The top of the day to you.

Well as you know, once a month I write one article and the other weeks I give you a recipe. Well this week and for the next couple months I'll be sharing with you which I feel has been the biggest request since I've been writing these weekly messages…

"Please give us some ways to pick out food when I go to the store and what do I do with it after I get it home. Am I supposed to refrigerate it or what?"

Since the Melons are coming in season right about now I felt it would be great to start with this recipe on how to chose an awesome Honeydew Melon EVERYTIME you pick one. A couple years ago I showed you how to pick out a Watermelon and I only had about 2000 folks who've subscribed to my e-zine at the time. Now I have over 12,000 and before the end of the year we will have well over 100,000, so for the benefit of those who didn't get a chance to read that article, if you reply to this I will be glad to forward that to you.

What sparked my enthusiasm for the honeydew melons on this go around was, I was at the grocery store tonight and I was looking at them with gusto, as they smelled so terrific. An old friend came over to say hello and he picked on up and believe me I don't care how long you would have waited, it would never have a prayer of getting good. And by the way, all Melons NEVER ripen after they're picked. This will be my next week's ARTICLE = which fruits will ripen after they're picked and which ones will not! And Next month's Article will be which foods need to be refrigerated and which do not.

So now to the Honeydew Melons. As with any melon we need to use all 5 of our senses to pick that just right melon.

SIGHT FIRST: Look for the richest color and if it has some webbing, that's always a good sign. The color should be creamy looking.

TOUCH SECOND: Now feel them and if they feel waxy, then that is a very good sign. That doesn't mean they're dipped in wax. It's just means the starch (of which all fruit is in a starchy state until they're ripe) in the melon has turned to sugar (good sugar) on the vine which will give it a full, rich, succulent, sweet, delicious flavor. I see so many people trying to push their finger through the melon to see if it's good. That's not a good thing to do as surely it will bruise. Some people like to thump a Watermelon to see if it's ripe. This might work with a watermelon when it sounds like a good base note, but not with any other melons that I know of.

SMELL THIRD: Smell it for its distinct smell and the sweeter the smell, of course it has the best chance of being great.

HEARING FOURTH: Pick up the melon and shake it. If the seeds shake or even if they don't, that's a good sign. But if they sound soupy and slushy, then that's a bad sign. That means it's too far gone...probably sour inside and ready to burst.

TASTE LAST: Sometimes if you are at a farmer's Market they will let you plug it if there are confident with their produce and let you taste it. But if you do the 1st four steps correctly then the 5th one should be slam-dunk.

Enjoy the melons this summer with great excitement knowing, not wishing, hoping or praying, but KNOWING that you are going to get a great one every time you pick one out. You'll be surprised at how many people will come over to you and ask you how to do it. :>)

You've got to try it a few times as you will miss once in a while but in no time you'll have it down pat. Failure is the highway to success. Some defeats are merely installments to victory.

People who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those who try to do nothing and succeed. You won't be judged by the number of times you fail, but by the number of times you succeed. And the number of times you succeed is in direct proportion to the number of times you fail and keep on trying.

Failure is nothing but education, nothing but the first step to something better. You can't be a winner and be afraid to lose.

All my best to you. Thanks a million to the over 1000 people who wrote me about last week's recipe. This is what makes it all worth while and I'm grateful!

Wayne "The Mango Man" Pickering = THE AMBASSADOR FOR HEALTH.

PS. Here's a great C/D I actually bought. I heard it from the library and it was so good I went out and bought it. DAVE GRUSIN "Homage to the Duke"

"The Perfect Diet Program" if you would like my secrets on how to Eat More…Weigh Less…Sleep Better…Be Energized and Feel Terrific in 30 days, guaranteed!

Also we just finished an audio program on "Defeating Bad Eating"

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