How to be Primal in Hawaii? page

[Progenitor]

I will be moving in a couple weeks to Manoa, Oahu as a grad student and will be living in Hawaii for a few years. I was wondering what I should do to continue a primal lifestyle.

My diet right now consists of butter/ghee as the main fats and calories. Eggs and many types of meats (mainly beef) give me protein. I eat sweet potatoes and various fruits + veges for carbs. Meals are pretty simple.

I have read that dairy can be expensive in Hawaii, should I switch to a different fat? Would coconut oil be abundant and cheap to obtain? Would pork items also be cheaper than beef over there? Also, how are the prices for seafood, any in particular I should favor?

I'll be living in a small apartment with 1 roommate with access to a stove/oven. I have a modest grant as a grad student and do plan on cooking my own meals often.

Thanks.

[livingprimal]

Everything is more expensive in Hawaii, it's just a fact of life. There is a local dairy on Oahu, Meadow Gold, so they may be a little cheaper than the stuff shipped in from the mainland. As for seafood, stick to the local stuff (Ahi, Mahi Mahi, snapper) check out www.hawaiiseafood.com to find others. Fresh coconuts are in abundance, but I'm not sure about coconut oil. There are coconut trees everywhere, and very few people actually eat the coconut in their own backyard! As you meet people, ask them if you can have their coconuts. If you can, hit the farmers market, where you should be able to get local, less expensive veggies. You'll notice a lot of the "local" food is heavy with salt and sugar, and a lot of meat in restaurants are covered in a sweet sauce. Probably best to stick to cooking your own. Best of luck and congrats on becoming a grad student! Aloha!

[Progenitor]

Hi livingprimal,

Thanks for the info. I knew the prices for many things are higher there that's why I was wondering if I should make changes to my regular diet. Getting to know many people and environment over time seems to be the best method. I decided to not sign up for the school meal plan because I doubt the campus food is very good. Meadow Gold is less than 3 miles from my campus so it won't be a hassle going there on a regular bases if I find what I am looking for.

Btw, did you mean to link: http://www.hawaii-seafood.org/ ? Your link led me to an empty site when I tried. This site seems to offer fairly good info on various seafood w/ a lot of nutritional info. Overall, Hawaii looks like a great environment for a primal lifestyle along with an interesting insular culture. Should be fun if not a bit difficult to get accustomed to everything (I was born in Fiji, so I am a little familiar with the climate/environment).

[Athena]

The question is more....


how could you not be primal in hawaii??


Thats awesome though, I love hawaii!!

[Lewis]

No idea, but perhaps you can get to try poi while you're there. It's fermented taro root, once regarded as a sacred food, is probiotic and hypoallergenic:

Poi has been used as a milk substitute for babies born with an allergy to dairy products because of its nutritional value. It is also used as a baby food for babies with severe food allergies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poi_(food)

[slacker]

Moving to Hawaii. Me jealous.

[Ian]

I live in hawaii! lol. You could get grassfed beef and butter, etc. ordered online. Google "grassland beef" and click the first result. It's easy finding whey protein, coconut and olive oil, and a bunch of other good stuff. Costco has some wild alaskan salmon. The whole foods stuff is really expensive, but it's like that on the mainland too so idk. heheh vitamin d is easy to get. Unfortunately you can't get raw milk and I don't know of very many farmer's markets around...

[Godzilla]

I was born and raised in Hawaii. You will have no problems with a primal lifestyle if you can handle the higher cost of living. Meadow Gold distributes to all the stores there so there is no reason for you to go directly to the company or the dairy for milk. I don't think the University of Hawaii campus meal plan is bad. I know a lot of the football players who need to lose weight use a primal diet of no bread, no rice, no potatoes, no pasta and get along just fine. There are a lot of Crossfit athletes there that are also primal/paleo. Haven't been to Fiji but I can tell you that Oahu is fully urbanized, not really insular. They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.

[mikeha]

I've been here a couple weeks plan on staying maybe another month. There's a wholefoods near the campus, that's pretty much all you need. They have local grassfed ground beef $5/lb, as well as lamb. Organic eggs are much more expensive though. I would give up the milk, it's just another expense.

There's also a big farmer's market every sat morning, I haven't checked it out yet tho, but seems like where you should get your produce from (I just go with frozen): http://www.yelp.com/biz/kapiolani-co...arket-honolulu

[Nick "the Caveman" M.]

I am extremely jealous of those living in Hawaii. I'm out in Boston, so I have the high cost of living too without the tropical paradise in the backyard.

My wife and I honeymooned there (I know, cliche) and I can't imagine it's that difficult to be primal there. I am pretty sure years ago when we were there (Kauai and Maui) I pretty much lived on vegs, fruit and fish. I had my share of beef, pork and chicken now and then, but with so many local water fish in abundance, it's an easy choice.

Best of luck there, and enjoy it, especially in a few months when I'm up to my neck in snow