B+YND Spotlight: Meet Jen
Spotlight Series: follow along to get to know the ladies behind B+YND and a behind the scenes look at this whirlwind planning process that we love so much.
Hometown: Haddonfield, NJ (Go Dawgs!)
Current City: Philly, baby. Even with a serious case of wanderlust, I hope to always call this amazing city my home.
Wellness Background: 7+ years of food prep, recipe development and event planning as the Regional Manager and Developer for Animo Juice. Certified in Culinary Nutrition through Matthew Kenney Culinary and currently studying towards a NASM Personal Training Certificaiton.
How I got HERE: Two part story - bear with me.
Part ONE: I met Jess while we were both working our last jobs (I would make her killer acai bowls and green juices every morning) and we thought to ourselves - why is it so hard to get a healthy meal AND a glass of wine in this city? Being the go-getters that we are, since we couldn’t find it, we MADE it. We started hosting plant based pop up supper clubs and interactive plant based cooking classes throughout the city in January 2016.
Part TWO: Jess met Kate, and started dreaming up the GOOD Fest. Soon after, I met Kate and we realized how much we liked each other, and we all stopped and said, UM, why don’t we just join forces?? So, now - here we are - and I’m thrilled to say I have the two best co-workers in the WORLD.
Wellness product I can't live without: Youth to the People’s Superfood Cleanser. Love.
Favorite healthy splurge: Vacations to very off the beaten path places. Technology cleanses trump juice cleanses, in my opinion.
Where you'll find me working out: I work infinitely harder when I have an instructor watching me so group classes are where I’m at - Pure Barre & Solidcore are my favorite two.
Last book I read: Contagious by Jonah Berger. I secretly miss studying for school - so I like reading books that teach me something!
"Cheat" food I would never give up: Give me all the tacos, chips, and guac. I don’t actually consider this cheat food but in the amounts I eat it, I should.
Favorite item in my closet: My black ALO moto leggings. They make me feel like a badass.
Advice I'd give my younger self: Don’t do anything just because you are “supposed” to and don’t worry about what other people think - except when they tell you that the person you are dating sucks. That’s usually true.