I’ve written in the past about how watermelon is one of the most budget-friendly fruits. We also know it packs its share of nutritional benefits. What do you get when you combine the two perks? How ‘bout a number one ranking on a list of fruits that pack the most nutritional bang for your buck.
That’s exactly where watermelon ranked on a list created by researcher Jennifer Langston and her colleague, Eric Hess. The duo created a system that ranked various fruits and the result was a top 10 list that emphasized both low cost and nutrition. The top five fruits, in order, on the Langston/Hess rankings are watermelons, plums, oranges, apples and strawberries.
To create the list, the researchers calculated the price per cup of various fruits (according the U.S. Department of Agriculture) and cross-referenced the data with each fruit’s nutritional score (according to the Aggregate Nutrient Density Index).
If it sounds somewhat complicated, that’s because it is. What’s not complicated, however, is the fact that we now have one more excuse to eat lots and lots of watermelon. Not that we needed an excuse, of course.
Just got a summer job today to help cover the costs of my watermelon addiction!
I love to buy a whole watermelon and share with all my neighbors! So cheap, so healthy, so friendly!
Good thinking Frannie! And Stephanie gets the award for “Best Neighbor in the World”!