Donna Piket is a Lake Highlands resident with a background in public health.

As a Health and Wellness Specialist, her latest business initiative aims to make our community a little more healthy, while also taking some of the fear out of menu planning and cooking.

When I heard about her new Healthy Cooking Group, I couldn't sign up fast enough.

Donna promised hands-on cooking tips and instructions, along with easy to follow recipes.

For me, that meant I might actually be able to make something my family would eat! So last Saturday found me, along with two other willing participants, in Donna's kitchen armed with lots of direction and 4 tasty recipes, including:

Spinach Stuffed Salmon with Creamy Cauliflower
Chicken Spinach Parmesan
Salmon Cakes with Spinach Gratin
Tuscan Style Chicken Pasta

Donna provided all the food and cookware, recipes and helpful tips, prep plans for future meals, and a shopping list aimed at helping everyone spend less time in the grocery store.

Set up in her Lake Highlands home, our group of three worked together with Donna to prepare and cook these recipes.

For two hours we measured, cut, cooked and shared our cooking tales of woe and success, as well as a few laughs.

At the end of the session, each participant in the group left with four healthy meals - and accompanying side dishes.

The Tuscan Style Chicken Pasta fed my entire family on Wednesday night, and no one under the age of 8 had a single complaint. (That's saying a lot for any dish with spinach in it!)

"My hope it that everyone will feel a little more confident about stepping into the kitchen and practicing the skills the group demonstrated," said Donna, who followed up after the session to make sure everyone was enjoying their menu items.

The meals I prepared with Donna's help were a hit with my husband, who's a much better cook than me and, therefore, a little harder to impress.

"Remember cooking should not be stressful, and you shouldn't be afraid to experiment," says Donna. "Practice makes perfect, so have fun and get cooking!"

The cost of the 2-hour class is $75, and upcoming meal plans include "Recipes with 5 Ingredients."

To find out more about the Healthy On the Go Cooking Group, readers can contact Donna Piket at 214.417.8848 or visit her website at http://www.healthyonthego.com.