Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! 
I walked in the door to the sweetest sight tonight. A fire, flowers, wine, Reese’s Egg(s), and Ben, my dear sweet Ben, preparing dinner for the two of us. Swoon!
I’ve been sent to the living room to relax by the fire while he finishes up, so I thought I’d share a light lunch I’ve been obsessing over recently in the meantime.
Cantaloupe, Prosciutto & Cashews
This combo is SO freaking unbelievable and best of all it takes, like, 4 seconds to put together after you’ve scooped out the cantaloupe.
I got the idea from Mowielicious who combined cantaloupe, avocado, cashews and parsley for the most gorgeous and refreshing looking salad I think I’ve ever seen. Not having an innate love of whole parsley leaves and, well, forgetting to put avocado in the first time, I came up with this combo instead.
The salty, whisper-thin slices of prosciutto melt with the juicy cantaloupe, while cashews provide a unique crunch and buttery finish. I ate it 3 times for lunch last week. Obsessed much?!
If I didn’t have Ben, it would for sure be my Valentine. 
That, or the cutest penguin nephew in the entire world. I can’t even handle this! 
In other news…
$500 Nourish What Counts Donation + Giveaway
Did you know more women die of heart disease than all forms of cancer combined, yet less than 10% perceive it as their greatest health threat? (Sorry for the terrible segue!)
As a woman with naturally high levels of bad cholesterol, (thanks, genetics) which increases the risk of heart disease, this fact really hits home for me.
To celebrate healthy hearts and American Heart Month, Quaker Oats has teamed up with the American Heart Association to encourage women to “Nourish What Counts” by taking just 5 minutes to do something good for their hearts.
To help spread the message, Quaker will donate $500 to my local American Heart Association chapter, $250 on behalf of me and $250 on behalf of you, dear IGE readers, if we can generate 100 comments on this post with how we’ll take 5 minutes to Nourish What Counts.
Need some ideas? Take 5 minutes to…
- Replace some of the refined grains you eat, like white bread and rice, with whole grains.
- Talk to your kids about healthy eating and exercise habits.
- Tack an 5 additional minutes onto your normal workout.
- Add a fresh fruit or serving of vegetables to your dinner plate.
- Learn how to create a healthier heart by reading articles like 8 Steps to a Healthy Heart.
I’m going to Nourish What Counts by parking further away at the grocery store, mall, etc. for the additional heart-pumping exercise. 
Visit Quaker.com/NourishWhatCounts for some more ideas!
As an additional incentive to leave a comment, Quaker will give away a box of their newest heart-healthy cereal Whole Hearts to 5 commenters. Please take a few minutes to tell me how you’re going to Nourish What Counts, so we can secure this $500 donation! The deadline for leaving a comment to enter to win a box of Whole Hearts is Wednesday, February 15 at 5pm.
Thank you all, and here’s to healthy hearts (which we can use to love even harder on Valentine’s Day!) Have a LOVEly night!
I am eating Quaker Oats while reading this blog post. Since I am pregnant, I’ve been adding more fruits and vegetables to may daily meals. Instead of chips or pretzels with my lunch, I now have a small salad or a pile of fresh/frozen veggies. I’ve also started bringing 2 to 3 pieces of fruit to work everyday in hopes of keeping away from all the sweets that have been floating around!
I’m jumping on….Less processed food FOR SURE, and
making a conscious effort to buy more fruits and vegetables when at the store–not only for meals, but for
healthy snacks too! thank you!!
I’m drinking more green monsters to get extra helpings of fruit and greens in my diet!
I will try to get a walk in on my lunch break whenever I can!
i have changed my eating habits to allowing carbs twice a week. i used to be bad carb eater every day but not no more. By doing this I have incresed vegetables for every meal and my kids are starting to enjoy this more.
I was eating an amazing combo of plain oatmeal mixed with spinach and cherry tomato slices when I read this post!
I will be decreasing the amount of processed and preservative filled food that I eat and increasing more whole foods into my diet.
I will eat more fruits and vegetables and walk as often as I can!
Thanks for sharing this, heart disease hits close to home with me too. What a great cause!
I plan to eat more fruits and veggies as well as add an extra day or heart healthy cardio to my gym activities
Heart disease runs in my family (only the men so far), so it’s really important to me to make these changes. I will add another fruit or vegetable to my plate. And I’m currently training for a half marathon, so my excersise time gets longer and longer!
I am currently a graduating senior from nursing school! I strongly believe that heart health, healing, and overall well-being start with a nutritious balanced diet! As a nurse, I will have the opportunity to educate patients daily on practical ways to take care of their heart and body!
Health, fitness and diet is such a an important part of my life. It is essential for happiness! It is a lifestyle that one must choose. I will make a promise to myself to continue my healthy lifestyle and try to influence and educate as many people to make the same choices.
I am working out with a friend each morning and drinking green smoothies to get extra veggies!
I am def. going to start taking walks during my lunch break at work (once the temp changes to above 50 degrees)
I’m trying really hard to make my Mondays “meatless” to always give myself at least one day a week of really good veggies and fruits!
In my family, we LOVE baked oatmeal for breakfast! My kids love coming up with new ways to modify the recipe (our favorite is walnut & craisins), and I love that they are getting a healthy start to their day!
Thanks, Quaker & IGE:)
My Mom died during by pass surgery due to heart disease when she was 49. Her dad died at 49 of a massive heart attack. I turn 49 this year. I’m going to walk everyday, add some weight training, and am starting to substitute blended frozen fruit fake ice cream, for a “healthy” snack everyday. Every little bit helps.
I take a little bit of time to plan out my meals for the week on Sunday. That way I don’t have the urge to get takeout when I don’t have anything in mind for dinner!
I have been talking to my daughter (who’s 7) about being healthy and strong (we don’t talk fat and skinny) and how we like to eat things that help make us strong, like fruits and veggies, protien, and whole grains! We also have started making homemade granola bars with oatmeal that are not only WAY better tasting than the store bought versions, but are so much healthier! Win!
I will continue to remove all foods with HFCS from my families diet. We r almost there!!!!
I’ve upped my time at the gym. I also check labels for sodium content in an effort to reduce my sodium intake. Plus I’m trying to get more calcium and eat more fruit.
I will definantly be adding in more fruits and veggies to my diet. These are startling facts. I need to be more aware of what I am doing to keep a healthy heart. And also talk to my daughter about it. Thanks Kristin.
I’ve made a date with my daughter to run a 5K in the spring. She has never been a runner and I’m anxious to get her started.
As I worry about a coworker who is having heart surgery today, I vow to exercise more and continue to remove processed food from my diet.
I have made a commitment to go to the gym 5 days a week, cut out processed foods, and feed my family healthier options for 2012!
Thank you for the post. This is such an important issue that is so rarely discussed and I appreciate you bringing it to the front lines. I will walk more and take the stairs at every opportunity.
I’m going to continue to be a good example to my kids by eating whole, unprocessed foods, lots of fruit/veg, less animal protein and exercising regularly!
My mom was recently told she has high cholesterol, so I’ve been trying to learn as much as I can so I can help encourage her and we can make healthier decisions together. Lots of whole grains and fruits and veggies for sure!
I will add more vegetables to my weekly dinner dishes.
Thanks!
Love, love, love. Trying this for sure!
I am parking farther away at work and walking to and from work (when Iowa weather allows!)My current goal is to bring a healthy salad with lean protein to work for lunch at least four days a week. Next up? Get the hubby to cut it out with his “hotdogs and chicken nuggets” obsession!
Since we already lead a very healthy lifestyle, I’ve decided to add 5 minutes to my exercise routine. This morning I actually added 15 minutes. Thanks for the push!!
I have served this for an appetizer many times! Cut the cantaloupe in long spears, wrap with prosciutto and drizzle with a bit of honey. It is amazing!!!!
I’ve been trying to eat more fruits and veggies instead of having crackers/bread as snacks and sides.
I LOVE cantelope, but where can you find it so juicy looking this time of year? And do you have any tricks on picking them out!?
I am going to make sure there is a fruit or veggie paired with every meal!
I’ll nourish what counts by walking on my lunch breaks at the park right next to my work.
I get 30 minutes, which is better than 5. 
I’m getting my kids out walking with me, adding more fruits and veggies to all our meals, and discussing with them the importance of healthy eating and exercise!
I’m going to take morning yoga and body sculpt classes 3 times a week before work as I’ve been putting it off. Also, eating vegetables, whole grains,and fruit every day.
I’m trying to cut back on ingredients that have a lot of sodium in them by making them from scratch instead.
I will continue to add more heart healthy grains to my diet. (More importantly, I will also get my husband on board with this). I will add more fruit and vegetables to my diet and get my cholesteral checked. (Not a big fan of blood and needles so this is always a tough one).
From one cholesteral genetic mutant to another, here’s to your heart health. Luckily the easiest things to do are changing what you eat and luckily eating oatmeal, wholegrains, drinking wine, fruit and veg are fun to do!
In honor of women’s heart health i will up my intake of oatmeal and red wine!
i get up and work out first thing (at 5 am!) bc i know if i don’t i won’t later after work!
My goal is to eat a piece of fruit every morning.
Love your salad and your pictures are gorgeous! Can’t wait for cantaloupe season here to try this! Heart health is very important to me for many reasons, so I try to an anti-inflammatory diet and exercise. Great giveaway! The best way to do it!
I definitely need to cut out the last vestiges of processed food remaining in my diet. And probably switch to almond or soy milk, and continue to force myself to do more weight training to keep a balanced exercise regiment.
Normally I just walk my dogs… but I could definitely pick up the pace and increase my heart rate!
Add more veggies to my meals!
I plan on eating less “white” food and sugar & more whole grains!
I will use my online calorie tracker (myfitnesspal) and ACTUALLY start paying attention to the nutrient summary … instead of just making sure I say within my calorie limit
Keep away from those nasty processed foods! Love to cook & bake from scratch.