Skylar Smith, a seasoned nutritionist, helps craft the menu and nutritional content for Beyond Juicery + Eatery. Her passion for nutrition and teaching others about healthy choices shines through her work, and we are so happy to have her as part of our team!
Learn about her journey and process:
Q: What attracted you to Beyond Juicery + Eatery, and how did you become interested in becoming a nutritionist?
Skylar: Growing up in an indulgent family, my interest in fitness was inspired by my dad who began his own health journey later in my childhood. Around the age of 15, I discovered the wellness community and began using food as medicine and fuel, while maintaining a healthy balance. During college, I pursued becoming a nutritionist and certified personal trainer to help people find balanced menu options and develop a passion for wellness.
Beyond Juicery + Eatery offered a perfect fit for my interests in healthy concepts and allowed me to bring my passions to work. I started in catering and quickly demonstrated my dedication, which was a stepping stone to deepen my knowledge of healthy food options and menu creation.
Q: If you had to break your menu creation process into steps, what do you consider to be the most important ones?
Skylar: Balance is absolutely crucial. We strive to offer options that cater to everyone, including vegetarians, those focused on protein, and those who enjoy indulgent foods. Marketing plays a significant role as it drives our menu ideas, but ultimately, the most important consideration in our menu creation process is how the food makes our customers feel. We want every dish to not only taste delicious but also leave you feeling good and energized.
Q: What is your favorite menu item— still on the menu or seasonal— you’ve created?
Skylar: Menu creation is a fun team effort, and it’s hard to choose a favorite since it is consistently evolving with everything new that we release. But right now, my personal favorite is the new Chicken Bacon Cobb Salad. It’s packed with protein from the egg, bacon, and cheese, making it both filling and delicious.
Q: How do you find the balance between health benefits and delicious flavor?
Skylar: Finding this balance is essential to our menu philosophy. We want our customers to have the option to indulge while also choosing healthier alternatives.
We carefully select ingredients that lean towards cleaner options and ensure our dishes provide health benefits that make our customers feel good. For instance, our Wildberry Glow smoothie uses natural flavors and sugars with your body will appreciate.
Q: When creating the recent salad release, what were the main elements were you focusing on?
Skylar: Our number one aim was to refresh our current offerings. The new Chicken Bacon Cobb Salad, for example, provides a modern twist on our classic chicken salad, now emphasizing high protein content (approximately 44 grams!). With our Balsamic Berrycado Salad, we wanted more color and freshness to the menu while satisfying our customers for longer so we packed in about 11 grams of fiber.
New Salads to Savor
We’ve also crafted two new salads that are bursting with flavor and nutrients. Beyond’s ranch dressing is made in-house, fresh for maximum taste and quality. Our salad dressings are made by Rising Star Academy— a local organization that strives to be a place for intellectually and developmentally disabled adults to participate in their community.
Whether you’re looking for something sweet, savory, or a bit of both, we’ve got you covered this summer.
Balsamic Berrycado Salad: A delightful mix of Arcadian greens, sweet strawberries, creamy avocado and tangy red onion topped with feta, sliced almonds and crunchy sesame sticks, and dressed with our savory Balsamic Dressing.
Chicken Bacon Ranch Cobb: Our satisfyingly hearty salad is packed with Arcadian greens, roasted chicken, a hard-boiled egg, crispy bacon, avocado, cheddar cheese, red onion and tomatoes and drizzled with Ranch Dressing.
