Plant Sumo Interviews - kiran smith

Kiran Smith

Easy Real Food

Kiran Dodeja Smith is a health coach, blogger, and marketing expert who has been interested in health & fitness since the age of 16. After moving to Charlotte in 2000, she worked with a regional bridal publication before creating her own local print magazine, Little Ones, which she successfully ran for 8 years. She is a lifelong learner who keeps a pulse on the latest health and lifestyle trends and has over 13 years-worth of experience teaching group exercise classes. After transitioning from her print magazine, Kiran moved into the digital space, working with the large food blog,100 Days of Real Food, long before the social media influencer marketing trend took root. While there, Kiran was responsible for creating, managing, and promoting partnerships with multiple healthy food brands. Over the past 8 years, she has fine-tuned her definition of healthy eating for her entire family, including her four kids who range in age from 9 to 16. Always the entrepreneur, she started her own blog 3 years ago, easyrealfood.com, to share gluten-free (and other food-sensitivity inspired) recipes that are easy and achievable for busy families to recreate. Kiran has a passion for encouraging healthy eating and living for all. She believes that everyone can have a starting point—it’s never “too late”—and that while everyone’s journey may be different, the small changes that we make can lead to profound results. Kiran enjoys running, hiking, yoga, and Pilates and holds an equal passion for cooking, empowering others to cook (including kids), traveling, and family time. She resides in South Charlotte with her husband, their four kids, dog, and bunny. Kiran holds a BS in Accounting and an MBA from Kent State University.

Company Profiles

What Is The Book (Or Books) You’ve Given Most As A Gift, And Why?

Daring Greatly is a great read and I gift it often. I also love You Are a Badass.

What Purchase Of $100 Or Less Has Most Positively Impacted Your Life ?

Though I LOVE my Vitamix, I bought a Nutribullet and find it is so much easier to use in making smoothies. I'm more apt to pull it out since I don't mind cleaning it as much as I do the Vitamix.

How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a “favorite failure” of yours?

Absolutely. Not all jobs are home runs, and those that don't work out lead us in the right direction to is a better fit.

Tell us about your business. What does it do and what value do you add?

I help people identify what foods can be causing reactions in them, how to remove them and enjoy easy, tasty recipes that don't bother them, and provide tips for living a healthy life moving forward. I have a big focus on gluten-free, grain-free and dairy-free recipes.

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

I would LOVE to know more about genes and attempt a related position.

What's your star sign?

Scorpio

What did you have for breakfast this morning?

Collagen green tea, a mix of nuts + blueberries

What's your favourite holiday destination?

I love traveling Internationally, but California and Utah are also top of my list.

What's your favourite vegan meal?

A quinoa grain bowl with black beans, avocado, tomatoes, salsa, fresh jalepenos and any roasted vegetables I have on hand.

What is the most significant thing that someone much younger than yourself has taught you?

My kids teach me new tricks with technology daily, but really I've learned most about them to stop and smell the roses and to not care what others think about you

What Careers Advice Would You Give To Your 21-Year Old Self?

It's okay to not know exactly what you "want" to be - focus on what you like to do daily and also what you don't like to do - ie, do you like sitting at a desk? Do you want each day to be the same, or do you prefer for your days to be different? And just because you think your career will go in one direction doesn't mean it will ... in fact, it will likely take lots of twists and turns, but ultimately you will always be in the right place.

What is one of the best or most worthwhile investments you’ve ever made?

The investment of time in daily movement has had so many positive effects for me.

What's your favourite vegetable?

Carrots, butternut squash or Brussels sprouts

Are you vegan, vegetarian, flexitarian or something else entirely?

Flexitarian. Haven't eaten red meat or pork in 27 years, and mostly eat plants but also do eat some fish.

What is a useful skill someone could learn in one minute?

How to cut an onion correctly:).

What one thing in life do you consider to be overrated?

New Year's Eve!

About the Author

Heather-PS

Heather Wilkinson is a globe-trotting content creator and PR enthusiast who’s finally put down roots in her native UK. When she isn’t working, you’ll find her pretending to care about Minecraft for her son’s sake, while secretly reading the latest Ace Atkins novel (or sleeping – her second favourite past-time).