Be Happy...Local Food on Kauai

I just got back from a week long stay in Kauai so I thought I would share a few of my favourite  things to eat there. Kauai has an amazing local food culture and for such a tiny island, it seems like everyone is making some kind of amazing food product, cooking at a food truck or restaurant or serving beautiful local fruit or juices - sometimes right off the back of a pick up truck!

When searching for something to cool you off on a hot day, the only thing better than an ice cold coconut just might be Lappert's Hawaii, Kauai's very own ice cream factory. For a great plate lunch, this is the spot - just not for vegetarians. Vegetarians will find plenty of tasty tofu options, big enough to feed two, here. My husband is a massive fan of Bubba's, which I can appreciate because at least all their beef is 100% grass fed Kauai beef. He ate here more times in the week than I care to admit for a dietitian's husband. Their veggie burger is nothing special but the Hanalei outpost offers local organic salads. And for a special meal out, don't miss BarAcuda in Hanalei on the north shore. I didn't get to try it the last time we went to Kauai and it was absolutely our finest meal of the trip. This is truly original and delicious food, not just overpriced ahi steaks like you will find at other local restaurants.

For foodie treats to take home, you have to stop in a little pottery store in Kilauea to pick up locally blended gourmet salts and spice mixes - I like the red salt with Hawaiian red clay. I also love the granola with crystallized ginger from Anahola Granola, which paradoxically is made in Hanapepe. And this passion fruit mustard makes any sandwich better - really it does.  On this trip, I also discovered this locally made raw chocolate bar at the Healthy Hut - my favourite little health food store.

Should you find yourself in paradise, now you will at least know where to eat when you wake up from your nap on the beach.

Aloha!

Local, Fresh and Organic...Kauai Part 2

Living Foods Market in Kukui'ula Village

 Everywhere you turn on Kauai, you will hit some good local food. I had a couple of favourite places to shop for local food during my visit...

 Living Foods Market, in the posh Kukui'ula Village in Poipu is just over a year old. The Market is owned by San Francisco transplant, chef Jim Moffat who also owns Bar Acuda in Hanalei.


The Market is pricey (even for Hawaii) and I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for general shopping unless you need to slim down an overstuffed wallet. There healthy packaged staples at a better price. The Nut Thins I purchased there were $3 more a box than the grocery store in Lihue. 

What you do come here for is the gorgeous cafe (get Jim Moffat's cuisine on the cheap!) and for the local produce. 

As I mentioned in my previous post, grocery stores typically don't have any local produce. Not so here - they proudly display a Kaua'i Grown sign in their small produce case. 


I also picked up some incredibly delicious local honeycomb....

And some yummy tropical granola. The store also had locally baked gluten free bread!

In terms of organic shops, there are tons on the island, particularly in Kapa'a but my favourite by far was Healthy Hut in the north shore town of Kilauea. As someone who has been shopping in health food stores since before quinoa was a household word, I really appreciated the honest, friendly vibe at Healthy Hut. They have plenty of local and organic products for such a jewel box sized location and it was there that I found the BEST BABYFOOD EVER!!

Best.Babyfood.Ever.Seriously!!

I make my own baby food at home, believing that I don't serve myself canned food everyday, so why would I feed my baby canned? However, given that it was my first time traveling with E I decided to leave the mini food processor at home and give prepared food a go. 

Surprisingly, given the number of organic food shops on Kaua'i, finding organic baby food is difficult. There was one dusty jar at Long's Drugs; ditto at Vim & Vigor in Lihue, niente at Papaya's in Kapa'a and EXPIRED food at Hoku. So thank you, Healthy Hut! They had a great selection of Plum Organics food. 

Why do I love them so much? I love the blends, they don't shy away from good stuff like spinach and broccoli. The packaging is ingenious; just squeeze directly from the package onto the spoon when you are on the go. They taste delicious (I won't feed E anything I wouldn't eat myself) and they are clean, simple and organic. Now I just have to get these to Vancouver! I will be adding Plum to my Healthy Grocery List for sure.

Luscious Links

http://livingfoodskauai.com/

http://www.healthyhutkauai.com/

http://www.plumorganics.com/index.php

Aloha!

Desiree

PS...as always, the companies don't know I was featuring them...no paid ads here!

Local, Fresh and Organic...Kauai

Tuesday Market...just west of Hanalei, Kauai

 No secret that I am a bit of a foodie...everywhere I travel, I want to taste whatever is local and special. So I was pretty excited to see that there were so many farmers markets all over Kauai. 

Check out the dude with the pineapple. That is local flavour.

I was amazed by the local food culture in Kauai specifically; a recent trip to Oahu certainly did not have the same local vibe. Hawaii has to ship so much of their food in and most supermarkets don't carry anything local so staples like tomatoes are incredibly expensive and usually kind of sad tasting. Farmers on Kauai have the ability to grow so much in their climate so I was excited to check out a farmers market or two. Who needs tomatoes when you have local taro, greens, papayas and passion fruit?

Apple bananas...sweet and firm fleshed.

 The pictures above are of the market recommended by the Lonely Planet, just west of gorgeous Hanalei on the north shore of the island. Edible Hawaiian Islands also has a great listing on their website here. They kindly offered the tip of "get there early". Do indeed. We showed up at 2:05 for the market in Hanalei, just 5 minutes after the opening. The field was already packed with cars and it was a literal feeding frenzy: stands were emptying fast. People snacked on chocolate covered frozen bananas while filling their baskets with local eggs, goat cheese and pineapples. We bought just a couple of things, including the apple bananas and mangosteen ( I LOVE mangosteen, what a treat!). 

Yummy mangosteen...

The markets are a bit smaller than we are used to here in the lower mainland but what an incredible community spirit. I couldn't think of a better way to get to know the local food culture than to feast on what is grown in their backyards.

Aloha...

Desiree

Backyard Chickens? Try Wild...Kauai

On the prowl...

Just back from the gorgeous island of Kauai....


One of the first things I noted when reading the guide book on Kauai was that chickens were wild all over the island. I thought to myself, "I wonder if I will get to see any of the wild chickens?". Hah! Sure I saw them, they are EVERYWHERE! Roosters prowling the shops for some new duds, sketchy hens caging out the parking lot for cars to boost and surfer chicks scanning the horizon for waves. 


All over the island were signs pleading with you not to feed the feral chickens (and cats too, although I didn't see that many kittys). My husband chatted briefly about the chickens to a local; most memorable quote? "Yah...we don't eat 'em. Too gamey. Not good for much other than roadkill."


Why did the chicken cross the road? Cuz he thought the dude in the truck would stop for him.


Lots of posts on the local food to come when the baby jet lag wears off and I get some sleep!
Desiree