Ingredients

• 1/2 (5-pound) seedless watermelon
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt (specialty salt is great here, if on hand)
• 2 cups fresh baby arugula, washed and dried
• 1 cup goat cheese, crumbled, preferably a French Chevre
• Fresh finely cracked black pepper

Directions

Stand the watermelon half cut side down on a cutting board and slice away the rind, leaving a solid block of melon. Turn the block on its side and cut it into 8 squares, roughly 3 by 3 inches and 1-inch thick.

Pour the vinegar into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook until reduced to a thick syrup consistency. Set aside.

Heat a nonstick grill pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle just enough olive oil over watermelon slices to thinly coat and place on hot grill pan. Grill each side about 2 minutes until grill marks appear; transfer to a plate and season with salt.

To assemble the salads, put about 1/4 cup of baby arugula on a serving plate, followed by a grilled slice of watermelon in the center, and top with a tablespoon of crumbled cheese and another 1/4 cup arugula. Add another watermelon slice and another tablespoon of cheese. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Finish each salad with a very light drizzle of olive oil and balsamic syrup. Dust with black pepper and serve immediately

1. Beans

They have little fat but heaps of several key nutrients, including the B vitamin folic acid, copper, zinc, magnesium and potassium. They also make a great source of protein (usually found in higher-fat foods), fiber and complex carbohydrates for energy that’s much more stable than what you’d get from more sugary foods. Two servings a day of your favorite bean can lower blood cholesterol as much as 27 percent.

2. Brown Rice

Like white rice, it’s almost a pure complex carbohydrate, but it packs in the fiber, too. It’s also a rich non-meat source of zinc and contains all the minerals white rice lacks. You’ll even get protein–five grams per cup.

3. Garlic

It contains lots of antioxidants, fights bacteria and maybe viruses and helps lower cholesterol and blood pressure. It may even help prevent cancer. A couple of cloves or four Kyolic garlic gel caps a day should make for a healthful dose.

4. Papaya

One of the most nutrient-dense fruits you can find, calorie-for-calorie it beats oranges and apples. One papaya provides 30 percent more than the RDA for vitamin A and 300 times the RDA for vitamin C. It teems with allergy- and disease-fighting phytochemicals, too.

5. Egg Whites

With all the essential amino acids, they’re about the most perfect protein you can eat. And without the yolk, which contains about 300 milligrams of cholesterol (close to your daily limit), egg whites are the rare no-fat, high-protein food.

6. Chicken

Aside from being easy to cook and incredibly versatile, it’s the meat for the active guy. White meat has just 370 calories and 18 grams of fat per six ounces (dark meat has 450 calories, 26 grams of fat). It’s high in iron, protein, niacin and zinc. Leave the skin on until the bird’s cooked to keep in the juices; it’ll come off easier when it’s cooked, too, taking most of the fat with it.

7. Broccoli

Vitamin C, beta-carotene and fiber figure highly in broccoli’s nutritional profile. But it’s broccoli’s high content of the phytochemical sulforaphane that has been making headlines lately because of its powerful anti-cancer effect.

8. Soy

Soy is now available in various tasty forms, from soy milk to veggie burgers to fake bacon to tofu (tastes great fried, then mopped off with a paper towel, and in miso soup). It features high-quality protein, is low in saturated fat and contains the heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids most people only get from fish. It might even reduce cancer risk, lower cholesterol and help prevent heart disease.

9. Sweet Potatoes

We love these in part because they’re so delicious and easy to cook. Each potato also has a whomping 8,285 IU of vitamin A (one-and-a-half times your RDA), 50 percent of the RDA of vitamin C, and decent amounts of three essential minerals: calcium, magnesium and potassium.

10. Water

Hey, don’t scoff. You’re probably not drinking enough; few people do. Eight eight-ounce glasses a day are the bare minimum. If you’re active, you can sweat away two pounds of water surprisingly fast. All your organ systems need the stuff in order to function. You also need the crucial minerals water provides, including sodium, potassium, calcium and phosphorus. A healthy water intake will help prevent kidney stones (which afflict men way more than women) and keep your urinary and gastrointestinal tracts functioning better.

References

Men’s Fitness at http://www.mensfitness.com/