The Courthouse Nutrition team meets in the back of the kitchen of the Wild Pear restaurant near the corner of State Street and Liberty Street in downtown Salem. The restaurant is closed and the dishwasher has just finished cleaning the last of the day’s glasses. Co-owner Jessica Ritter explains the best way to chop an onion as the team places diced tomatoes and cilantro and onions and jalapeños in a large metal bowl. The salsa they make will be used as a topping for fajita salad.

Medical Fitness Director Drew Miller dices mushrooms as Jessica prepares the grill for chicken. Nutrition Coaches Renee Faville and Holly Orton take spoonfuls of the salsa and decide it needs a little more bite from the jalapeño. Nutrition Coach Melissa Williams contends that the salsa needs an extra pinch of salt. Jessica agrees.

This night is about learning a few kitchen skills that the Nutrition can pass along to those in the Nutrition program. It is about learning a new clean recipe with fresh ingredients. But more than anything, the Nutrition team is here to enjoy clean food the way clean food was meant to be enjoyed.

Food should not be dull or difficult. With the right information, with the right skills, with the right outlook, clean food can be something very special. It can fuel your body so you can imagine, train, and do whatever you want, whenever you want. It can add flavor and a simple type of joy.

In the quiet kitchen, the Nutrition team talks and laughs. They enjoy the process of making a meal together as much as they enjoy the meal. After the dishes are done, Jessica turns off the lights and locks the back door as the Nutrition team walks out the back door nourished and energized.