Summer hosting is in full swing, but how do we indulge in our favourite season without sacrificing our wellness goals? Below are three easy tips to transform your summer picnic into a fit-nic by health and wellness expert and former professional boxer Caleigh Rykiss.
Caleigh wants you to have a guilt-free summer of socializing, so she designed these tips with the popular clean girl aesthetic and sober curiosity trends in mind. Here’s how to skip the sugary snacks and saturated fats without skipping the flavour and fun!
Step 1: Create Clean Bites
With just 10 minutes of prep, you can put together an impressive spread filled with healthy fats, protein and nutrients. Caleigh loves to incorporate fresh, seasonal and natural ingredients into her recipes and recommends reading food labels closely to choose clean ingredients without any fillers or artificial additives. Here is Caleigh’s guilt-free summer picnic menu with tips and tricks that will impress your guests and leave them feeling fuelled and energized.
Watermelon Maple High: With only four clean ingredients, this refreshing one-bite snack uses the excess watermelon to create a mocktail: zero waste and full taste!
Hollowed watermelon chunks: seasonal fruit: high water content
Roasted salted almond to garnish: healthy fat
Maple syrup: natural sweetener
Tre Stelle Cream Cheese: clean protein with just four all-natural ingredients
Steps: Cut your watermelon into bite sized chunks, hollow them out using a teaspoon or melon baller and set the excess watermelon aside for your mocktail. Fill each hollowed watermelon chunk with a teaspoon of cream cheese and top each piece with a roasted salted almond. Finish with a drizzle of maple syrup.
Tomat-O’ My Goodness Dip: This green goddess dip has a sun-ripened tomato spin that will get everyone eating their veggies!
8-10 Basil leaves: fresh and seasonal from local gardens
2 tbsp Pine nuts: healthy fat
2 tbsp Tre Stelle Sun-Ripened Tomato Cream Cheese: clean protein proven by water droplet on top
indicating no fillers or artificial ingredients
1 tbsp Water, more if needed
Salt & pepper to taste
Steps: Wash basil leaves and add to a blender or food processor with the other ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy. Add more sun ripened cream cheese and/or water until desired consistency has been reached. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cut up fresh veggies like cucumber, carrots, celery or grape tomatoes and dig in!
Salmon “Sushi” Supremes: Caleigh’s favourite clean bite that satisfies sushi lovers
1 package seaweed snack /nori wrap: great source of iron and nutrients
Shaved cucumber slices: local, in-season vegetable
Smoked salmon: high protein
Tre Stelle Herbs & Spices Cream Cheese: healthy fat and protein that holds the ingredients together
Steps: Spread Herbs & Spices cream cheese onto a piece of seaweed and layer with shaved cucumber slices and smoked salmon. Roll into “sushi” rolls and serve immediately.
Step 2: Healthy Hydration
Water is life, but when we want something a little different, Caleigh recommends two choices: a mocktail featuring the same fresh ingredients used for the snacks to save money and avoid waste, or a zero-sugar cocktail with soda water to sneak in some extra H20 and help metabolize the alcohol.
Watermelon Basil Refresher: These fresh ingredients make the perfect mocktail to celebrate the increasingly popular sober curiosity trend
Blended watermelon: leftover from Watermelon Maple High bites
Muddled Basil leaves: leftover Green Goddess Tomato Dip
Fresh lime juice: high source of vitamins
Coconut water: Excellent source of electrolytes, vitamins and minerals
Steps: Add blended watermelon, muddled basil leaves and lime juice to a cup, add ice and top with coconut water.
Flor Mojito: When a cocktail is preferred, keep it simple with coconut water and sparkling water to stay hydrated and reuse the fresh ingredients from the snacks here too for no waste
1.5 oz Flor de Caña 12 Year Rum – Sustainably produced rum with zero added sugar
Basil leaves: easily grown in pots
0.25 oz Fresh lime juice: compost skins or blend full lime and strain
Coconut Water or Sparkling Water – Helps metabolize alcohol
Steps: Add basil leaves to a glass and muddle, add ice, then rum and lime juice, and top with coconut water or sparkling water.
Step 3: Creative Movement: We like to … move it!
Lastly, no fit-nic is complete without some ‘active minutes’ to help you get your steps in and close those rings! You can host a standing gathering, or even better, add in fun games that require movement like giant Jenga, bocce ball or charades. They’ll all get you moving without breaking a sweat.
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