Emily Weeks RDN LD

I grew up in what used to be the small town of McKinney, Texas with a younger sister and brother, and my mom and dad. My family ate dinner almost every night around the table, and both of my parents were involved in the cooking process. They worked hard to introduce us to a variety of foods, and weekly we were encouraged to try new things.

My passion for cooking stems from the examples of my parents and grandparents. I remember learning to sauté mushrooms at the ripe age of eight, standing on a stool in the kitchen, or helping make homemade chocolate chip cookies. The Hein kids were known for eating “anything and everything”, or being “bottomless pits”. The weird kids requesting tuna noodle casserole at ten years old.

When I was in high school, I got a part time job at a supplement store. I loved talking to customers about the different vitamins and would stand at the counter during slow times and read Prescription for Nutritional Healing, fascinated by everything that good nutrition could do for you. I also loved talking to people about how they could improve their lives with food, that I almost got fired from that supplement store because I couldn’t meet the sales quota of whey protein/creatine or whatever else they wanted me to sell. That’s when I decided I wanted to learn the truth about nutrition and healthy eating, and went on to become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist.

Having the privilege to grow up with such a health-conscious, cooking oriented family, I realized that not everyone learned to sauté at such a young age or even knew how to cook a simple weeknight dinner. This fuels my passion to teach others to learn how to nourish their bodies, take care of themselves, and cook more at home.