Celebrate these awesome August food holidays!

From National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day to National Cherry Popsicle Day, August is a delicious month, indeed!

Just where do all these national holidays (also referred to as "holidates" or "hashtag holidays") come from?

Many of them date back to the World War era, and were developed as lighthearted ways to honor a certain food tradition, season, or to boost sales. Many of the more recent food holidays, however, were invented by John-Bryan Hopkins, a food writer from Birmingham, Alabama, and founder of the popular website Foodimentary.

According to Hopkins, even though he made up many of the holidays, he says nobody seems to care because everyone loves a reason (even a silly one) to celebrate, eat delicious food, and share recipes. Here at Delicious Living, we’re no exception.

Read on and celebrate with us all month long!

August 2 is National Ice Cream Sandwich Day

To your health: True, it’s high in sugar and fat, but—in moderation—ice cream is a vitamin- and mineral-rich food, containing nearly 10 percent of the daily recommended amount of calcium and phosphorous in ½ cup. Ice cream also contains vitamins A, C, D and E, as well as riboflavin and niacin.

Impress your friends: Nationally, the average number of ice cream sandwiches eaten per second is 48.

Serve this: Frozen Chocolate and Peppermint Sandwiches

August 3 is National Watermelon Day

To your health: Watermelon may relieve muscle soreness due to an amino acid it contains called l-citulline.

Impress your friends: Watermelon is the most-consumed melon in the United States.

Serve this: Watermelon Ginger Salad

August 4 is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day

To your health: In Japanese culture, one of the principles of healthy eating is to make eating a pleasurable experience, which means working in the occasional sweet treat – such as a favorite chocolate chip cookie!

Impress your friends: The chocolate chip cookies eaten by Cookie Monster on Sesame Street are actually rice cakes topped with little brown felt circles.

Serve this: Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

August 5 is National Oyster Day

To your health: Most people know oysters are an aphrodisiac that can boost libido, but they’re also an excellent source of zinc, a nutrient needed for wound healing.

Impress your friends: Only about 1 in every 10,000 oysters contains a pearl.

Serve this: Warm Oysters on the Half Shell with Spicy Ponzu

August 7 is National Raspberries in Cream Day

To your health: Recent research on raspberries has shown that organic raspberries contain significantly higher levels of antioxidants than non-organic raspberries.

Impress your friends: In Germany, raspberries were once used to tame horses that were thought to be bewitched.

Serve this: Warm Baby Spinach Salad with Raspberries & Goat Cheese

August 8 is National Zucchini Day

To your health: Zucchinis are a good source of fiber that can help protect against colon cancer, improve heart health, and reduce constipation.

Impress your friends: The world’s largest zucchini on record was 69 ½ inches long and weighed 65 pounds.

Serve this: Cherry Tomato Marinara with Zucchini Noodles

August 9 is National Rice Pudding Day

To your health: The outside hull of black rice grains contains one of the highest levels of anthocyanin (a potent antioxidant) of any food.

Impress your friends: The word pudding is believed to have originated from the French word boudin, which translates to “small sausage,” referring to the encased meats used in Medieval European puddings.

Serve this: Coconut Black Rice Pudding

August 10 is National S’mores Day

To your health: Though most marshmallows are now made with gelatin, they were once made from the sap of the marshmallow herb plant, which was believed to have medicinal benefits ranging from improved skin to treating headaches and muscle pain.

Impress your friends: The first know s’mores recipe was published in the Girl Scouts handbook Tramping and Trailing With the Girl Scouts in 1927, and it was originally called “some mores.”

Serve this: Pineapple Dark Chocolate S’mores

August 11 is National Raspberry Tart Day

To your health: Eating 1 cup of raw raspberries provides 54% of your daily vitamin C, 12% of your daily vitamin K, and 41% of your daily manganese.

Impress your friends: In the United States, about 90% of all raspberries sold come from Washington, California, and Oregon.

Serve this: Raspberry Cream Cheese Pie

August 13 is National Filet Mignon Day

To your health: Beef is one of the top dietary sources of heme iron, a mineral needed to carry oxygenated blood to all your tissues and organs, helping you feel more energized and less tired.

Impress your friends: Traditionally, filet mignon is seared on each side for a short time over very high heat and then transferred to low heat to cook the interior meat.

Serve this: Spring Vegetables and Roasted Beef Tenderloin

August 14 is National Creamsicle Day

To your health: Higher-fat dairy products, such as cream, contain more vitamin A than lower-fat dairy, as well as slightly higher amounts of calcium and potassium.

Impress your friends: Creamsicle is actually a brand name, but the word has come to describe any frozen treat that is blended with vanilla cream or has a vanilla cream center.

Serve this: Papaya Creamsicle Smoothie

August 16 is National Rum Day

To your health: Some people believe a small amount of rum can shorten the length of a common cold due to anti-microbial properties and a warming effect.

Impress your friends: More than 80% of the world’s rum comes from the Caribbean islands, though nearly every country produces their own, including India, where rum is believed to have originated.

Serve this: Banana Rum Pudding

August 19 is National Potato Day

To your health: Potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin B6, a nutrient involved in more than 100 enzymatic reactions in your body, including healthy formation of new cells.

Impress your friends: Potatoes are the world’s fourth largest food crop, behind only rice, wheat, and maize.

Serve this: Fingerling Potato Salad

August 20 is National Lemonade Day

To your health: Lemons are one of the top food sources of antioxidant vitamin C, which neutralizes harmful free radicals.

Impress your friends: Make natural pink lemonade at home by stirring in some 100% grape juice.

Serve this: Sparkling Lemonade

August 22 is Eat a Peach Day

To your health: Research has shown that stone fruits, such as peaches, contain phenols and anti-inflammatory bioactive substances that can help reduce bad (LDL) cholesterol.

Impress your friends: The two basic types of peaches are clingstone and freestone, indicating whether the pit “clings” to the flesh or whether it comes out freely.

Serve this: Grilled Peaches and Cream

August 24 is National Waffle Day

To your health: Multiple epidemiological studies have shown that those who eat breakfast everyday have lower cholesterol levels, healthier weights, and improved concentration.

Impress your friends: In the late 1800s, Thomas Jefferson returned to the U.S. from a trip to France with a waffle iron.

Serve this: Apple-Butter Raised Waffles

August 26 is National Cherry Popsicle Day

To your health: Cherries are one of the few natural food sources of melatonin, a hormone that lowers body temperature and can help improve sleep.

Impress your friends: It is believed popsicles were invented in 1905 by Frank Epperson, an 11-year-old boy, when he accidentally left a cup of homemade soda on the porch overnight. When he woke up the next morning, he discovered the liquid had frozen around the stir stick and he called his treat the Epsicle.

Serve this: Creamy Cherry Kefir Pops

August 27 is Banana Lovers Day

To your health: From their high potassium content to their plant sterols, bananas contain several nutrients that lower blood pressure and improve blood flow, contributing to them being a heart-healthy food.

Impress your friends: Bananas float in water, as do apples and watermelons.

Serve this: Hot Spiced Bananas

August 29 is More Herbs, Less Salt Day

To your health: To cut back on sodium, increase the amount of herbs (fresh or dried) in your foods to make the flavor pop without reaching for the saltshaker.

Impress your friends: Coriander leaves are the same thing as cilantro.

Serve this: Fresh Basil and Thyme Tart with Chicken

August 31 is Eat Outside Day

To your health: From boosting your mood to increasing your vitamin D, enjoying meals outdoors is good for both your mental and physical health.

Impress your friends: One of the earliest accounts of picnicking comes from the tales of Robin Hood. He and his Merry Men would dine on bread, cheese, and ale under the trees.

Serve this: Asian Shrimp Hobo Packets