Story by Emily FitzPatrick / Photos by Hannah Evans
It’s another weeknight and it’s time for the daily game of “What will we be having for dinner tonight?” This is a game with higher stakes than you might expect. Choose right and your entire family is pleased and the evening passes by in contented silence with only the sound of chewing coming from the dinner table. Choose wrong and the entire night goes up in flames -- screaming children crying because they don’t want to finish their veggies, a grumpy spouse slipping off to bed early, and you, hiding in the corner as you wait for the temper tantrums to pass.
So, how do you make sure you always win when planning your weekly meals? The answer is simple. Go with a meal prepping service like McKenzie Rockwood’s Citrus Pear and never fear your family wanting to skip out on what you managed to scrounge up for dinner after a long day of work.
By now, you’ve probably seen or contemplated trying costly meal delivery services, such as Blue Apron or HelloFresh, but this is different. With Citrus Pear you get to be a part of prepping your meals from start to finish, so that you can identify every single product going into your nightly dinners, allowing you to cater to your family’s specific needs. Not only that, but through helping in the creation process of your meals you save the money that would fall through the cracks with other meal-prepping services.
The Start of Citrus Pear
McKenzie Rockwood started Citrus Pear in March of 2016 after working at Logan Hospital as a dietician. During her time at the hospital she worked individually with different patients to prepare themselves for diets they would require once getting home.
“I just felt like I wasn’t getting through,” Rockwood shared. “I felt like I was sending them home and hoping they would be able to have the resources and remember everything we talked about to be able to follow these diets at home. And so that’s what kind of inspired me to start this--it’s a way for people to have access to healthy meals while taking the stress and worry out of it.”
Now, Citrus Pear runs successfully throughout Utah and Idaho, bringing healthy meals to hundreds of families. The company pays specific attention to varying dietary needs, offering something for everyone in hopes of making meals a little less stressful for all.
The Details
So what’s a Citrus Pear class like? Upon arrival to a Citrus Pear class, you will immediately notice the rows of fresh vegetables waiting to be assembled into meals and tools waiting for your use, such as knives, a cutting board, measuring cups, and much more. There is no need to bring anything except a cooler or a laundry basket to haul out the final product to your car. It is all there ready to go, no stress.
As the class begins, the instructors walk you through each step of the process, patiently guiding you through each bagged meal and helping you to fill your bags of food with the appropriate directions. Still scared you won’t be able to keep up? Don’t be. The instructors are there to help even the slowest of vegetable choppers keep pace.
All that is required of you is that you carefully follow the measurements the instructors will place clearly on a board at the front of the room. And then when you are finished, you load your delicious meals into your cooler and go home. The staff takes care of all of the mess, leaving you free to get those meals in the freezer and enjoy the remainder of your evening.
The Single Life
Now, you might be wondering if Citrus Pear is for you even though you don’t have a family and the answer is a resounding yes. Citrus Pear is literally for everyone, no matter where you might be in life, requiring only the smallest of adjustments depending on your situation.
“We have a lot of single people that come and they just have to be willing to eat leftovers,” confirmed Rockwood. “You can get three to four meals out of that one meal, so a lot of people will get creative and they’ll serve it the way it’s recommended for that dinner and maybe the next they’ll take it to lunch as a salad for the next day.”
Getting Healthy
Citrus Pear isn’t just about prepping a bunch of meals to make your life easier, though that’s certainly a satisfying part of participating in the classes. It’s also about encouraging people to be healthier through making better choices.
"When most people look at their plates, they think about what meat and grain they're going to center their meal around," explained Rockwood. “But you need to flip the way you’re thinking. Focus on the vegetables first and then what protein and grain you’re going to add to it because the majority of our population isn’t getting enough vegetables.”
It is impossible not to feel a renewed sense of nutritional awareness after attending a Citrus Pear class. As you stand in the room prepping your meals, you can smell and see for yourself every exciting thing you are loading into your dish, demonstrating that you can make good food of nutritional value with your own two hands.
For additional details and sign-up information, visit Citrus Pear online at www.citruspeardinners.com.