About

Thanks for stopping by!

Hi – I’m Jen. I am the main author of Jen and Company.

Jen and Company originally started under a different name – She said. She said. – as a partnership between myself and my bff, Anne. She had been encouraging me to start a blog, but I was a nervous nelly about it. She volunteered to co-blog with me and that’s all it took. Anne is still a regular contributor to the blog, but has stepped back from her co-blogger status. You can read about that story here.

As the blog has changed, the former name no longer made as much sense. The current name really reflects how I roll. I love to entertain. I love to do things in the company of others – especially running and biking. Plus, I’m not the only author on the blog. I have a ‘company’ of featured contributors. I believe multiple perspectives is healthy and I’m lucky enough to have great friends that are willing to share their experiences with eating and living well. We are all in different places in our lives and that has a definite affect on how we live. I hope you enjoying reading about our experiences as much as we do talking about them.

I guess you would call this a healthy living blog. I write about food (since it’s awesome), cooking, fitness (I’m a runner, biker and wanna be yogi), restaurants, and other random rants musings. My goal is to inspire people to find a healthy balance (this includes things like chocolate and wine).  I would call myself pretty knowledgable when it comes to healthy eating, but I’m by no means an expert. My basic food philosophy is pretty simple. Eat good food and let it be real. It’s not rocket science. A diet full of produce, whole grains, locally sourced and organic meats (if you’re into animals), quality dairy (not processed cheese food), beans, lentils, tofu (or tempeh), and the occasional treat ( you can decide what occasional means) will set you up for success. I’m not going to get on my soapbox here, you’ll figure out my philosophies the more you read.

Here’s a little more about me:

I love food. Did I already cover that?

I live in Minneapolis with my husband, Brette. He also loves food and will eat anything I make, making him my number one guinea pig. He also runs, competes in triathlons, and plays both fast pitch and slow pitch softball.

We have an adorable yellow lab, Lily. I can’t say she’s as active as we are. She’s a bit on the lazy side. Always has been. She does love running with us, though we’re pulling her by the end! She also loves hunting, swimming and sunbeams.

My day job is in the non-profit world, which I love. Fund-raising is my specialty.

My favorite things to do include biking, running, reading, watching movies (we are Oscar freaks!) and most of all cooking. I love all things food. I fell in love with food at an early age because I have a mother who is an awesome cook. She is still my go-to for cooking questions. My siblings (I’m the youngest of 6) are also great cooks. It’s in our blood.

I’m so fortunate to live in a city that has great places to eat and that has really embraced the local food movement.

Minneapolis is also a great place to stay active. We have access to an awesome trail system for both running and biking, and the community in general is very fitness friendly. I can’t see myself ever leaving this city.

To find out even more about me, check out my 25 random things.

If you have any questions about me or the blog, please leave them in the comments or e-mail me at jenhjelle at gmail dot com.