Welcome to SGM! I’m Tammy Small: wife, mom of three, Grammy to Jack and Willow, educator, certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, and entrepreneur. I love bringing people together by creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere with an inviting home, a beautiful presentation, and of course, delicious healthy food!

I grew up in a family that loved to cook and have parties. My parents both came from big families, so holidays were always spent surrounded by an enormous group of friends and relatives, all eating delicious food, drinking, and laughing together. My dad made huge Sunday dinners and my first question was always, “Who’s coming over?” If his response was “It’s just us” I always picked up the phone and invited some of my aunts and uncles over.

When I married my childhood sweetheart, who became a Naval Flight Officer, we both knew the hardest part for me would be leaving my family. (Although moving to San Diego from Chicago in December made it a heck of a lot easier!)

I quickly made friends and found that having other Navy families over for dinner, especially wives when our husbands were gone, was one of my favorite things to do. Creating what I had growing up helped me when I missed my family in Chicago and helped me deal with the loneliness I felt when my husband was deployed. (He loved hearing about a party I threw on our front lawn the day he left for a 6-month deployment. What can I say? Why sit around and cry when you can throw a party!)

When my husband was home, he shared my enthusiasm for hosting fabulous gatherings. Our friends became our family and picking up the phone on a weekend afternoon to invite our “family” for dinner was a common occurrence in the Small household.

But when my husband had a heart attack at 45, it changed our approach to health. I started researching nutrition and clean eating. We started making pantry swaps and preparing even more food from scratch using clean, whole ingredients.

We both believed that healthy food didn’t have to be boring or tasteless, and we didn’t want to change our lifestyle of hosting and feeding people great food. The more we learned, the more passionate we became. Tom on the culinary side of things, and me on the health and nutrition side of things.

I became so passionate, in fact, that I am now a certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. This journey has led us to a healthier, happier, and more fulfilling life, and I want to help other people by supporting them step-by-step as they make choices about food and lifestyle to meet their individual goals. Learn more in my What the Heck is a Health and Nutrition Coach post.

What You Will Find Here at SGM

So here at SGM, you will find evidence-based information on food and nutrition.

You will find simple recipes made from whole ingredients that your family and friends will love.

You will find “small gestures” to bring people together and make them feel special.

You will find how health and hospitality can easily go hand-in-hand, and how living a healthy lifestyle doesn’t have to mean sacrificing fun!

I hope this is a place you can return to again and again, and that it encourages you on your own journey.

xoxo,
Tammy 

GET FREE RECIPES, HOSPITALITY TIPS, AND HEALTH AND NUTRITION INFORMATION DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX WEEKLY! Plus get my FREE Grocery List/Menu Template and Meal Plan Like A Boss Checklist