Jen Lease, RD, CDN
I’m Jen, Registered Dietitian, trained chef in health-supportive cooking, and devoted eater of all the foods. I’m a born and raised New Yorker, currently living just outside of Denver, CO. I’m so glad you’re here!
I never realized I had warped thoughts about food or that I was making food choices based on ideas that diet culture had put in my head. The craziest thing? This all started when I was actually studying nutrition. I was in college afraid to put on the “freshman 15” even after I’d made it past freshman year. I took the lessons I’d learn in my nutrition classes & go way extreme. I’d learn something like butter is high in saturated fat & bad for your cholesterol and eliminate it from my diet. Newsflash: I was 18, 19 years old with no health problems, no food allergies, nothing that would mean I should restrict any food in my diet. I was caught up reading “healthy” food blogs as they were becoming so popular and would bake a dessert that was gluten-free & dairy-free all because I was afraid that eating the real thing would lead me to gain weight.
If this resonates with you at all, you’re in the right place and I promise you are not alone.
So many kick-ass ladies have an internal struggle with their food choices every single day, multiple times a day and many don’t even realize it. That’s because diet culture doesn’t want you to realize it. I bet you follow tons of “healthy lifestyle” blogs or “healthy influencers” on social media - I did too! It can feel impossible to shut off the outside noise in our current social media-driven culture that tells us to eat, exercise, & look a certain way. I can help you shut off that noise & focus on YOU.
You are my priority & you should be a priority for yourself, too.
I became a certified Chef with the purpose of becoming a better coach for you. I help you actually apply nutrition information in the kitchen and empower you to reconnect with food through cooking and to start eating all the food you once believed to be off-limits. With me, you will not sacrifice flavor for calories. We focus on quality & nutrient balance, not all the numbers, like calories & grams that take all the fun out of cooking. I help you unravel any lingering diet mentality to make space for self-care. I take a mindfulness approach in coaching you both in and out of the kitchen. This truly means using your beautiful brain to get in tune with what you want & what you need and being able to balance the two.
Ready to get started & find joy with food the way nature intended?
Professional Credentials
Registered Dietitian (RD), Commission on Dietetic Registration (since 2015)
Professional Chef’s Training Program, Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) Natural Gourmet Center (previously the Natural Gourmet Institute)
Bachelor of Science in Dietetics, University of Delaware
Dietetic Internship, University of Delaware
ServSafe Certified Safe Food Handler