Building an Altar

I have worshipped at many altars over the last 20 years, at least…..food, bulimia, disordered eating, excessive exercise, starvation, strict paleo, strict vegan, atkins, juicing, organic, fat-free….I’ve done it all. Funny thing is, none of these altars “saved” me from my struggle with myself. I thought if I ate the right foods, that I would be skinny, happy, have more money, be more popular, get a better job, etc. Not surprisingly, none of these things happened. Sure, I got “skinny” and maybe felt a little happier, if only temporarily, with my accomplishment, but it wasn’t real happiness. The thing that I really wanted, acceptance, can’t be solved with the latest diet, with being thinner, or eating the correct combination of foods. Depression, at least at this level, cannot be alleviated with the right vitamins or foods…it can’t. I hear it all too often. Take this or that to help with this or that. I’ve done it all. It’s not the answer, at least in my experience with myself and patients. And, ultimately, it just further depresses those with depression or those that are looking for the answers in these altars of chaos. Because, when the right combination of foods and vitamins don’t work to make us happy, we feel even more unfixable. Broken. Worthless.

The third lesson in “A Course in Weight Loss” asks us to build a new altar. Suggestions were made to build an altar in your home. A place for meditation. A place that reminds you of love, of beauty, of peace, of surrender. We are asked to build a physical space, but I am tired of physical alters, and I can’t easily take this new altar with books, candles, flowers, music with me everywhere I go. So, after much thought, I decided on something that was more than physical and more mobile….myself. Yes, I am part physical, but I am also a being with feelings and emotions that is beyond the physical. My altar is within me…whether you call it love, self, God, or the hundred other names. It is with me even if I don’t call upon it, it is there. Even in chaos, sadness, joy, disappointment, or peace, it is still there, I am still there.

So, now that my altar is built, I need to use it. I have decided to take a moment, as little as 30 seconds, before eating to focus on centering, peace, and calm. To focus on acceptance of who I am and how I am feeling for the moment, recognize frustration or disappointment, and let it go. To ensure that I am choosing foods because that is what sounds appetizing, and not because I am feeding an emotion. To realize that I am not what I eat, it does not define me, whether its an avocado or a cupcake, it does not make me good or bad. I am more than the food I eat. I come to my altar so that I may eat with mindfulness, savoring each bite and flavor, stopping when I am satisfied, and knowing that I can eat again when I am hungry. My altar goes with me. It is beautiful. It is light. It is love. It is me.

The Many Faces of Eve

It’s taken me over 2 weeks to write about the 2nd lesson, Thin you meet non-Thin you, in “A Course in Weight Loss”. We are asked to write a letter to our non-thin self. It was really difficult for me to do this. I don’t necessarily think I have a “thin-self” and a “not-thin self.” For me, thin or not-thin describe something physical. What I was doing with food had nothing to do with my physical appearance; it was my perception of my physical appearance that led to a poor relationship with food.

Here is an excerpt from the book:

“There are parts of you the way there are parts of the color blue. There is pastel blue, which is blue mixed with white. There is dark blue, which is blue mixed with black. There is purplish blue, which is blue mixed with red. All of them are blue, yet they are different hues of one color. The one thing they have in common is blue itself.”

There are many different parts of me just like there are many shades of blue. There is the confident me, the joyous me, the depressed me, the binging me, the purging me, the dieting me, the over-indulgent me, the me the eats wisely, and the me that eats dysfunctionally. But, they all make up me….the many faces of Eve. “The Three Faces of Eve” is a film adaption involving a case study of a woman with multiple personality disorder. While I do not have multiple personality disorder, I want to address this letter to the me that eats dysfunctionally.

 

Dear Eve that eats dysfunctionally,

You have been with me for a very long time and you used to be such a bigger part of my life. You basically took over many years of my life with all your exercising, obsessing about food, weighing yourself multiple times daily, more exercise, more starving, more binging, more purging. I have to hand it to you, though; you sure know how to put up a fight. I thought it would be easy to shut you out, but I was wrong. I thought I could just will you to stop with this destructive behavior. I wished for you to just eat normally. And, you would appease me for a day or two until your controlling behavior emerged again. But, as I look back at even those remote “normal eating days”, it was still you that was in control. It was just another way for you to control things surrounding eating. You were just so powerful.

After all those years of struggle, it was time to surrender. Even you grew tired of your behavior, you were worn out, exhausted, defeated. I realize that it was the willingness to accept you, to accept me, to accept us that allowed healing to flourish.

I want to take a moment to apologize to you. You were not equipped to handle all the emotions that I dumped on you. These controlling behaviors involving food and weight were the only way you knew how to cope. I told you many things that might drive you to this. I told you if only I was skinner, people would like me more. I would be happy if I could lose 10 pounds. People would accept me if I wasn’t fat. I told you that my boyfriend broke up with me because I gained weight. I can be perfect if I could just fit into a size zero. I told you all these things and then some. You were only doing what you thought would help. It didn’t. Looking back, I know those things aren’t true, but perceptions can easily become reality.

I hated you for so long, but I have learned a lot from you. I want you to know that you do not need to resort to such behaviors ever again. You are loved, accepted, and deserving of others’ love. I know you will always be with me. You are a reminder of sad times in my life. You remind me that it doesn’t matter what I weigh, it isn’t worth all that. You remind me that I am not defined by my weight or my jean size. You remind me that people like me no matter my size. You remind me that there is more to life than dieting, over-exercising, weight, binging, purging, etc. There is family, friends, kitties, smiles, hugs, running because I love to not because I want to lose weight, derby, massages, kisses, and much more. We’ll get through this, let’s keep on keep’n on.

Love,

the Eve that eats wisely

Tear Down This Wall

“Tear Down this Wall” has become a famous quote by former president Ronald Reagan when urging the then Soviet Union to take down the Berlin Wall to symbolize increasing freedom. And, so with lesson #1 of “The Course in Weight Loss,” we are asked to tear down our own symbolic walls of suffering and false perceptions that are preventing us from experiencing life and relationships to their fullest.

While running the Berlin Marathon this past year, I remember pausing as I ran under the Brandenburg Gate to imagine just how an East German might have felt when they were first allowed to cross under these very gates to the West. I am sure I cannot truly comprehend, but I suppose they felt as if a weight had been lifted. As if a brand new world, literally and figuratively, had opened up for them. I got chills the moment that I crossed under those gates.

While there was much heartache and suffering that lead up to the tearing down of the Berlin Wall, breaking a physical wall made of bricks is actually much easier than tearing down the emotional wall that we have created for ourselves. Each brick in our own wall represents some facet of our suffering that we have yet to release. For some, this wall manifests itself as a wall of fat shielding the sufferer from the world and people around them. We console and feed our suffering with food and excess….we cannot deal with our anger or fear and instead we try to eat our anger and fear. While I may not be overweght, I still have a wall that needs some tearing down to be totally free from the power that I give food and weight.

“A Course in Weight Loss” presents us with words that represent the bricks of our wall. We are asked to reflect on each “brick” and contemplate whether it pertains to us. The words representing these bricks are as follows.

• shame
• injustice
• anger
• protection
• fear
• pride
• unforgiveness
• selfishness
• judgment
• jealousy
• disdain
• greed
• excess responsibility
• laziness
• pressure
• dishonesty
• exhaustion
• arrogance
• burden
• inferiority
• stress
• embarrassment
• heartbreak
• self-abnegation

Yep, that’s it. LOL! It’s enough to last me a lifetime. I am positive I will come back to this again and again. All of these bricks evoked some thoughts for me, but the heaviest bricks at this time in my life are those of selfishness, judgement, pressure, and arrogance.

Selfishness. I grew up as basically an only child, I believe I became selfish because I didn’t have to share with anyone. As an adult, I still carry the need to have things my way, on my terms, when I want, etc. And, in doing so, I sometimes disregard the wants and needs of others. I have been working on this with my husband so that even if I don’t want to do something he does, I still go and do it because he enjoys it. It made me wonder the reason that I cannot have peace in seeing another joyful? Or the reason that it is so hard for me to do what others want to do? I think some is that I feel I’m wasting my time, but in my experience, even doing exactly what I want does not make me happy. I commit to opening myself up to those around me and experiencing what they enjoy or at least watching them enjoy it.

Judgement. That’s an ugly one. I believe that being so critical of myself has manifested itself in being critical of others. After contemplating this oh so heavy brick, I believe by reserving judgement of others I may begin to experience a loving and nonjudgemental attitude of myself. I am certainly still working on this one.

Pressure. I, no doubt, create this brick for myself. It’s my need to please and to not dissapoint that creates my pressure. I feel that I shouldn’t make mistakes in my job, at derby, at home, with my friends and with my weight. I put pressure on myself to try to be everything, but I end up failing and just fulfilling my own prophecy that I am never enough and am dissappointing. I need to allow gentleness to come into my heart. I am only 1 person. I can only do what I can do. I have realized over the last few years that I have a very hard time asking for help. It makes me feel that I failed, I should be able to do it on my own, it makes me weak…all of this is not literally true, its my perception. This year, I am going to reach out to a willing hand, a listening ear, an open heart.

Arrogance. For me, arrogance is just a branch of judgement. I really do not have much confidence in myself. So, I think my actions of arrogance are a facade of confidence….to let others think I am confident when I am really not. The arrogance comes off in downgrading others to make myself look better. This is not healthy for that person or myself. This year, I am going to be conscious of others’ successes and allow them to relish in their success without making them unworthy in my mind.

This wall wasn’t built in a day and it certainly is not going to be destroyed in a day. But, day by day, I will work on these bricks that give me a heavy heart and emotional shield. I will definitely still need to revisit lesson #1 time and again and again. I appreciate those that are still here with me as you read this long post. I am hoping that it provokes some thought for your own growth and provides you with the means to break down your own wall, brick by brick.

A Course in Weight Loss

As I watched the Biggest Losers weigh in tonight, it was obvious to me that they need so much more than a reality tv show and a famous trainer.  These people are broken, they are depressed, they are consoling themselves with food.   I had been there once, but I was able to break free.  It’s their inner turmoil that is creating this outer shell of fat.   

So, as New Year’s diet resolutions fly around the office and the internet, I have a resolution for my blog and my practice this year, not only for my patients and those that might read this, but for myself.  I will no longer echo the same message that is continually enforced….eat more fruits and vegetables, less processed foods, etc.  People know this!  After all these years, I,  for one, should know that knowledge is not the answer. 

“Intellegence will be used in the service of the neurosis.”   Sigmund Freud

I read this phrase the other day, and it really spoke to me.  That is exactly what I did.  Food and controlling food and weight was my neurosis, I sought out knowledge of nutrition and exercise, and even managed to get a degree in it.  But, did all that knowledge solve all my misery and my poor relationship with food?  No.  It really only made it worse.  Now I had the knowledge, and with that knowledge came the guilt that I was doing it wrong and the feeling of failure because even with that knowledge I couldn’t be as skinny as I wanted to be.  And, so began my downward sprial into an eating disorder, although it began long ago.

Recently, I saw my “Course in Miracles” book sitting on a shelf, and thought, hmmm, maybe I should dust that off.  I haven’t.   Now, I’ve had this book for about 10 years and have maybe gotten through 7 lessons…its pretty heavy, both physically and spiritually.   Then, my husband and I were at Borders, and I saw “The Course in Weight Loss” by Marianne Williamson.  Coincidence or divine intervention?  Whatever the reason that brought that book and I together, I bought it. 

So, my blog for this year is working through these 21 spiritual lessons that constitute the Course in Weight Loss. It is my journey to ultimately be free of the painstaking messages that I am never enough or I should look like Angelina Jolie.  I want to no longer allow certain foods to hold the power to give me comfort or to make me feel guilty.

I am ready to begin my year of self-reflection no matter how uncomfortable it might be.  My goal would be to do a lesson a week, but I must also consider that some lessons may take a little more time.  I invite anyone to do these lessons with me and we can discuss the shit that comes up right here on my blog.  I want everyone to be free from the clutches of food and diet obsession….which comes in many forms.  For some, its the weight watchers and fad diets, for others, its feeling that they should be eating organic, or no meat, or whatever!  I’m jumping, are you with me?

Fatastic Foot-long Burger

When will the burger wars stop?  America’s waistlines can’t take it anymore.  The newest addition to the king-size burger comes from Hardee’s.  They have released their 12-inch burger on a couple of  test markets in the U.S., one of which happens to be right here in Indiana.

The 12-inch cheeseburger packs a punch at 850 calories and 20 grams of saturated fat, which is a suggested limit of saturated fat for someone trying to reduce their cholesterol levels. 

I was shocked to hear that it was only 850 calories, it looks much more extreme.  However, the BK Triple Whopper trumps the 12-inch burger with 1200 calories.  Even sandwiches at Panera Bread contain 700-900 calories, but the newest burgers seem to get the most attention when it comes to extreme sandwiches.  Although, Panera Bread tries to maintain a “healthy” persona, while Hardee’s loves spitting in “healthy’s” face. 

I am sure Indiana is eating the foot-long burger up and it will be unleashed on the rest of America very soon.  I predict a triple 12-inch burger in the near future.  Any gamblers out there?

My 1st Roller Derby Anniversary

I can’t believe it, it’s been a year since I tried-out and became a Naptown Roller Girl!  What an unbelievable experience.  And, for those of you wondering, a roller derby year is the same as a regular calendar year, but with more bruises. 

In July of 2009, I entered roller derby workshops.  I was 33 years old and hadn’t been on quad skates since the Roller Dome parties in grade school….you do the math.  I owned no skates.  I purchased used skates from craigslist….I think they cost me $25.  Needless to say, I was pretty awful the first day….and for many days after, for that matter.  I hadn’t skated in years and had the slowest wheels known to man, even slower than Sugars.  I remember being so tired from working so hard.  I would like to add that I was training for a marathon then, so I was in pretty good shape.  My friend, who eventually became known as Freddie Cougar, and I rented skates; they were about mid-calf and the old school roller rink kind…still very slow.  Thankfully, Ana Slays Ya let me borrow her old pair for the next month.

Try-outs were August 2, and by some miracle, I made it despite my fall at the jammer line before I started a drill.  I think they took me because I pushed myself, never gave up, got up quickly after a fall, and they were somehow able to see some potential in this skate-challenged girl.  I was so happy when I got the email from Sin Lizzie telling me I had made it…WOW….I was ecstatic to be referred to as “fresh meat.” 

And, then off to practice with the vets….very intimidating, to say the least, especially when you are a complete train wreck of a skater like my past Eve.  But, they got used to us newbs and our cuteness grew on them.   

Above is a picture of me, in red, in my very first bout in December 2009 (photo by Marc Lebryk), I didn’t skate very much, but it was awesome nonetheless.  Now, I was finally Eve Elle, The Original Bad Girl. 

I have learned a lot in this first year.  Sure, I learned tons about skating, falling, hitting, blocking, etc, but, more importantly, I learned some things about myself, roller derby, and other valuable life lessons:

• Old dogs really can learn new tricks….and keep learning!
• Practice and perseverance can overcome any obstacles.
• Roller derby is more about smarts, and heart, than muscle.
• Being fierce has nothing to do with size.
• Talent without effort is a waste.
• Perfection is not attainable, but improvement is limitless.  
• What happens on the track; stays on the track.

These things that I have learned are priceless, but the most amazing thing about this past year of roller derby is the people that I have met and the friends that I will have for a lifetime.  You all have helped me grow, not only as a skater, but as a person.  I appreciate each and every one of you.  Roll on!

Everything’s Large at the Movies

So, my hubbie and I went to see Inception this weekend, which was great, by the way.  I highly recommend it.  But, I digress.  We went to see this movie on one of the hottest and most humid days of the summer.  We, like many others, thought it would be a great idea to spend the afternoon in a cold, dark movie theater.

If you’ve ever gone to a matinee on the south side of Indy, you completely understand the reason that Indiana is one of the fattest states in the nation.  I thoroughly enjoy the art of observation, and did not only notice the large size of the people in attendance, but also the ridiculously large size of the food and everything else, for that matter.

If you haven’t been to see a movie in the theaters lately, let me bring out the evidence that proves that pretty much everything is large!

Evidence #1: Large ticket price for 2 adults to a matinee showing of a movie on the Imax.  $32 total….yowzer!

Evidence #2: Hubbie and I decided to share a drink and a bottled water.  I asked for a medium-sized drink, this seems reasonable to me, should be about 20 oz….wrong! What comes out is what I think might be a 32 oz, but I am not positive as it is difficult to hold with 1 hand, which in my book, constitutes a Large drink.  And, the kind teenager behind the counter asked if I would like to make it an actual “large” for 25 cents more.  Hmm, let me think, I am not sure that I brought enough gear to carry a keg of soda and I am pretty sure that you offer free refills?  No?  Oh, and did I mention the $4.25 price rape for a 32 oz drink?

Evidence #3: Most patrons at this particular matinee were over a BMI (body mass index) of at least 40.  I am not saying that you can’t be healthy if you are overweight.  There are many that I know that aren’t very healthy and they are underweight or average size.  Just sayin’ that most of the customers were large by most people’s standards.

Evidence #4: A woman, and this is independent of her size, ordered a bucket of popcorn. For herself.  You may wonder how I might know that?  Well, everyone else in her party had their very own popcorn, although not a bucket.

Evidence #5: Did you know that you get to put your own butter on your popcorn now?  Craziness…it comes out of a pump which I imagine has a hose connecting to a vat of liquefied fake-butter, which will from now on be referred to as “futter.”   The woman with the bucket of popcorn decided that she needed more futter on her popcorn, like there isn’t enough in the plain popcorn that is popped in flavored oil.  She put her bucket-o-corn under the futter dispenser and showered her popcorn with futter.  Finally, after a minute, she stopped.  Wait, she just need to shake it up, back for more futter.  WOW!   Wants some popcorn with your futter?  Gag!

Evidence #6: Finally to the movie, and hopefully away from the food for giants to the Imax theater….largest screen evah, in Indiana anyway.

Evidence #7: And, the large-ness doesn’t stop there.  The seats are meant for kings, and big kings at that.  And, despite the large seats, the arms of the seats can flip up so you can  have even more room.  I saw many of Evidence #3 have to use this option.

A Goal without a Plan is just a Wish

Wishes are for birthdays and genies.  Goals are meant to be worked towards.  A french writer once said “a goal without a plan is just a wish.”  I whole-heartedly agree with that quote, especially in regards to weight loss.

More times than I care to estimate, patients will come to me with a “goal” of weight loss without any thought of how they might achieve this goal.  This is like me saying that I am going to run a marathon without having a training plan.  We need to come up with a training plan for weight loss. 

Usually the conversation goes something like this:

Me: So what brings you here today?

Client: I want to lose weight.

Me: Alright, so what are your goals surrounding weight loss?

Client: Weight loss IS my goal. (Client usually has a very confused look on their face as if I did not hear them the first time.)

Me: Okay, I understand you want to lose weight.  How can I help you with this?

Client: Well, that’s why I came to you.  (At this point, I imagine they are expecting me to get out my wand or spell book and cast a incantation that will allow them to lose weight right here and now….sounds simple, right?  I may or may NOT have a spell book or magic wand.  However, if I did, I most definitely haven’t figured out how to get rid of excess weight with it…if I had one, that is….hmmm, will consult Mr. Potter.)

Me: Okay, but have you thought about what YOU are going to do to achieve this goal?

Client: Well, that’s why I came to you.  You are the dieitian, you tell me.  (Aaaah…this always makes me laugh.  As if, whatever I say, they will do.  If  that was the case, then why didn’t the last 15 diets they followed work?  The books and the group leaders tell them exact ly what to do.  What happened there?  And, if I had such power, why isn’t my husband doing my laundry? )

Okay, I know most of you are thinking, well, isn’t that your job, Eve?  Well, yes it is, but I need some participation.  I do assist clients in goal making, but, in my experience, it is usually the clients that come in with a plan that are more likely to succeed.  I can help them make their plan more managable.  I am not saying that if they don’t have a plan that they won’t succeed, but it’s certainly less likely.  And, it is even more unlikely that they will succeed if I am the one making the goals for them.

I try to work with clients to make smaller goals that lead them to their ultimate goal of weight loss.  They need to focus on behaviors and actions that they can DO.  Weight loss is not something that one does, exercise is something that one does.  Okay, now after this has all been said, back to the conversation:

Me: So, what goal do you want to make to support your weight loss?

Client: I am going to eat healthier.

Me: Okay, what does that look like for you? (I ask this because people have such extremely varying ideas on what “healthy” eating entails.)

“Eating healthy” is about as good a goal as “weight loss.”  There is no plan.  We then discuss that we need to make specific goals that deal with behaviors.  Now maybe they’ll understand.  I give them examples.  Back to the conversation:

Me: So, let me help you a little with this. You told me that you drink four 12oz regular sodas per day.  Is this something that you would like to change?

Client: I don’t know.  I guess that would help me lose weight if I cut it out, huh?  But, I really like my cokes.

Me: It sounds like you don’t want to give these up completely just yet.  Would you be willing to work on cutting back?  (Here I acknowledge that she really likes her cokes and have sensed her apprehension to give them up completely.  I am giving her a way to ease into these changes.)

Client: I think I could at least start to cut back.

Me: Okay, great.  Do you think limiting to two 12oz cokes per day is doable?

Client: Yes, I CAN do that!

Me: See, now we have a goal that you can DO and is measurable!  Goal #1: Limit cokes to 24oz per day.

And, then our discussion stems into making more goals that deal with behaviors and are measurable.  Many times clients think these very small goals are silly and not significant enough to make a difference.  But, if this client were to only make this goal and nothing else, and assuming that she was able to achieve this, she could, theoretical, lose up to 30lbs in 1 year by cutting her coke intake in half, which reduces her calorie consumption by 300 calories per day.  Small changes do add up, but only if they can be maintained.

Making goals is hard, making achievable and measurable goals is even harder.  Assisting clients in focusing on behavioral-centered goals is what I do, then its up to them to do the rest.  Weight loss is NOT a behavioral-centered goal.  Examples of behavioral-centered goals might include:

1. I will include some protein with each meal and snack. (We will formulate a list of things for the client to choose from.)
2. I will drink 48oz of water daily.
3. I will do some activity for 10 minutes daily, 4-5 days per week.
4. I turn off the TV during dinner.

So, the moral of this, whether the goal is weight loss or a marathon, a plan is needed, or its really just a wish.

The Un-Happy Meal

Lack of exercise and overeating are easy targets to pinpoint as obesity causes, but now the Center of Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is targeting toys in Happy Meals.  In a letter written to McDonalds, the CSPI “demands that McDonalds stop using toys to market Happy Meals to young children.” 

The CSPI makes very good points and it is clear to me that McDonalds, and most other fast food conglomerates, for that matter, target kids.  Heck, have you walked down a cereal aisle or the yogurt section of the supermarket?  It is all colors and cartoon characters.  This is not a new thing.

The letter states that because of the toys, kids will “pester” parents for happy meals, and thus, the kids will then consume the unhealthy box of food with loads of fat and calories, which will eventually lead to obesity.  But, will it?  I imagine if parents allowed their kids to eat happy meals everyday it could possibly lead to consuming too many calories and an overweight child.  But, this is assuming that the child is not active and that the rest of their diet is unbalanced.  This is a big IF!

I know what you’re thinking, we live in America, most of the kids are overweight and even obese, we have to do something.  And, I totally agree.  However, do we think banning toys in Happy Meals is going to reduce obesity in America?  Maybe, but I have my doubts. 

The thing I don’t like about this letter is that the CSPI insinuates that parents somehow cannot control what their children consume.  It assumes that a 5 year old is the ultimate decision maker of what goes on their plate.  If this is the case, then we have more problems than obesity in America. 

I am not trying to condone what McDonalds or other fast food giants do to get customers, I actually think its pretty shameful.  But seriously, where is the consumer responsibility?  And, to blame a new toy on obesity in America?  Really?  How often does a new toy come out?  Every new movie, every quarter?  It is certainly not everyday.

Just as I wrote about Ronald McDonald and other fictional characters in a previous post, toys are the latest scape-goat for childhood obesity.  Taking away cartoons and toys is not going to make kids skinny.  Kids need to get more activity, including in schools, eat meals at the dinner table instead of in front of the tv or in the car.  Parents need to take responsibility for what young children eat, that’s what parents are supposed to do, right? 

CSPI, I like you, but please stop making ridiculous claims that won’t do anything to curb obesity in America.  Please start spending your money on educating parents on what will make a difference: budget planning, meal planning, cooking, gardening, etc.

Watermelon: A fruit even a cat can love.

I really love watermelon, and so does one of my cats.  Vladimir is pictured here eating, or rather drinking juice from a watermelon rind.  It’s pretty easy to spot when Vlads has been into the watermelon, the white fur around his mouth turns pink…so cute. 

Here is a video of another cat who loves watermelon:

Watermelon is sweet, juicy, and delicious.  And, it is not devoid of nutrients as some think because of the name.  Watermelons contain more lycopene, a phytochemical found to reduce risk of certain types of cancers, than tomatoes.  Watermelon also contains high amounts of Vitamin A and potassium.  And, for you locavores, Indiana cultivates over 6% of all watermelons grown in the U.S.

Watermelons are great eaten straight from the rind, mixed with other fruits, on green salads, or even made into salsa.  And, for those humid Indiana nights, you can even turn your watermelon into a cooling cocktail.  Here is a recipe from a recent Everyday Food magazine that I have tried…vodka, optional. 

Watermelon-Cucumber Cooler

1. Set a large fine-mesh sieve over a large bowl or pitcher.  In a food processor or blender, blend 5 cups of cubed, seedless watermelon (about 1 1/2 pounds). Pour watermelon puree through sieve, pressing on solids with a rubber spatula.  You should have about 2 cups of juice.
2. Puree 1 large english cucumer, peeled and cut into chunks, and pour through sieve into watermelon juice. 
3. In a small bowl, stir together 1/4 cup fresh lime juice and 2 Tbsp honey.  Add to watermelon and cucumber juices, along with 2/3 cup vodka, if desired. 
4. To serve, fill glasses with ice and pour in cocktail, garnish with cucumber slices.  Enjoy!