Jessie Shafer, RD, works with the Rudi’s Bakery team to create health-focused articles and recipes. She also answers nutrition questions about Rudi’s products and represents the brand on social media and local television. 

A registered dietitian is a credentialed health professional who has studied the impact of food and nutrients on all aspects of human health, metabolism, and disease reversal. Registered dietitians also advocate for public nutrition, including everyone’s right to have access to the health knowledge and nutrients they need in order to grow and thrive. 

Becoming A Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist

After earning her Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from Northwestern University, Jessie left Chicago and returned to her hometown where she married her high school sweetheart and began her media career.

As a young journalist working for an Iowa-based cookbook publisher, Jessie quickly gained an interest in learning more about nutrition and the impact of certain ingredients on the body. As she wrote and researched cookbooks and recipes, Jessie often interviewed registered dietitians, chefs, and other food experts. In 2008, Jessie began to pursue a long road to becoming a registered dietitian herself, a credential she thought would complement her journalism degree well, while she continued to work full time in publishing. 

Jessie’s career continued from book publishing to magazines, where she climbed the ranks from associate editor to nutrition editor to senior editor to editor-in-chief. She finished the science curriculum she needed in order to become a registered dietitian by taking courses during her lunch breaks and in the evenings. She would develop recipes and write articles for the health brands she worked for, then run off to dissect animal organs and study the periodic table, then return to work to edit and research more articles. 

Jessie’s work-school life continued like this for seven years until she had gained all the prerequisites she needed in order to gain a dietetic internship with Wellness Workdays DI out of Boston. Jessie then spent the next seven months working in hospital clinics, cancer clinics, food service, long-term care, and corporate offices. She sat for (and passed!) the national board exam to become a registered dietitian in 2014. 

Jessie Shafer, Dietitian Consultant

As an RD, Jessie’s career has had many bright spots. She has contributed articles to many health brands (like Eating Well, Better Homes & Gardens, Clean Eating, and more), lent nutrition-based consultation to many better-for-you brands (like Rudi’s), served as a nutrition analyst for the natural products industry, developed brand-supported continuing education programs, and is a well-known RD speaker and program director. 

Jessie served as the editor-in-chief of Delicious Living magazine, she was the Director of Influence & Health Education at New Hope Network, she is currently a registered dietitian, editor, and creator at The Real Food Dietitians, and she co-founded CRDIBLE Consulting with a fellow RD to create credibility and sustainability for the natural products industry by harnessing the expertise of dietitians. 

Registered Dietitians Love Rudi’s

Rudi’s has been creating really delicious organic bread in Boulder, Colorado since 1976, and has since garnered a legacy of quality baked goods that spans the nation. Dietitians like Jessie appreciate that Rudi’s has upheld its commitment to sustainably grown, organic ingredients in its bread and more. 

Knowing the prevalence of celiac disease and the importance of managing it through a strict gluten-free diet, Jessie and fellow dietitians also appreciate how Rudi’s pioneered and mastered a line of certified gluten-free breads and more, as well as its early adoption of a certified gluten-free facility. 

Some of Jessie’s favorite Rudi’s products are Rocky Mountain Sourdough, Honey Sweet Whole Wheat, Organic Rocky Mountain Sourdough English Muffins, Egg & Cheese Frittata with Sausage Breakfast Sandwich, and all of the Sandos.    

Find more articles and recipes written by Jessie on our Blog and Recipe pages.