Samantha Gemmell | Nourished Tribe

Say hello to Sam Gemmell, a qualified nutritionist and entrepreneur who teaches fellow nutritionists how to market their business and make an impact! This inspiring lady has a lot of knowledge to share and you’ll love getting an insight into her life through this Nourished Tribe feature.

Sam and I sat down for a brilliant chat about her career and the advice she has to fellow nutritionists and you can hear this conversation over on the Nutrition Grad Guide podcast.

But for now, let’s get into the questions. Over to you Sam…

Tell us a bit about yourself:

Where to start? I’m a qualified nutritionist, but my business focuses on helping health practitioners to market their business in a way that feels good.

I’m Melbourne born and bred, and couldn’t imagine living anywhere else, but I do love travelling whenever I can squeeze it in.

I live with my partner, who is an amazing chef at a local café, and my staffie Nina. Dating a chef for over 3 years has turned me into a total foodie!

Finish this sentence: ’Everyone that knows me knows that…’

I am a crazy dog person and a coconut latte is the way to my heart!

What does living a nourished life mean to you?

Finding whatever your balanced and happy place is. Nourishment is physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, environmental and social, so we need to take steps to nourish all of those aspects of ourselves.

A nourished life isn’t about being perfect, but about taking baby steps towards your best self. The closer you are to your best self, the better you feel, and the better you can serve others around you.

What sparked your passion for health & wellness?

My own journey with cancer. I was diagnosed at age 19 with thyroid cancer that had spread through my lymph nodes.

Funnily enough, it wasn’t the cancer itself that had me turn to food as medicine – it was my poor immunity post-surgery and treatment. Doctors shrugged off my multiple infections, but I knew there had to be an answer.

During the first year of my nutrition degree, I was diagnosed with a genetic connective tissue disorder – Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. The diagnosis came with some changes to my approach to wellness – for example, I needed to start eating a high-salt diet and be careful with my use of anti-inflammatory or muscle-relaxing supplements.

This just reinforced for me that food truly can be medicine, and that one person’s medicine is another’s poison.

Describe your food philosophy:

Just Eat Real Food most of the time! I take aspects of different philosophies and meld them into what works.

For me, that means a predominately Paleo-based, plant-heavy diet – but I still eat the occasional oats and rice, I’ll have legumes 2-3 times a week, and I still enjoy treats from time to time.

Whenever possible, I source local, ethical and/or sustainable ingredients.

Tell us about what a typical day on your plate looks like:

Very few days are ‘typical’ when you’re self-employed! But here’s a quick overview:

Breakfast: A protein smoothie with egg protein, oats, banana, coconut mylk, maca, mesquite and Coconut Greens OR eggs with sweet potato hash, mushrooms and spinach

Lunch: Often leftovers from the previous night – today’s is pork Pad Thai with red rice noodles and veg. Otherwise, I’ll cook up some fish with greens and rice or potato hash.

Dinner: This is a foodie household, so it can depend on what we feel like and what I picked up from the market over the weekend! We love veggie-packed options like pulse pasta bolognaise.

Tonight is Mexican – turkey mince with plenty of added veg and spices, avocado and hummus dips on the side, and of course some white corn chips to scoop it all up!

Snacks: I’m not a huge snacker because I eat plenty of protein with my meals and I drink 2.5-4L of water per day. But If I’m particularly hungry, I might make a mini-smoothie, munch on some fruit or grab a protein bliss ball.

And of course, I’ll grab a coconut latte from one of my local cafes a couple of times a week!

One bit of health advice you wish everyone would follow:

“Find what feels good” – my favourite mantra from Yoga With Adriene!

What is one health, wellness or personal development book that you think everyone should read?

Just one? But I’m a total bookworm!

My favourite books in the non-fiction world include Chillpreneur by Denise Duffield-Thomas, anything by Lisa Messenger, The $1000 Project by Canna Campbell and Radical Self Love by Gala Darling. Each has given me something different to take away, and all of them I can read over and over and find even more value.

Whichever appeals the most to you – give it a read!

Last but not least, where can people find you?

On Facebook and Instagram, I’m @samthehealthwriter. You can also find me over at my website, samanthagemmell.com

You can also learn more about Sam via the podcast interview we did over on Nutrition Grad Guide.