Kiran Dodeja Smith is a mom of four and runs the site easyrealfood.com, which offers gluten-free recipes for busy families along with tips and tricks to make real food easy. She recently launched Camp Kitchen, a digital guide to help teach kids to cook, and she has a passion for helping get kids in the kitchen. Find more from Kiran on her website and Instagram. 

Q: What were you doing prior to enrolling at Integrative Nutrition?
A: I was working with a large food blog, handling their sponsor relations/serving as the Influencer Manager.

Q: What led you to explore the Health Coach Training Program?
A: I co-branded four ebooks with that blog, and I wanted to write a fifth. I looked to IIN for two reasons: I wanted to further my knowledge, and I also wanted to gain credibility for my ebooks.

Q: How has your life changed since becoming a Health Coach?
A: After graduating, I was inspired to start my own site (easyrealfood.com). I still work with the other site as well, but I gained the confidence to go out on my own, and I recently launched that fifth ebook mentioned earlier.

Q: Which topics and modules were most beneficial for you?
A: Honestly, the whole idea of bio-individuality was the most impactful for me. I’ve had an interest in health and wellness for over 20 years, but it was through IIN that I realized it’s not a one-size-fits-all topic. What works for me may not work for you, or others, either. I also loved learning about primary food since that was not something that I had truly considered in the past.

Q: What does a typical day look like for you now?
A: I have four kids, a new puppy, and I work from home. So it’s pretty chaotic! I get up and get my puppy going; then my husband and I get food prepared for breakfast for the kids. After getting them to school, I get in a workout 5–6 days/week and then it’s back home to work. I’ll spend most of my day (until school pickup) doing computer work or creating recipes/photographing/writing about them. After 3:30, it’s full “kid mode” as I chauffer them around to their activities.

Because my days are so busy, I try to do a lot of meal prep on the weekends so that dinners can come together easily. We have dinner as a family, I’ll check in on work, and finally my husband and I have an hour or two (on a good day) to chill out together. Weekends need to be a little calmer since the weeks are too busy with our larger family.

Q: What makes you and your practice unique?
A: I cater more to busy families and, with that, those with food sensitivities. I am a busy mom, and there are so many others out there like me! I like to try to assist them with tips and tricks that I’ve learned over the years.

Q: How do you help your clients be successful? Is there a recent example that stands out for you?
A: I want to empower them and give them the confidence to be the best that they can – this is unique to everyone, though!

Q: What do you love about your work?
A: I love helping others know that it IS doable to find that balance and achieve your goals and showing them different ways to make it work.

Q: How have you seen the need for Health Coaches change over the years?
A: Life continues to get busier, and with that, stress levels are rising and quality of food choices can diminish. Sometimes people just need a helping hand to assist in re-finding that balance.

Q: What’s your tip for balancing your family, work, and personal wellness?
A: My greatest tip is only saying yes to things you truly feel passionate about. We can’t do it all, so find what you feel the best about and focus on those areas. And don’t forget about yourself along the way!

Q: Tell us your favorite way to wake up each day!
A: Ideally, I wake up on my own, which means that I went to bed on time and got the amount of sleep that my body needs. And right now is not a “typical time” since we just got this puppy…but right now I love waking up to him and going straight outside with him. There’s something so special about fresh air first thing in the morning! I do like to exercise shortly thereafter. So to sum it up – waking up feeling well slept, getting outside, and getting some movement is my favorite way to wake up.

Interested in becoming an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach? Learn more today!