Fall 2011 (Part 2)

We flew to Kauai on Thanksgiving Day!  What a great day to arrive in a tropical paradise.
We headed to the local grocery store, Times, and bought some tofu, tamari, nutritional yeast, and fresh herbs.  My husband's dad lives on the island so we get to stay at his house whenever we visit.  Less money for lodging and more for yummy food!  So we made our baked unturkey tofu and headed to out host's house in Kilauea.  At the party we met the owners of Verde, a Mexican restaurant in Kapaa.  I mentioned to them that I was vegan and they said they had lots of vegetarian options and that almost anything could be made vegan or gluten-free.  We promised to make it out there.
Here's what I had when I visited:   Veggie Stuffed Sopaipillas.

Veggie Stuffed Sopaipillas

I haven't had sopaipillas in 20 years!  I've been trying to stay away from fried food in general, but this was too yummy and different to pass up.

When we are on Kauai,  I love to go to the farmer's markets.  There are just some things you cannot get in the grocery stores that only show up there.  Things like breadfruit, starfruit, long beans, wing beans, drumsticks, green avocados etc.  It's also a great place to get flower arrangements, fresh coconut, good prices on papayas and mangos, Manoa lettuce, and tomatoes that are grown locally.

Local Starfruit

  I like to treat my in-laws with home-cooked meals.  All the tropical ingredients make me hungry just thinking about them.  My father-in-law's wife owns the spice company, Aloha Spice that incorporates local ingredients like Hawaiian red salt and organic ingredients.  She created this kiawe-wood smoked salt.  It adds great flavor to my scrambled tofu.

I made sure I spent lots of time at the beach to get a good blast of Vitamin D.  Most of us are Vitamin D deficient and I had this confirmed personally with a blood test this fall.  If you are not fair skinned you will need even more sun.  This vacation did me very good!

Snorkeling at Poipu

When I got back from vacation, I spent a good amount of time completing my course in Plant Based Nutrition from e-Cornell (Cornell University's online education department).  I have learned a lot more about creating healthy vegan meals and the science behind it.  I am so excited about the wonderful opportunity I have to share this with people in the New Year.
Here's a sample of what the course is like: Intro to Plant Based Nutrition

I am looking forward to a healthy and happy 2012!