Enjoy these recipes and tips from the "Cooking with Kate" virtual cooking demo last week. Kate presented some quick, easy and healthy recipes for B-L-D.

February is Heart Month, and I was able to provide a Feed Your Heart presentation and cooking demo virtually this month at Galter LifeCenter. In case you weren't able to attend, here is what you missed!

Many of my clients find themselves shying away from cooking because it can be a lot of work to make a meal for just one or two people. Groceries are wasted and leftovers lose their appeal after a few meals of the same thing. However, there are some easy ways to make quick and healthy meals for a single or couple and actually save yourself time in the kitchen and money in the wallet.

Here are some super easy, super yummy recipes for a quick weeknight dinner. The Everything yogurt dip can be used anytime for a quick snack or appetizer as you are making dinner. The Egg Roll in a Bowl entree has everything you need for a well-rounded meal, and the Chocolate Banana Bites can be kept in the freezer for a quick sweet treat when the craving hits.

For National Senior Health and Fitness Day this year, my nutrition talk focused on brain health and what you can do to feed your brain. My interest in the topic was piqued when I heard neurosurgeon Dr. Sanjay Gupta discussing his new book on a podcast, so I bought and read it. It motivated me to share the information with you, because contrary to popular belief, there is opportunity for each of us to keep our brains sharp as we age and make our brains resilient to disease.

It's week 3 of the Galter LIfeCenter Healthy Habits Challenge, and I was able to provide a second cooking demo to challenge participants via Zoom tonight. I picked a couple recipes to share, and as I was preparing for the demo, I had the thought that perhaps these recipes were too "easy." But, isn't that the point? I like to choose recipes that are easy to put together, flexible for all tastes, and healthy. So, I hope you will try and enjoy these quick ones!

To those of you enrolled in the Galter LifeCenter's March Healthy Habits Challenge, congrats for pushing yourself to take on and maintain healthy lifestyle habits. Participants are invited to attend my Cooking Demo tonight via Zoom and on Thursday, March 25. However, even if the challenge isn't on your radar, there's no reason you can't enjoy these easy, healthy recipes!

What day is it, anyway? Taco Tuesday? Slow Cooker Thursday? Take out Friday? For me, the days are blurring together and the meals I've been making are stuck on repeat. There are only so many times we can eat the same meals over and over while it's just the four of us stuck at home. I set out to find some new recipes for the rotation, and my requirements are quick, healthy and agreeable to all family members. Here are three recipes that were winners in the Kinne home!

The Thanksgiving Holiday was a bit different this year, wasn't it? While we don't usually host a large group at my house, we do typically have my in-laws spend a couple days with us for Thanksgiving, and sometimes my mom as well, so our standard menu includes everyone's favorites. This year, it was just my husband, boys and me.

Today I met virtually with a great group for National Senior Health and Fitness Day to demo some summer oven-free recipes. In case you missed it, you may be interested in these recipes too!

Since my last blog, I've had a lot of discussions about the hunger scale and eating only when hungry, with my family and others. It sounds like an easy concept, but life just gets in the way and so many respond with food, I think it is the biggest challenge when it comes to weight control.

I had an interesting conversation with my nine-year-old son the other day. It was dinner time and he wasn't eating much, and when I asked about snacks he said he had eaten too many pretzels. He said that he wasn't even hungry when he ate them, but he just felt like it should be snack time. Gah!

You know what I need right now? Goals. Something to focus on other than how many projects I should be doing at home, revisiting junior high Spanish with my son, and washing infinite dishes because it seems like it is always meal time when four people are locked up at home.

​How are we all doing out there during this COVID-19 lockdown?! It's touch and go for me. One day goes well and then the next I'm really struggling.

I love Valentine's Day. Not the romantic aspect with candlelit dinners and roses (although I'm not opposed to that), but just the atmosphere of love and giving and showing the people you love that, well, you love them! I always assume that at any holiday, most people are getting plenty of sweets and chocolate, so they probably don't need more from me.

My name is Kate, I am a Registered Dietitian, and I am a Chocoholic. I always have been. Remember the restaurant Bennigan's (does that still exist somewhere)? When I was a kid and my family would go there, we would order a dessert called Death By Chocolate to share, which was something like this... chocolate cookie crust with chocolate ice cream, hard chocolate coating over it, and hot fudge. OMG.

I dread a counter full of dishes. After a long day, shuttling the kids around, helping with homework, and cooking dinner, the last thing I want to do is stand at the sink and wash a ton of lunchboxes, water bottles, tupperware and all other items I don't put in the dishwasher. The other night, though, as I was finishing the clean-up, I felt a real sense of accomplishment.

Today Galter LifeCenter hosted it's 26th annual celebration of National Senior Health & Fitness Day. I had the privilege of hosting a nutrition talk with a great group of seniors this morning. I presented Easy Summertime Meals, demonstrating the preparation of four easy, plant-based, favorite recipes of mine.

Galter LifeCenter recently held Fitness Fest, an event for members to come try some classes and discover how Galter is here to help you reach your health and fitness goals for 2019. The event was a great success, and because I have had several follow up requests for the recipes that were offered at the crock pot stop, I decided to post them here.

I have spent a lot of time with my family over this holiday break while the kids have been home from school and my husband has had an extended break from work. We have had lots of “togetherness,” if you will.