Healthy Nutritious Lifestyle Living in Hawaii-Getting Started by Bevin Parker-Evans

If you were watching Dr. Oz or Nate Berkus this week you probably noticed all of the mention of the use of whole grains and unique grain types for healthy living such as Quinoa (keen–wah), Buckwheat kasha and barley.  Spelt, kamut and millet have again come into vogue!   Never heard of teff or amaranth? You will soon.

Here in Hawaii, we lag behind the mainland trends and access to such specialty health foods.  It’s also more difficult to find and expensive to buy when you do find it.  Don’t feel bad, I’m sure that while watching the Red Sox and the Phillies this weekend I probably won’t be serving those whole grains either.  Your Canoe club probably won’t be serving millet after a good healthy paddle and I’ll wager that Snooki and the cast of Hawaii 5-0 will not  be serving up healthy barley dips at their weekend parties either.  Learning about how to incorporate new foods in your life is just one part of being prepared and opening your mind to delicious new menus which will enrich and change your life.

In Hawaii, family means celebrations and every single party or event is our way of celebrating culture, tradition and Ohana-usually fortified with heavy spoonfuls of tempting foods such as Mama’s Macaroni Salad, Malasadas, high-fat pork and sticky white rice.  Want to change the result of event overeating?

One tried and true method for changing your lifestyle is to join a community of like-minded persons such as our own WebPage at http://www.livelifealoha.org/.  At our Facebook page, you can connect with others from Hawaii and chat about the best ways to survive the next Luau event.

If you need food planning assistance, go to one of many on-line programs such as Spark People at http://www.sparkpeople.com/.  Here you can find instant help in planning your personal Hawaiian meals and your shopping list as well.  The software at this site will help you make an individualized plan for eating healthy.  By making a simple one-click selection upon registration the user can select from 12 different eating styles including a Low Fat choice, A Low Cholesterol choice or High Protein Choice.  The menu, recipes and shopping list are automatically generated for you in this one click registration. 

Remember, to truly LIVE LIFE ALOHA you have to begin by making smarter choices, and it isn’t going to be a “DIE”-IT.  Throw that word out forevah!  You aren’t going to deny yourself anything because you have embarked upon a LIVE IT, a new way of controlling your urges and watching those portion sizes.    We’ll make it more fun for you and make it relevant to your Hawaiian way of life.  For more tips on enjoying your favorite luau foods, check out the Hawaii Department of Health’s website Start Living Healthy which has hundreds of local food recipes for you to make for potluck and your next event.  Start with the entertaining entrees page at http://www.healthyhawaii.com/recipes/entrees.htm

Don’t forget to follow us daily on Twitter #livelifealoha.com to stay connected to all of the hottest leads on our website which will keep you staying healthy in Hawaii.  Want to see yourself in print?  Send us your ideas for planning better eating-out strategies or a photo of you wearing or carrying something from our logo wear designs available at our website http://www.livelifealoha.org/ and we will publish it right here at Live Life Aloha!