🔹 Meet Jessica

Name: Jessica Cording (aka Jess)

Credentials: MS, RD, CDN, IFNCP

Focus: Women's health, nutrition, lifestyle & mental health

Website: JessicaCordingNutrition.com

Social: Instagram | LinkedIn | Podcast |Substack

Books: The Little Book of Game-Changers and The Farewell Tour, *both blending science, storytelling, and sustainable self-care strategies. Jess’s writing has earned praise from leading health, wellness, and media voices.
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🔸 Background & Inspiration

Jess Cording is a registered dietitian, health coach, Pilates instructor, and author whose work bridges the science of nutrition with the reality of living a full, balanced life. Known for her gutsy storytelling and mind-body-spirit approach to wellness, Jess empowers women to reclaim their health through sustainable, no-nonsense habits.

Her passion for women’s health runs deep. Growing up, she watched people she loved struggle with infertility and breast and ovarian cancer. The idea to incorporate it into her work sparked during her time working in a breast oncology clinic, where she supported patients navigating the physical and emotional challenges of treatment-induced menopause.

Jess’s story isn’t just about credentials, it’s about lived experience. A PTSD survivor and recovering people pleaser, she knows what it means to rebuild from burnout and begin again with intention.

What makes her stand out: how she meets people where they are.
One client described her as a “coach” who helped rebuild trust with their own body. Another noted that, despite years of struggling with Type 2 Diabetes, working with Jess led to “sustainable changes” and “dramatic improvements in blood sugar.”

Her mission today is simple but powerful: to help other women prioritize themselves again, without guilt, without confusion, and without having to figure it all out alone.

Origin Story: I grew up witnessing close family members struggle with chronic illnesses like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease as well as mental health challenges like anxiety and addiction. I also absorbed a lot of the disordered messages about food and body image around me, which contributed to my own early struggles. Working with a dietitian and therapist as a kid was life-changing—it helped me heal and planted the seed for my work today.

Though I initially pursued a career in writing, it was a job with a women’s health acupuncturist that inspired me to go back to school for nutrition. It was a big leap, but it brought everything full circle. I later brought health coaching and fitness into my work to provide more comprehensive support. Now, I combine my background in storytelling with evidence-based nutrition to educate, inspire, and support others—whether through counseling, writing, speaking, or brand work. 

What Drives Her:

My approach is rooted in the understanding that health isn’t just about what’s on your plate—it’s about the full picture. That includes how you move your body, how you manage stress, how well you sleep, and how connected you are to your internal cues. I help clients build awareness around their needs and support them in making sustainable changes that evolve with them over time. It’s about empowering people to tune in, not just follow rules.

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💕 When Jess Met Meal Garden

Jessica began using Meal Garden to facilitate the creation of personalized, nutrient-balanced plans for her clients, especially those navigating hormonal health, metabolic challenges, and cancer recovery.

Why Meal Garden?

Jess had put some of her entrepreneurial efforts on hold to join a leading integrated care team focused on cancer and chronic disease.

During this time, she was overwhelmed by the scale and complexity of client needs. Managing plans manually was no longer sustainable. With a deep commitment to personalization and a client base navigating complex health challenges, she needed a tool that matched her care level, without doubling her workload.

“My team and I decided to implement meal planning software to support our patients better. While I had created a few meal plans I could share with them, my workload didn’t allow the time to create an individual meal plan for each patient. I discovered Meal Garden through a Today’s Dietitian Magazine article about meal plan software. After demoing a few options, I found that it best suited the needs of the organization and the patients we cared for.”
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“I was already nearing burnout, so adding manual creation of meal plans just wasn’t going to work. Meal Garden helped me streamline the process and gave me the confidence that I was delivering well-balanced, evidence-based meal plans and recipe collections.” 

🎥 Meal Garden in Action

Take a break and watch this short video of Jessica walking through one of the workflows she used to support a client with complex nutrition needs. It’s a great example of how she blends clinical insight with practical tools like Meal Garden.

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In addition to the example above, Jessica has found Meal Garden helpful in various scenarios, each tailored to meet real client needs.

• PCOS Clients: Built plans tailored for blood sugar balance using the right ratio of protein, fat, and carbs
  
  
• Breast Cancer Survivors: Created Mediterranean-style plans that avoided red/processed meat and emphasized nutrient-rich ingredients
  
  
• Satiety & Satisfaction: Used Meal Garden’s nutrient filters to build meal plans that improve fullness and reduce energy crashes
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• Protein Gaps: Designed breakfast-focused collections to help women increase protein intake for better metabolic health
  

One Thing She’d Love to See Improved:

‍A feature to create a meal-prepping plan to go along with the menus could be a powerful tool for helping people simplify healthy eating.

‍🌱 What’s Next

After spending some time in the clinical world, Jess has gone back to her roots, focusing full-time on consulting, writing, and media work. She enjoys the flexibility of running her own business to better balance career and family life.

“Life is too short to ignore your calling or to resist change. I want to do work I love while being present for my family. As we evolve, what we focus our attention on evolves, and adjusting our daily habits and our mindset can help us thrive through those changes. That’s the kind of balance I want to help other women find, too.”

She continues to speak, publish, and share practical health and habit change tools—including her Substack, podcast, and new client tools powered by Meal Garden.

Her book, The Little Book of Game-Changers: 50 Healthy Habits for Managing Stress and Anxiety, reflects the same philosophy she brings to her coaching—small, sustainable shifts that lead to meaningful change. It’s packed with practical strategies for managing stress, supporting mental health, and creating healthier habits you’ll actually stick with.

The Farewell Tour: A Caregiver’s Guide to Stress Management, Sane Nutrition, and Better Sleep was created after Jessica struggled to find the right resources to help her balance life and work with caring for her father during his pancreatic cancer journey. Called “the most entertaining book about death ever” by readers, the book compares the caregiving experience to supporting a music artist on tour, a nod to her dad’s career in the music business. She shares actionable tips, real-life advice, personal stories, and interviews with wellness experts and record industry veterans about staying well (or not) on the road. 
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💬 What Clients Are Saying

“I had an extremely positive experience working with Jessica. Over the three months working together, she made time for all my goals. I especially appreciated that she focused on building habits through that time rather than completely change how I was going about food. By the end of our sessions, I felt a positive difference in my body. I highly recommend working with her.” — DD

📬 Stay Connected with Jessica

Want more of Jessica’s tips, insights, and storytelling? Join her newsletter on Substack: https://jessicacording.substack.com/

👀 See yourself in Jess’s story?
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We’d love to feature your journey next. Whether you’re building personalized plans, supporting complex care, or just finding your groove—Meal Garden was built for practitioners like you.

‍Share your story, inspire others, and get some exclusive Meal Garden swag along the way.

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