: 6 pts.

 

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Taste of Summer Cookbook. Fish tacos are absolutely delicious when they are done right. These fish tacos will fill you up with the fish and salsa. Who would have thought a fruit salsa would taste so good on grilled fish? You can also use any kind of salsa on these fish tacos and they will be deliciously filling. You can use halibut, sea scallops, cod or even red snapper in this recipe and the fish tacos will be delicious. I highly recommend adding minced garlic in the lime juice and olive oil for a more aromatic flavor.

Blueberry-Melon Smoothies

Ingredients:

• 1 (3-pound) cantaloupe, seeded and cubed (3 cups)
• 3 cups frozen blueberries
• 3 cups nonfat or low-fat sugar-free vanilla yogurt
• Ice cubes

Makes 8 (1-cup) Servings

 

Puree 1 1/2 cups of the canteloupe and 1 1/2 cups of the blueberries in a blender until just combined, about 1 minute. Add 1 1/2 cups of the yogurt and several ice cubes and blend until ice cubes are processed, 1-2 minutes. Pour smoothie into 4 glasses. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

 

WW POINTS VALUE: 1 pt per drink

 

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Parties & Holidays Cookbook. this is a wonderful drink that is cold, refreshing and delicious and compliments any meal or just  to have as a light snack or dessert. The flavors of blueberry and canteloups go very well together in this drink. If you don't have vanilla flavored yogurt, you can use plain yogurt instead and add a touch of vanilla if you'd like.

Floating Caribbean Islands

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 2 cups cantaloupe cubes + 1/2 cup tiny cantaloupe balls (about 2 1/2-lb. melon)
• 2 small bananas, sliced
• 1 cup nonfat or low-fat plain yogurt
• 3 large egg whites
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup granular sugar substitute
• 1/2 cup red raspberries
• 1/2 cup golden raspberries

Makes 4 Servings

1. Heat the oven to 275 F. Spread coconut on a baking sheet and toast until golden, 4-5 minutes. Tranfer to a plate to cool.
2. Line another baking sheet with parchment paper or nonstick foil and increase the oven temperature to 450 F.
3. In a blender, puree cubbed cantaloupe, bananas and yogurt until smooth; set aside.
4. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on high speed, beat egg whites and salt until  soft peaks form, 2-3 minutes. add sugar substitute and continue beating until stiff peaks form; fold in coconut. Spoon egg white mixture into 4 mounds on baking sheet. Bake until lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Meringues should be slightly crisp and lightly browned on the outside.
5. Divide reserved fruit puree among 4 shallow bowls. Using a spatula, transfer meringue to the center of each bowl. Arrange a few cantaloupe balls and some raspberries decoratively around each meringue and serve.

WW POINTS VALUE: 4 pts

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Taste of Summer Cookbook. If you ever saw the movie 'Julie & Julia,' you may have seen Julie and Julia making and writing/blogging the recipes for floating islands. A Floating island is a French dessert that is made up of meringue "island" floating on a sea of sweet sauce. When baking meringues, make sure to use nonstick foil, parchment paper or even a silipat baking mat to ensure that the meringues will not stick. I LOVED this dessert! I loved how the fruity combinations of cantaloupe, banana and berries blended so well with the coconut meringues. One bute of this guilty pleasure and you'll feel like you're on an island in he Caribbean enjoying the sound and views of the beach. If you don't have golden raspberries, you can use any other berry and it will taste delicious. I highly recemmend serving this guilty pleasure for dessert for family and friends because it's a cool and refreshing way to end dinner.