Hello! I’m Stephanie. I’m a registered dietitian, mom, and nutrition communicator who loves eating and cooking delicious food with friends and family while balancing that with good health. I co-founded C&J Nutrition in 2006 in the hopes of helping empower people to make healthful eating a natural and fun part of their lifestyles.
What I love most about what I do is being able spread messages that inspire people to feel as good as they can through food, and how to achieve that in a sustainable way. C&J Nutrition helps spread these messages by reaching millions through our published content in magazines and books, healthy recipes, and working with food and wellness brands to communicate accurate and transparent messages to consumers.
This website and blog is a way to share our nutrition insight, the latest food trends and healthy recipes, along with how I personally balance mindful eating and exercise with all the other things that try to get in the way!
More about my path to becoming a dietitian, and starting C&J Nutrition
My interest in nutrition started early. I wanted to understand more about how eating affected my performance as a gymnast. I spent so many hours training each week and wanted to maximize that effort in every way. At first, I ate lots of veggies, pasta, and Powerbars, along with fat-free everything! I have learned a LOT since then, through my education as well as finding my personal approach towards eating healthfully, and working with individual clients on how to do the same. I was fortunate to be able to be scholarship gymnast in college and that’s where I got to pursue nutrition, eventually getting a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics. It’s also where I really started experimenting a more with cooking on my own….which brings me to my love of food.
I grew up in a family of six that valued a home-cooked meal, enjoyed together. Many of my favorite childhood memories are around the dinner table with my parents and three younger sisters. My mom cooked the most delicious homemade meals just about every day of the week. We always had a variety of foods and while different taste preferences were respected, she was never a short order cook. I was always appreciative of the meals we had–– but now more than ever. I’m still in awe of how she did it all, especially now that I’m a mom and realize how tough it can be to find that balance.
I met Willow Jarosh, my original partner in C&J Nutrition, when I started the graduate school program at Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. We instantly connected were fast friends (we still are 12 years later!) We were both in the combined Dietetic Internship and Masters program in Nutrition Communications. We learned that we had the same vision for what we wanted from a career in nutrition and food and later went on to found C&J Nutrition. While we recently decided to focus on different aspects of nutrition, we’re still working together on projects and cheering one another on.
I call a Maryland suburb just outside of DC, home, along with my husband Jason and daughters Juliette and Elodie, and my white cat, Yogurt. In addition to food, I love running, yoga, and trying new fitness classes. We bought our first home a couple years ago and have been slowly renovating it one DIY project at a time! I’m enjoying the perks of suburban living most via my first organic vegetable garden.