Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Eat Smart as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

Summer is here and that means barbeque season is underway, and with barbeques comes get-togethers, and with get-togethers comes tasty food, desserts, drinks and all sorts of indulgent ways to ruin your wellness goals. Now don’t get me wrong, indulging here and there is part of what makes life fun, but it’s when it turns into ice cream sundaes and margaritas and smores, and well – you get the idea – it can turn into a problem.

The good news is, there are lots of ways to keep things fun in the summer without causing you to throw your nutrition and fitness goals out the window.

Staying Active In The Summer

For most people, staying active in the summer months is easier than any other time of year. The nice weather makes for great opportunities to go for walks or runs with friends, heading out on the trails for a hike or bike ride, summer sports and of course pool time! As a fitness instructor, I plan for smaller class sizes in the summer while everyone is out enjoying the weather. Who can blame them? Especially those living on the east coast when we have more than our share of unpleasant weather the rest of the year!

Even if you aren’t a really active person, adding in an evening walk of 15-20 minutes 3-4 times a week can do wonders to improve your fitness level.

Choose Your Battles

When it comes to both your cravings – and those of your families, choose your battles. In the summer, my advice is the same as my advice around the holidays. Choose the treats that are seasonal or things you look forward to every year. For me, I rarely have a smore outside of summer, so that’s one of my go-to treats, along with ice cream cones (filled with ice cream of course!) and whatever seasonal goodie might be offered at a gathering I attend. I’m less likely to fill up on chips and cookies and other “every day” treats I can have year round.

Just as I was typing this, I got an urgent text message from one of my friends telling me the Beaver Tails food truck was at my old high school  – but only for another 25 minutes. I live in an area where it’s a very, very rare treat indeed to be able to drive a few minutes away and get one of these delightful treats, so I grabbed some money and ran! That’s the kind of treat I’m talking about. I only get a Beavertail once or twice a year (if I’m lucky!)so I have zero regrets in eating this glorious Triple Trip!

[Tweet “Three Tips for Staying On Track This Summer #EatCleanEatSmart”]

Choose Healthier Meal Options

Another way to stay on track over the summer is by taking the time to choose healthier, cleaner meal options. We all know salads and fresh produce are healthier than french fries, but the kind of salad and they type of salad dressing you are choosing also makes a difference. Let’s face it, the standard Caesar salad made with iceberg lettuce and drenched in dressing, cheese, and bacon can barely call itself a salad.

These days, more and more people are becoming aware of additives and demanding higher quality food items. This is great but can make shopping for convenience foods more challenging. So it’s nice to know that Eat Smart is recognising that demand and making changes to their products to satisfy customer needs.

 

Eat Smart is the first brand of its kind to commit to providing clean ingredients in its products, with plans for all products to contain no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives on their labels by the end of 2018. This is important because so many questionable ingredients can sneak their way into our foods, especially salad dressing without us ever realising it. Especially in salad kits where many of us are less likely to scrutinise the label for a single serve dressing.

What’s more, all Eat Smart products will be free from high fructose corn syrup, artificial preservative, hydrogenated fats, as well at artificial colours, flavours and sweeteners in that same time frame. Because they are taking care to make their labels easy-to-understand, we as consumers can feel good about what we are feeding not only to ourselves but also our families and friends.

Nearly 90% of their labels, including the six products shown above, already have clean labels which include all cut vegetable products, salad blends, the most popular nutrient-dense Vegetable Salad Kits (Sweet Kale, Strawberry Harvest, and Sunflower Kale) and their new Salad Shake Ups line.

Salad Shake Ups

This new addition to the product line has become a fast favourite of mine. When I am away on trainings, I like to take a salad as part of my lunch but often find it hard to eat, because they are packed so densely in the package when you purchase the ready-to-go salads at the store. These Salad Shake Ups are amazing because they have everything you need right in the package (including a fork!). All you have to do is combine the ingredients, put on the unique locking cover, give them a shake and you are good to go! It’s also nice that the bowl is really deep, and not flimsy so you can easily eat without worrying about wearing your lunch!

Salad Shake Ups come in three flavours (and contain the clean labels as discussed above):

• Avocado Ranch, a crunchy blend of cabbages and vegetables, crispy toppings, and a creamy avocado ranch dressing
• Tropical Lime, vegetables and dried fruits blended with a creamy coconut lime chili dressing
• Raspberry Acai, vegetables and dried fruits with a variety of seeds (hemp, flax, and chia) and a tangy raspberry acai dressing

I’ve had the chance to try all three flavours, and I’m hard-pressed to choose a favourite. I think I might go with the Raspberry Acai, but only because I love a good raspberry vinaigrette!

 

Then, of course, we have the Gourmet Salad Kits that many of us already know and love. The chef-inspired salad kits that offer blends of six or more superfoods which are perfect for convenient healthy eating options for those of us with busy lives (which is basically everyone!).

Their Sweet Kale, Strawberry Harvest and Sunflower Kale flavours already contain a “No Artificial: Colours, Flavours or Preservatives” label which can be seen in the upper left of the packaging.

These salad kits are larger than the Salad Shake Ups, but I usually still consider them single serving salads. I mean, if you’re not eating your salad out of a mixing bowl, you’re just not living! 😉

I’ve made my love of the Sweet Kale flavour no secret, and can often be found with at least one in my cart come grocery day, so I’m thrilled above the change to their products and labels. Because the Sweet Kale is my favourite, I thought I’d finish the post off with a fun (but super easy) idea for making the Sweet Kale salad into an even bigger hit! The next time you are invited to a barbeque or summer party, try bringing this along. It only takes about 5 minutes to put together and is a definite crowd pleaser!

Yield: 4

Sweet Kale Chopped Salad

Print

Ingredients

• 1 or 2 Eat Smart Sweet Kale Salad Kits
• 4 slices pre-cooked bacon (double if using two salad kits)
• 6-12 cherry tomatoes halved
• 100g cubed cheese of your choice (double if using two salad kits)
• 3-4 mushrooms/sliced (double if using two salad kits)

Instructions

Mix dressing with greens in a salad bowl.

Layer cheese, bacon, cranberry/pumpkin seed mix, tomatoes and mushrooms across the top.

Enjoy!

Seriously so easy. I even purchased my cheese (I used Havarti) pre-cut so all I had to do was add it to the salad.

[Tweet “Take this @EatSmart Sweet Kale Chopped Salad to your next bbq! #EatSmartEatClean “]

I like using pre-cooked bacon as we only use a slice here and there and it’s easier than cooking one slice as we need it, but you can certainly use regular bacon, or another product if you like.

There is just something about a salad like this that looks so nice – and well, complicated, even though it’s not!

It’s so nice that Eat Smart is offering salad kits with no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives. They are listening to consumer’s demands and giving them what they want! And anytime a company can help us stay on track and meet our personal wellness goals it makes our lives just a little bit easier!

For more Information:

• Please head to the Eat Smart website and sign up for their monthly newsletters. You can do that by clicking on the “Receive Exclusive Offer” button on bottom right of the website homepage.
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Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Eat Smart as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.