Inside the Kitchen with Coby Smith
Coby Smith
Director of Food & Nutrition, Arkansas Heart Hospital
What cuisine are you known for:
Comfort food made healthier
What is your top tip for healthy eating?
Take advantage of technology. Use a journal app, find cool recipes and try to keep you plate as colorful as possible.
Simple suggestion for cooking healthier at home:
Replace traditional oils like vegetable with olive or coconut oil & Replacing salt with different types of acidity like lemon juice and vinegar.
What item on your menu do you most recommend to those looking for something healthy?
On Fridays, we have a fresh fish entrée such as Salmon, Halibut or Wahoo. We use seasonal specials, whole grains and fresh vegetables. Each dish is around 600 calories, which is always our goal.
The food trend you're loving right now:
I am a big fan of pickling foods. I like to use less common foods like beets, green beans and watermelon rind. It’s fun to experiment with different flavor profiles while controlling the sugar and salt content.
Superfoods — what are your favorites and how do you use them?
At the hospital, we try to hide superfoods in where we can. For example quinoa is great to grind into flour and use when baking and flax seed is a good for binding foods such as meatloaf. Fresh blueberries, pomegranate and spinach are great to use in salads.
Ingredient you can’t live without and why?
I would say the Tomato, it’s simple yet versatile.
A Sous Vide Machine is one of my favorite kitchen gadgets. By controlling the temperature, I get perfect results every time.
Common misconception people have about eating healthy?
“Salads are healthy;” not when you put 4 ounces of ranch on it.
Outside of the kitchen, what is your fitness routine of choice?
I love to backpack, enjoying nature and the adventure of it all. Not knowing where I’m going is a rush similar to none. It makes me feel accomplished and liberated at the same time.
| Favorite meal of the day | Dinner |
| Coffee or tea | Mountain Dew |
| Favorite vegetable | Tomato |
| Secret recipe you'll never reveal | Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie (it may or may not have quinoa flour in it) |
| Go-to meal when you're short on time | Spaghetti (for the kids) |
| Celebrity chef | Thomas Keller & Wylie Dufresne |
| Guilty-pleasure food | Porter House |
In the Pantry
How do you feel these trendy culinary ingredients—love it or leave it, Chef?
Sriracha: Like
Kale: As a garnish, love, but food, not so much
Chia: Like
Quinoa/similar grains: Thumps up
Matcha: Like
Fancy salt: Some people say I have an excessive collection of salt, so love
Bone broth: Love
Coconut sugar: Like
Cold-pressed juice: Like