10 Jul Inside the Fridge Welcomes RD and Blogger Kath Younger

Kath Younger, RD writes a healthy food and lifestyle blog, www.KathEats.com. Her blog is a celebration of life through the lens of food. Kath writes about everything from recipes to organization tips to encouraging readers to try new “real” foods, including wheatberries, kale chips, chia seeds, and her famous whipped banana oatmeal. Having lost over 30 pounds after graduating from college, Kath is a Registered Dietitian and owns a Great Harvest Bread Company with her husband in Charlottesville, VA. She has been writing KERF since 2007. She also writes at Baby KERF documenting her journey to motherhood. Follow @Katheats on Instagram and Twitter.

ITF: What’s In Your Fridge?
KY: You’ve caught me on a Friday night when a week’s worth of meals are winding down. We have a good amount of leftovers – from a wee bit of homemade canned tomato sauce that we’re planning to put on a pizza tomorrow to a massaged kale salad we took to a picnic yesterday to watermelon and goat cheese waiting to be eaten. I don’t have much green in the fridge because our garden is in full bounty right now, so I just go out and pick lettuce and kale and tomatoes every day. My top shelf is my dairy/baby section, the door holds beverages from milk to kombucha and lemonade and our doors house jams and sauces for recipes.

ITF: Where do you shop for food?
KY: I split my grocery shopping between Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, our local farmer’s markets and our backyard garden.

ITF: Do you love food shopping or dread it?
KY: I love browsing foods and stumbling upon new products, but my wallet prefers that I stick mostly to produce and bulk bins : )

ITF: How many do you shop for? Ages?
KY: My son is 10 months old and has added a whole new dimension to what we keep in our fridge. I’ve been making my own baby purees and recently we have moved into all kinds of finger foods. It’s been fun to see what flavors he has liked. He loves avocado and fish but doesn’t seem to care much for blueberries!

ITF: How many times a week do you eat out? (based on 21 meals/week)
KY: We eat out once or twice a week, although before having a baby I’d say it was a solid 2. I miss dining in nice restaurants after dark, but we’ve been able to find ways to enjoy dining out and keeping our son happy. Now we get to restaurants at 5:30 and are home by 7.

ITF: How do you plan your weekly meals? Create a spreadsheet of fly by the seat of your pants?
KY: I have a chalkboard in my kitchen where I sketch out the week’s meals around protein/meat and vegetables. We add whole grains and starches as necessary. I am always flip flopping around which veggies go with which protein, but at the end of the week almost everything has been used up. I also plan a flex night or two in there to accommodate spontaneous nights out or other unexpected schedule changes.

ITF: What convenience product can you not live without?
KY: I love these veggie burgers made in Charlottesville called No Bull Burgers. They are made with lentils, veggies and egg and make a perfect lunch atop of a salad or served on a roll.

ITF: What cooking utensil/piece of equipment/appliance do you live for?
KY: I couldn’t live without my salad spinner. We eat tons of greens from our garden and I use it every single day in the summer.

ITF: How have your cooking/shopping habits changed over the last 10 years?
KY: When I first started living on my own I used to buy a lot more packaged food – especially crackers, wraps and things. As I learned more about nutrition and my food views changed, I now eat a lot more salads and vegetables and a more gourmet selection of foods.

ITF: What was the last meal you cooked from scratch?
KY: I made a batch of chia seed cookies this week for a recipe for my blog. I thought it would be a good idea to keep cookies in a cookie jar but it’s been hard to resist them!

Thank you, Kath!

If you would like to be featured on Inside the Fridge, please email Robinsbite intern Destini Borchardt- Destini@robinplotkin.com