McKenzie Rockwood earned the 2021 Young Dietician of the Year Award from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the world's largest organization of food professionals in the world.
She started her career working in a hospital but says, "I was seeing a lot of people needing lifestyle changes, whether for diabetes or heart disease." McKenzie said she decided she wanted to help people a little more at home.
She started The Citrus Pear to help busy people do meal planning, shopping and prep work.
She offers in-person classes at nearly two dozen locations in Utah, Idaho and Nevada where students chop and mix ingredients that McKenzie has already purchased, and then assemble them into take-home dinners.
McKenzie says on those busy nights all you need to do is take them out of the freezer and put them in a a crock pot or an instant pot.
She explained that a crock pot is "low and slow", and she offered this tip: when your meal is done, take the meat out, shred it and put it back in the juice to soak in the flavors.
If you'd rather do the instant pot, make sure to add a little liquid into the pot so it doesn't burn.
The Citrus Pear can accommodate allergies and they offer a "meal switch" feature where you can double up on meals you know your family will love and opt out of the ones that may not be their favorite.
The nutrition information is right on each bag, as well as a QR code for cooking instructions.
Citrus Pear dinners are eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program as well.
Septembers classes are based on the top 10 favorite meals of customers.
You can sign up and learn more at citruspear.com
