{"id":25463,"date":"2016-08-10T03:53:22","date_gmt":"2016-08-10T10:53:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nodietliving.com\/home\/?p=25463"},"modified":"2016-08-10T04:09:24","modified_gmt":"2016-08-10T11:09:24","slug":"eating-healthy-in-honolulu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nodietliving.com\/home\/2016\/08\/10\/eating-healthy-in-honolulu\/","title":{"rendered":"Hawaii Travelogue: Eating Healthy in Honolulu"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>[et_pb_section admin_label=\u201dsection\u201d][et_pb_row admin_label=\u201drow\u201d][et_pb_column type=\u201d4_4\u2033][et_pb_code admin_label=\u201dCode: Google Analytics\u201d global_module=\u201d25375\u2033 saved_tabs=\u201dall\u201d]<script> (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i[\u2018GoogleAnalyticsObject\u2019]=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){ (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o), m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) })(window,document,\u2019script\u2019,\u2019https:\/\/www.google-analytics.com\/analytics.js\u2019,\u2019ga\u2019); ga(\u2018create\u2019, \u2018UA-80928733-1\u2019, \u2018auto\u2019); ga(\u2018send\u2019, \u2018pageview\u2019); [\/et_pb_code][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=\u201dRow\u201d][et_pb_column type=\u201d4_4\u2033][et_pb_post_title admin_label=\u201dPost Title\u201d title=\u201don\u201d meta=\u201don\u201d author=\u201don\u201d date=\u201don\u201d categories=\u201don\u201d comments=\u201don\u201d featured_image=\u201don\u201d featured_placement=\u201dbackground\u201d parallax_effect=\u201doff\u201d parallax_method=\u201don\u201d text_orientation=\u201dcenter\u201d text_color=\u201dlight\u201d text_background=\u201don\u201d text_bg_color=\u201d#086a87\u2033 module_bg_color=\u201drgba(255,255,255,0)\u201d title_all_caps=\u201doff\u201d use_border_color=\u201doff\u201d border_color=\u201d#ffffff\u201d border_style=\u201dsolid\u201d]
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I planned to write about fitness and my attempt at exercising while in Honolulu this week, but I actually found it more difficult to stay on my healthy eating plan than finding time to exercise. \u00a0So, I\u2019m changing it up and sharing my eating experiences of the last seven days.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not familiar with the way people eat lunch in Hawaii, let me give you a rundown in pictures.<\/p>\n

\"chickenkatsuplatelunch\"\"kaluapigplatelunch\"\"kalbiplatelunch\"<\/p>\n

Notice anything special?\u00a0 Maybe a couple scoops of white rice and another scoop of macaroni salad?\u00a0 That is very typical of a plate lunch in Honolulu.\u00a0 You might be able to substitute a tossed salad in place of the mac salad, but it\u2019s usually just chopped iceberg lettuce, shredded carrots and red cabbage tossed with some Thousand Island dressing.\u00a0 This is what I was up against.\u00a0 In a city where Asian Americans make the majority of the population, rice or noodles are present at every meal. Carbohydrates were haunting me at every turn.<\/p>\n

I can tell you I gave in to some temptation almost every day, but also tried to make good choices every day, as well.\u00a0 For example, the day my sister and I had dinner with some of my cousins (all men), we all met at the huge shopping mall near Waikiki, called the Ala Moana Center.\u00a0 It\u2019s three levels and has six different wings.\u00a0 You, literally, need a map to find your way around.\u00a0 For someone who is not a window shopper (that would be me), it was almost nightmarish. Anyway\u2026back to the food.<\/p>\n

\"38\"<\/span>We decided to meet everyone at the food court in the center of the mall.\u00a0 With at least thirty fast food options, I essentially decided I\u2019d be eating junk food.\u00a0 Believe it or not, I had one of the healthier meals in that crazy mall food court.\u00a0 I ended up at a stand that had the smallest menu but still favored the plate lunch style.\u00a0 You could choose from a small variety of roasted meats; prime rib, roast beef, roasted turkey, leg of lamb or oven roasted corned beef.\u00a0 Choose two sides (predictably the most popular being rice and macaroni salad.\u00a0 I chose roasted turkey with two sides of tossed green salad with ranch dressing.<\/p>\n

My cousin who graciously put up with my sister and I invading her home has her own healthy eating regimen. After discussing food one evening, she shared with me a few places around Honolulu that she recommended for healthy lunch options.\u00a0 Right off the bat, I\u2019ll tell you they were surprising, had delicious offerings and were rather fun\u00a0to try out.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with the Peace Caf\u00e9 <\/a>near downtown Honolulu.\u00a0 \"52\"\"51\"It\u2019s an unassuming location and you could easily miss it if you weren\u2019t specifically looking for it.\u00a0 It sits between a larger Thai restaurant on a corner and a Rastafarian styled smoke shop.\u00a0 In a sentence, the ambience resembles a 1970\u2019s health food restaurant plopped in the middle of Hawaii.\u00a0 With chalkboard menus, communal tables, self table bussing, and servers with the requisite bohemian clothing, nothing says \u201cHawaii\u201d except for the addition of some tropical or Asian ingredients.\u00a0 Like the banana-mango mochi dessert.<\/p>\n

We wanted to try a variety of dishes, so we started with my cousin\u2019s recommendation of Moroccan Stew \"49\"starring chick peas, pickled veggies and brown rice. This was a flavorful dish full of cinnamon and \"47\"other spices of northern Africa. We also ordered the Hanoi sandwich which was definitely full of the Vietnamese Ban Minh flavors that you might expect.\u00a0 Fresh crunchy veggies, tofu and a wonderful peanut sauce make this a satisfying sandwich on fresh ciabatta bread instead of a traditional French baguette.<\/p>\n

\"41\"We enjoyed these two items so much we decided to try a few others. We opted for the Soy Soba Salad and two of the mochi desserts (a banana-mango mochi and a coffee-chocolate mochi). The soba salad was refreshingly cold with crunchy veggie, alfalfa sprouts, shreds of nori, and a slightly spicy tamari-miso based dressing.\u00a0 \"42\"The desserts had the typical gooey-chewy consistency for which the traditional Japanese sweet is known, but didn\u2019t taste like any mochi I\u2019ve eaten before.\u00a0 Both were full of their respective flavors, but the coffee-chocolate mocha dessert was clearly my favorite.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

By the way, did I mention that Peace Caf\u00e9 is strictly a vegan restaurant?\u00a0 Not somewhere I\u2019d typically take\u00a0the meat lovers in my circle, but my sister was game and easily volunteered for the food adventure.<\/p>\n

Our second foray into the healthy food lunch scene in Honolulu took us to Greens & Vines<\/a>.\u00a0 On the ground floor of a condo high rise, this is another restaurant you would drive right past if you weren\u2019t specifically looking for it.\u00a0 Not only is Greens & Vines another vegan restaurant, it goes another step further.\u00a0 It\u2019s a RAW vegan restaurant.\u00a0 Essentially, this restaurant serves a plant based menu and none of the offerings are cooked.\u00a0 Some are dehydrated, but nothing is ever cooked.\u00a0 As with the Peace Caf\u00e9, Greens & Vines was a wonderfully delicious surprise.<\/p>\n

\"28\"We started with the Not Tuna on Onion Bread; a delicious scoop of Not Tuna salad on a lettuce leaf atop a piece of onion bread made from sunflower seeds, brown flax, onions, olive oil and some gluten free tamari.\u00a0 Interestingly I think this simple appetizer was my second favorite of the day.<\/p>\n

\"French

French onion soup<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Lemony

Lemony Zucchini Bisque<\/p><\/div>\n

Next we tried both cold soups on the menu, a Lemony Zucchini Bisque and a French Onion.\u00a0 Between the two of us, we agree that the bisque was the winner in\u00a0both flavor and texture.<\/p>\n

For our entrees, we again, went with my cousin\u2019s recommendation for the Living Lasagna and the Kaffir Miso Pad Thai suggested by our lovely waitress\/hostess.\u00a0 I\u2019m not even going to show you the pad thai.\u00a0 For some reason there was a bitterness to it that put me off.\u00a0 I will, however, showcase the visually stunning and extremely tasty lasagna.\u00a0 BEHOLD!!<\/p>\n

\"16\"<\/p>\n

\"17\"The noodles are thinly sliced zucchini.\u00a0 There is a fresh basil pesto, a sun-dried marinara, and an amazing macadamia nut \u201cricotta\u201d cheese.\u00a0 TO DIE FOR!<\/p>\n

\"3\"We ended lunch trying the Wicked Chocolate Tart and the special \"7\"\u201ccheese cake\u201d of the day; the red dragon fruit, green tea, and mango layers.\u00a0 Being the chocolate fiend that I am, my vote went to the amazing tart.<\/p>\n

So, with the help of my cousin, we found that Honolulu can provide a healthy option to the traditional plate lunch; even in the busy center of a touristy shopping mall\u2019s food court. We\u2019ll continue our healthy food adventure as we travel to the Big Island and visit more family in Hilo, and possibly make a trip to the other side of the island to Kailua-Kona.<\/p>\n

Hopefully some surprises await us there!\u00a0 ALOHA!<\/p>\n

Until next time\u2026<\/p>\n

\"AB<\/p>\n

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