WEEKLY MENU

Friday 9/12

Steamed Salmon, Baked Cod
Fresh Asparagus, Steamed Gold Potatoes
Soup: Steak

The salmon is simply steamed with a little Smart Balance, salt and pepper. The cod is baked, not fried and is very low in sodium coming in at under 20 mg per serving! The potatoes and asparagus are also steamed, making this a super healthy meal option no matter what fish you choose. The steak soup is for those who don’t eat fish. It’s actually a stew and is a meal in itself! If you are watching fat and sodium, you will have to make room for the soup in your diet, though. The soup and the cod are not gluten-free.

Monday 9/15

Spaghetti & Meat Sauce with Italian Sausage, Cauliflower/Spaghetti Squash, Garlic Bread
Soup: Minestrone

I make the meat sauce with 90% lean ground beef. It has 10 grams of fat (4.5 saturated), 65 mg of cholesterol and 66 mg of sodium. The tomato sauce I use is surprisingly low in sodium. The sauce base uses the stewed tomatoes I like to use in many menu items. It has only 190 mg of sodium per serving. I will also sneak some Italian sausage in with the ground beef to give the sauce a little East Coast authenticity. Folks trying to reduce carbohydrates may like the spaghetti squash substitution for pasta. The garlic bread has 7 grams of fat (1.5 saturated), 0 mg of cholesterol, 240 mg of sodium, plus 5 grams of protein per serving. Minestrone is a famous tomato-based Italian soup meant to be a way to utilize leftovers. It always has the basic vegetables: onions, carrots, celery, peppers with beans and pasta. The soup will be meat-free except for Better Than Bouillon soup bases. You can buy Better Than Bouillon Soup bases I use in this soup, right down at Gene’s grocery store! Look for the “Chef Steve’s Grab Good” label in the aisle! I’ll be using a small amount of fat in an oil-based roux to provide some body to the soup. The meat sauce and vegetables are gluten-free.

Tuesday 9/16

Swiss Steak, Red & Gold Potatoes, Green Beans
Soup: Chicken Noodle

Swiss steak has nothing to do with Switzerland. The word “swiss” refers to the tenderizing of a tougher cut of meat with a swissing machine that needles a steak as it passes through, producing what is called a cube steak. The cube steak I start with has 189 calories,12 grams of fat (5 saturated), 65 mg of cholesterol and 58 mg of sodium per serving. It is seared and then I braise the meat with red wine, stewed tomatoes, thyme and a rich beef gravy until fork tender. The potatoes and beans are just steamed and seasoned with Smart Balance, salt and pepper. This is going to be a light version of chicken noodle thickened with corn starch and not an oil-based roux. The vegetables, potatoes and soup are all gluten-free today.

Wednesday 9/17

Curried Chicken Rice Bowl, Curry Braised Thigh, Braised Lentils “Dhal”, White Basmati Rice/Broccoli, Mango Chutney
Naan Bread/Tzatziki
Soup: Jalapeño Popper Chicken

This is a West Indian version of curried chicken. It is marinated for two to three days with celery, onions, sweet pepper, garlic, ginger and curry spices, similar to how Jamaican jerk chicken is marinated. We’re serving the curry with white basmati rice, well-cooked braised lentils called “Dhal” and vegetables. We’ll also have naan bread with both tzatziki (the yogurt and cucumber sauce we always serve with naan) and an apple and mango chutney. Chutney is a fruit “preserve” with sugar and vinegar that is served with curries. In the soup, I will use what Jalapeño Poppers are known for; Jalapeños and cream cheese. I will blanch the Jalapeños and toss the water to reduce the spiciness in the peppers. The soup will definitely feature the flavor of Jalapeño, but not the full extent of their fire! It’s a cream-based soup and I will use 2% milk instead of cream and Better Than Bouillon ham base instead of bacon. There’s no way to avoid using an oil-based roux to thicken the soup, so it will contain a small amount of oil, resulting in an associated increase in calories. You can buy the Better Than Bouillon Soup bases I use right down at Gene’s grocery store! Look for the “Chef Steve’s Grab Good” label in the aisle! Everything is gluten-free today except the curried chicken, naan bread and soup.

Thursday 9/18

Club Wrap, Baked Chips
Soup: Red Lentil

We have whole wheat, spinach, tomato-basil tortillas, garlic herb and jalapeño cheese tortillas. For fixings, we have turkey, ham, beef a variety of cheeses, as well as lettuce, tomatoes, spinach, arugula, sprouts, peppers, olives, pickles and too many other fixings and dressings to mention. Make this meal what you want it to be. Lunch meats and cheese are always a little high in sodium, but we don’t use much. Be careful with dressings if you want a low-calorie wrap with less fat and sodium. Remember we have honey and spicy brown mustard, which are tasty options with zero fat and not enough sodium to mention. On average, the baked chips we offer have 50% of the fat that regular chips do. Some of them are also very low in sodium. Check the nutrition facts label on the bags. All of the Lays products and the Doritos are under 200 mg of sodium per bag! This red lentil soup was inspired by “Joan’s Red Lentil-Lemon Soup” from The Natural Gourmet by Annemarie Colbin, which is one of the best macrobiotic-style healthy cookbooks ever written! My version features cauliflower, carrots, celery and a shot of freshly squeezed lemon juice at the end. I will use Better Than Bouillon chicken and ham bases as well as just a touch of oil-based roux to thicken the soup. You can buy the Better Than Bouillon Soup bases I use right down at Gene’s grocery store! Look for the “Chef Steve’s Grab Good” label in the aisle! The wrap, as a salad, without the tortilla, is gluten-free.

Friday 9/19

Steamed Salmon, Cajun Catfish
Fresh Asparagus, Steamed Gold Potatoes
Soup: Steak

If it’s Friday in Smith Center, it is fish day at the Hometown Café! The salmon is simply steamed with a little Smart Balance, salt and pepper. The catfish has just a bit of Cajun seasoning on it and is baked, not fried and is VERY low in sodium, coming in at under 20 mg per serving! The potatoes and asparagus are also steamed, making this a super healthy meal option no matter what fish you choose. The steak soup is for the non-fish eaters. It’s actually a stew and is a meal in itself! If you are watching fat and sodium, you will have to make room for the soup in your diet, though. The soup and the catfish are not gluten-free.

Open for dine-in or carryout weekdays from 11:30 AM to 3:00 PM. Due to supply shortages for some products, menus listed may change.

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LUNCH PRICES

Full hot lunch (includes one cold side) – $7.99
Just entree – $3.99
Just vegetable or starch – $2.50
Pre-packaged side salad – $2.50
Full Salad Bar (unlimited trips, includes soup and roll) – $11.99
Children’s Salad Bar (8 and under, unlimited trips, includes soup and roll) – $3.99
Children’s Full Meal (8 and under) – $3.99
Senior Salad Bar (65+, unlimited trips, includes soup and roll) – $5.99
Senior Full Meal (65+) – $5.99
Salad only (unlimited trips) – $9.99
Soup only (unlimited trips) – $3.00
To-Go/One Trip Salad Bar – $7.99
Other sides priced specifically.

Be Relevant: About Chef Steve Smith

Chef Steve’s passion for delicious food is paired with a love for creating healthy options. Chef Steve was trained at the Culinary Institute of America and has opened 13 restaurants around the world. Most recently he was the executive chef at Coconut Grove in Nevis, West Indies.

Following a decision to make more healthy food choices in his own diet, Chef Steve became a registered and licensed dietitian. SCMH and Chef Steve have partnered to add nutrition education and support to patients and their families as a new service provided to those staying at the hospital.

Offering high-quality food in a healthcare setting is always a formidable challenge, one few healthcare facilities can tackle. The quality and service goals of a chef and food service professional do not always align with the nutrition concerns of a healthcare facility. Smith County Memorial Hospital has devised a unique solution to this problem in the person of a Chef-Registered Dietitian. By combining the responsibilities for creating food and delivering nutrition services we are able to maintain high quality standards of both food and service while filling the nutrition needs of patients and the community. The result is a food service department that is highly relevant to the medical team, the staff of the facility, patients in the hospital, and the community at large.

The Hometown Café is situated at the front entrance of the Smith County Memorial Hospital, located in North Central Kansas up near the Nebraska border. We are open to the public Monday through Friday from 11:30 am to 3:00 pm and serve approximately 100 staff members, 30 Meals on Wheels participants, 30 members of the public, and 10-20 patients and guests in the hospital daily. Our meals are based on the macronutrient parameters of the DASH diet, and we tailor food and nutrition to meet the needs of patients on an individual basis. As a Chef-RD, Chef Steve goes into patient rooms every day armed with 30+ years’ experience providing tableside service to patrons in high-end hotels and stand-alone restaurants, intimate knowledge of what is in the refrigerators in the Hometown Café kitchen and the skill to know what to do with it, and a dedication to the highest level of service called the Spirit of Hospitality.

DASH Diet Guide

Chef Steve's Grab Good

Chef Steve’s community health partnership with Gene’s Heartland Foods makes finding exciting, healthier ingredients a breeze. Look for Chef Steve’s Grab Good labels on the ingredients he selects at Gene’s. Scan the QR code for instant access to Recipes, Pro Tips from a Registered Dietitian, and How-To Cooking Videos. It’s never been easier to cook healthy and tasty meals.

With Chef Steve’s Grab Good, making healthy lifestyle changes is not just easy, it’s a breeze!

CHEF STEVE'S GRAB GOOD

“Chef Steve and his crew make awesome food!!”

The Hometown Café is open for dine-in and carryout.