About me & SundayMealPrep.
Montpellier, France was the gateway to my first love for cooking. I spent time watching and learning from Madame Bovy in her kitchen while she cooked dinner every night – it wasn’t until years later that I realized how much more than just making food we had been sharing stories too! The markets near the house were where you could find ingredients like fresh produce or spices; The French knew exactly what would work best on any given day because of all their experience buying goods at different times during year. After showing me how, she would let me make the vinaigrette.
So it became a mission that I have continued my entire life of going to farmers markets in new cities and countries and talking to cooks to learn everything I could. My passion for travel and cooking carries on!
I’ve loved to eat for as long as I can remember. I pretty much know geography based on where I’ve enjoyed a wonderful meal.
And so the journey to find healthy lifestyle began. I would go on a diet and lose weight but I would miss all the things I love and never feel like myself in the process. So I would return to my old ways and the cycle begins again. It’s not just about weight loss. I suffered from high blood pressure, muscle aches and SIBO.
Rewriting the cookbook meant keeping the flavor profiles I love, continuing to be that person who explores and enjoys new flavors all the time. It became a question of balance and knowledge of how food is really processed and interpreted by the body. I learned the truth about nutritional needs and the multi-billion dollar food marketing industry.
So taking that turn to what’s pure and wholesome brought such greatly improved health I continued to study and truly make eating real food a lifestyle. I have energy, I have endurance, in fact enough to run several half marathons each year. My skin is more vibrant. I sleep better. I could go on and on. I’m on a mission to keep going and enjoy my best life ever!
Good health brings confidence! I competed in the 2021 Favorite Chef competition against restaurant owners and professionals and actually made it to the Quarter Finals. That’s led to several great relationships with brands that continue to grow.
I enjoy working with brands with like values. To be honest, I have turned down more work than I have accepted. My main reason when I decline an opportunity to promote brand is because it is not something I would include in my lifestyle. I honestly could not get behind some things and truth be told my following is most likely not the audience they want. I am pretty outspoken about the quality of food available in American grocery stores today. I have also turned away work when a company asks me to promote them for free. Yes, they ask more than you think! Collaborating on a creative project with someone else is always exciting, especially when you get to help them bring their vision into reality! It takes time, effort and energy for me as an entrepreneur (and foodie). I love seeing people enjoy the end result of my hard work.
I find myself spending hours conceptualizing ideas; testing recipes by cooking, plating, etc., planning shoots from A-Z including lighting and props selection followed closely thereafter by styling sessions during which all kinds if cool stuff happens – like brainstorming!
As for SundayMealPrep, I trademarked the name last year and I want to grow the business. I continue traveling the world and want to share all the joy of bringing cooking from foriegn places to my table in Texas. I am currently working on my cookbook, WildFit Spring and I have notes and ideas for several more to follow. I enjoy teaching healthy cooking because I am such a believer in how important (and fun!) it can be. I have developed several Team Building Cooking programs where companies or organizations can set up an online evening of fun & healthy cooking. My goal is to grow my web and social media following so I can help more and more people so please share! Don’t be surprised if a SundayMealPrep podcast and many more things is in the future…
For digital content inquiries or to set up an online cooking event contact me at junellen@SundayMealPrep.com
