Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Amy Klingele Garman. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Amy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I was in a role at a Senior Care community for 10 years managing clinical nutrition as well as the dietary teams responsible for preparing and serving all meals to our beloved residents. We had the best team! New owners took over and at first there were no changes. Then the culture slowly started shifting as the new owners became more involved in the dietary operations side of the business. Clinical guidelines and sanitation were eroding as profit and bottom line became a higher priority to the business. The new leadership began calling into question processes we had that had been very successful, and the team started to lose momentum. Distrust began to be woven into our tight knit team as the new leaders pointed fingers at what they deemed “deficiencies”. Then the firing began as long term team leads started being replaced.
At that time I was a single mother and the sole financial support for my family. I needed my job but became concerned for my professional reputation. I began interviewing with outside firms, not sure exactly where I wanted my career to go. As the firings of senior staff continued, I was concerned that I was in the line of fire. My interviewing was going along well, but I had no offers in hand. After 10 years in this role with exemplary record, I was written up by HR and not given the opportunity to rebut. I did what I had to do and submitted my letter of resignation-which is what I believe was the goal of the new leaders. Better to resign than be fired, I thought. this was a huge risk as I had to support my family but the stress level at my current position was negatively impacting my health. And my career.
As soon as I resigned, I received a job offer for a job that became career and life changing. I was going from healthcare operations into healthcare sales for the largest broad line food company in the world-one in which I excelled. From that experience I really understood the importance of a positive culture and a cohesive trusting team. Integrity mattered, and I have taken that with me as i built teams in my new role. Taking that leap of faith proved to me that taking a risk is worth it!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I have an entire career that has in one way or another been based in healthcare, wellness, and sales. Also, since at the core I am a collaborator and a social being, I thrived as being a part of/and leading teams. As the journey of my career unfolded and directions changed, I embraced every part of it. But the most important part of the journey was the wellness of my family as I raised my children. And that, in no small part, centered around food. Well, not just food, but meals, cooking, time in the kitchen together, and sharing meals with whoever was around for them. Even with a very tight budget, everyone was welcome at our table. If time allowed, we also loved grabbing a game to play together after a meal. Between meals, games, and homework, our center became our kitchen. And that became a deep connection not only with my children, but with friends that gathered with us. But that made sense to me. Even in college I loved cooking for my roommates and hosting little gatherings. My mom gave me my first cookbook when I was in college. Even then she saw my passion for food.
It didn’t hurt that I was a self proclaimed “foodie”, loved cooking, was always curious about new ingredients and cultural foods in which I had not had exposure. My happy place in my down time was in my kitchen, creating.
While my professional career fed my family, I had other interests and would pick up a side hustle here and there. An editor for a food magazine asked if I would write some articles and I jumped into that. I started going to more culinary events locally to add context to my writing, and also to become more fully immersed in the culinary community, which I dearly loved. I was at a local food and wine event, and struck up a conversation with a young attorney about cooking. She expressed frustration that her mom had not taught her how to cook so at the age of 28 she didn’t know how to even cook an egg. She asked me if I would teach her how to cook. I did and we had a blast.
When my daughter left for college, she would call and ask how I made this or that. So I started making little cooking videos on my iPhone and sending them to her. I started thinking back to the experience with the young attorney that didn’t know how to cook. I started making YouTube cooking videos, then started a food Instagram page, called Postcards from the Kitchen Table. It is an homage to the human connection shared around meals. I love the notion of a quick little kitchen tip or recipe, arriving like an happy little unexpected postcard landing in the mailbox. That was it! I was off to the races!
I am very aligned to food being a path to wellness, along with a holistic approach to good health. So I became a Certified Holistic Nutrition Coach. Bringing all of the skills I learned along the way, I now own and operate my coaching business, Elspeth Holistic Nutrition, LLC. I work with individuals and families with the mindset of small changes having big impacts. I also speak to groups and hold wellness workshops. Next month I am hosting a Hydration workshop for children aged 10-17 in which we discuss all things hydration and will also teach them how to make a homemade electrolyte drink. No dyes or chemicals, and it is so quick that it can fit into even the busiest schedule.
What do I want people to know about me? I have faced incredible adversity. What looked like setbacks actually helped propel me forward. I weathered huge personal storms that were daunting, and I came out the other side stronger. Smarter. And with empathy. I am who I am with no apologies. I can nerd out on nutrition in an instant. The human body fascinates me, and I honor the mind body spirit connection. And I absolutely love working with my clients, creating social media content, and getting out into the community. My intent is always to help others, to bring what they need to them by using my experience, my knowledge, and my gifts, always making more connections. I thank everyone for taking a few moments to learn more about me, Postcards from the kitchen table, and Elspeth Holistic Health.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

Other than my training and education, what is most helpful for succeeding in my field is curiosity. I respect where others are coming from and seek to better understand. I dearly love learning from someone that has a different perspective from mine. I try to stay in the mindset of learning and gaining an understanding of HOW that perspective came to by-the path to the opinion or finding.
Listening to others is crucial. Asking questions to deepen an understanding helps me learn, but it helps others feel heard and validated. That is really important in holistic health. there is such a strong mind body spirit connection, and that place is different for everyone. I can help validate someone that has experienced food insecurity, as I have also had that experience. I can learn from someone with a different cultural background and share mine as well. Once a why is understood, helping a client move in that direction at their pace is important for succeeding in this field.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

This is such a challenging question to answer because it involves being vulnerable. As the youngest child of a large family, you have to be loud to be heard. Not angry, just loud. So I was. Then, raising my 3 children while working full time meant I had a lot of schedules to juggle at all times. Time was my most valuable commodity. I often felt rushed and on the move with very little time to nurture myself. That led to me becoming somewhat direct. And being direct can be interpreted as being unlikable. Being direct was a survival skill for me at some points. I had much to accomplish with few tools and little time. I had to unlearn being so direct, to soften my speaking tone, to slow my speech, and to monitor my messaging. This took introspection, enough self awareness to change my body language, and changing my inner dialog.

When I was in a new role, a leader and mentor called me “intense”. At first I thought this was a compliment. But I quickly realized it meant I was coming on too strong. In my head I was just getting things done, period. No nonsense. But even when you have the right message, is your delivery is wrong, no one hears you. In fact, people may back away.
This lesson is one I continue to unlearn and relearn often. I remind myself to slow down. Take a breath. Not be indirect and vague, but softer with a gentle tone. I aspire to get my messaging across in a way that is heard in a positive manner. I have been successful, but I remind myself of this lesson often.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @Postcardsfromthekitchentable
• Facebook: Postcardsfromthekitchentable
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/

Image Credits

Credit: Amy Garman in the kitchen with gut friendly homemade sourdough crackers.