Meet the Diabetic Chef

By day, Chris Smith is The Diabetic Chef, teaching diabetic cooking classes, developing recipes, and traveling the country to promote healthful cooking. By night, Chris Smith is a family man, happy to spend time at home with his wife, Kathie, and sons Ryan and Evan. But day and night, Chris Smith lives with type 1 diabetes.

By Julia Martinusen

Meet Chris Smith

As a professionally trained chef, great-tasting and attractive meals are paramount to Chris. As a person with diabetes, he focuses on nutrition. And for Chef Chris and his family, summer means backyard grilling is a way of life. To illustrate all three points, his menu for summer is based on grilled kabobs. "To me, kabobs are a great food for people with diabetes to eat. They offer lots of options, and the skewer helps you control portion size. They're a low-fat source of protein and are low in carbohydrates. Kabobs can also have lots of vitamins, if you use lots of fruits and veggies like we do," Chris says. "But to my sons, kabobs are fun to make and eat. They love to choose what goes on their skewers. And they like to eat them with their fingers."

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