Is hawaii good for the vegetarian lifestyle? (Honolulu, Hilo: house, buying)

[Arnnnold]

Hi I plan on leaving California in a few years its way too crowded here, and it's turning into a polluted cesspool. I wanted to eat the best fresh organic fruits, and vegetables every day. Are Hawaiis farmers markets able to provide that kind of a lifestyle? Which is the best farmers market in Hawaii to live near if one wants to eat mostly raw organic food? Also is the traffic in hawaii bad, neutral, or good?

Thank you

[mdand3boys]

I would really be careful about the "raw organic food" thing. Hawaii does have rat lungworm disease which is spread to humans primarily through eating contaminated lettuce and other raw produce.

As to traffic - which island?

[newUHprof]

If you want to get to the best farmer's markets easily, and want to be around a raw food movement, you probably want to be on Oahu. But that's crowded and has bad traffic. So there you go. There are also farmer's markets on other islands, but (I don't think) it's quite like here... there's pretty much one going on every morning somewhere, and big ones several times a week.

[born_again_yesterday]

Kauai has a farmer's market everyday of the week and they have an excellent selection of fresh produce. You may have to travel around a bit to the different towns, but its worth it. The people are really nice too.

I was on Oahu for three weeks and I never once went to a farmers market, though I'm sure they have them. I think Honolulu was too distracting for me to focus on anything but I'm sure somebody else would find it very different, so I cant provide any info on Oahu really.

Now I'm on the big island, in kona, working on an organic farm with all the fresh, raw organic produce I can eat. There is a farmer's market down the hill every weekend and its good, small but good. The Hilo farmer's market is my favorite though. It's really big and has everything. I bought a durian one day and we had to lug it back with us on the bus and it was really stinky! I'd recommend not buying a durian, unless you want to try onion pudding.

As for the rat lung disease, there are no confirmed cases in kona, just on the eastside in puna, which also is the only place on the island with swine flu. I eat a lot of raw fruit right off the trees, and arugula, and sometimes kale and other produce. It's a concern but you dont need to freak out about it. Its recommended that you soak all your greens in a vinegar/water mix for 15 minutes, but sometimes we just use water. They also say that refrigeration kills the disease but I don't know. Don't let it scare you though, you should def eat raw, organic food. What happens is that slugs are eating rat poop and then crawling all over vegetable garden greens, so if you buy greens at the market soak them before eating. If you have a garden, use organic sluggo and set rat and mongoose traps.


And every island has its different natural foods store. On Kauai I would go to Papayas, on Oahu its Down to Earth, and the big isle has Island Naturals. I've been to them all and they are all very nice places. I haven't been to Maui yet. I've been a pescatarian for the last year and a half, and find that hawaii is a lot better a place to be than California because of year-round growing season and all the tropical fruit. I've been eating better here for way cheaper than back home. We have so many avocados we have to give them away. There are a lot of people here with different diets and everybody is happy. If you like junky, fried, fatty foods we have that. If you like to catch pigs and chickens, turkeys and fish, all you have to do is step right outside and take your pick. My friends catch fish and pigs for free. I was a vegan when I moved here, but soon decided that I would change after finding fresh eggs under coffee trees and eating local organic goat cheese.


You can't find everything in hawaii, but there is a lot and you'll never go hungry no matter what diet you choose and you can grow your fruits and veggies all-year round if you have land. Just beware the GMO.

[newUHprof]

Originally Posted by born_again_yesterday

Kauai has a farmer's market everyday of the week and they have an excellent selection of fresh produce. You may have to travel around a bit to the different towns, but its worth it. The people are really nice too.

Yeah, that's what I meant but maybe didn't say clearly. Every single morning there's a market in Honolulu... not even counting other areas of the island. There are two big ones a week right in the city... not counting the ones in Kailua or North Shore. So there are in a sense a lot more accessible here than elsewhere. But you are doing the city living thing.

Originally Posted by born_again_yesterday

And every island has its different natural foods store. On Kauai I would go to Papayas, on Oahu its Down to Earth,

And Whole Foods and Kokua Market and Umeke and several others besides. But yeah. The other thing is that there is at least a fledgling raw food movement on Oahu, with "Liscious Dishes" and one other company whose name is escaping me temporarily.

Originally Posted by born_again_yesterday

I was a vegan when I moved here, but soon decided that I would change after finding fresh eggs under coffee trees and eating local organic goat cheese.

This is just awesome. I have lots of cool found food stories since moving here, but I've been wondering about the eggs... all those chickens must be nesting *somewhere*. I want to find me some eggs!

[hotzcatz]

Oahu has a lot more vegan/vegetarian restaurants, I think. The Hari Krishnas used to have a really good vegetarian restaurant up along Nuuanu. It was the kitchen of an old house and they served soups, breads and salads for very inexpensive prices. Dunno if they still do that or not, though.

Oh, if you "find" eggs out and about somewhere, float them in water first. The fresh ones will sink, the older ones will float. If you aren't sure about an egg, crack it into a separate dish before adding it to your recipe. If it is not a good egg, it will be very apparent. If you are collecting eggs from your hens in the backyard, pencil the date on them that they were collected, then you can eat the older ones first.

[ruthlopez22]

You must be very very careful for the vegetarian.

[R_Cowgirl]

Here are some links that will help. I was vegan there for a long time, then switched back to vegetarian. Vegetarian Society of Hawaii
Hawaii Vacation Guide - Vegetarian Travel Guide. Vacations, vegetarian restaurants, healthfood stores.
Vegetarian, Veg, Vegan, Raw, Natural Restaramts & Health Food Stores Guideusa/Honolulu-Vegetarian-Restaurants.htm
www2.hawaii.edu/~vegclub/
Vegetarian Restaurants Hawaii - Health Food Stores by HappyCow
I also order my food from Dr. McDougall (Dr. McDougall's Right Foods - vegetarian instant meals) because I travel a lot and it keeps me honest... ;-D