I’m officially back from vacation and settling back into life once again! I absolutely adore everything about Hawaii, and I’m itching to become a “local.” I was made for the aloha life!
Whenever we fly anywhere, I always pack our meal. Airplane food tends to be a bit sketchy, so I always like to plan ahead. Many people may not know, but you’re allowed to bring any food through security, it’s only liquids/gels that must be checked. Luckily I was able to find this probiotic drink at the airport, it was pretty good! Just an FYI, don’t try to bring a half bottle of Green Pastures Fermented Cod Liver Oil Gel through security, or else you’ll shed a tear like I did when they toss it in the trash. Sad day, but lesson learned!
For our flight, I packed a frittata made with eggs, grassfed ground beef, Japanese yams, spinach & hot sauce.
We stayed at the Westin Kaanapali Villas, which is an incredible resort! The view from our room was priceless! There’s nothing quite like waking up to this everyday.
We were super fortunate to have a full kitchen in our suite, so our first stops once we landed were Costco and Whole Foods. We scored at Whole Foods; the butcher charged us $5.99/lb for grassfed ground beef, instead of the usual $8.99/lb! Right when I walked into Whole Foods, I saw my friend Arsy’s (from rubiesandradishes.com) newest cookbook, The Paleo Foodie Cookbook! I was so stoked for her; I did a happy dance!
My husband and I started nearly everyday having some fun on the grass by the beach – handstands for me, backflips for him!
When I was in Kona, Hawaii last year, grassfed beef was easy to find. It seemed every restaurant we went to served grassfed burgers. Maui was a bit different, as we weren’t able to find as much grassfed beef around (besides Whole Foods), but we did find some serious gems! A good friend of mine raved about a place called Choice Health Bar, and as soon as we went, I knew we’d be there everyday. If you’re in Maui, this place is a must visit!
They had so many paleo options, including paleo granola! This place was definitely one of our favorites. Wish we had one in California!
Most breakfasts we cooked at our hotel. Errrr, I should say most breakfasts my husband cooked. He’s an amazing cook! I love purple sweet potatoes; they have such a great flavor!
I also had a few things that I wouldn’t normally eat at home, but when in Hawaii…
We had shave ice (not shaved ice, don’t get it twisted in Hawaii!) from Ululani’s in Lahaina. I won’t touch high fructose corn syrup, but luckily Ululani’s is one of the few places that uses real cane sugar and fruit purees to sweeten their syrups. I don’t normally eat cane sugar, as it used to really mess up my blood sugar and make me feel shaky (although I didn’t know this until I cut out sugar for awhile), but I was surprised to find that I felt fine after sharing this with my hubby! It goes to show how much my body has really healed on this journey.
It was also a zillion degrees outside, so it was super refreshing as I was dripping in sweat!
We also had coconut milk ice cream from Breakwall Shave Ice in Lahaina and sorbet after dinner a few nights! Lots of sugar, but it was totally worth it.
When we did eat out at a restaurant, I always ordered the fresh fish. I’d have it grilled with just herbs, and either have it with a salad or veggies. Super easy, and always delicious! I’ve never had an issue ordering a paleo friendly meal at a restaurant; all you have to do is ask!
One day we spent most of the day in the car driving around Maui. We stopped at a Goat Dairy Farm. Although I don’t eat goat cheese myself, it was so fun to spend some time with goats, feed them grass, and learn about their lives! Goats are so cool!
I did end up trying goat cheese almost on accident, as I forgot to ask for it to be taken off of the cobb salad that I ordered. It happened to come from the same farm that we had visited, so I trusted the source, and decided to just try it. Luckily I had no issues whatsoever!
We also went to the top of Maui. It was beautiful!
A hurricane happened to hit Hawaii towards the end of our trip, but we weren’t worried. Some of the roads in Maui shut down around 5pm, just as a precaution, and only one restaurant at our resort stayed open. We ate dinner at the one open restaurant, and watched the rain fall down as the clouds came in. That night, I woke up around 1:30 am to look out the window and see the palm trees basically sideways in the wind! I really wanted to open the sliding glass door to feel the wind, but I figured that probably wasn’t the smartest idea, so I just watched with it shut. That morning, the only proof of the storm was a few broken tree branches scattered amongst the resort!
It was cloudy on our last day, but we still had a great day at the beach and hanging out by the pool! Until next time, aloha!
**Click HERE to read my first post about staying paleo while in Kona, Hawaii!
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YAY Hawaii! I’m glad you guys had a great time! I know for sure that frittata was delicious! 😉
Sounds like a fabulous vacation! If you move to Hawaii I will definitely visit 🙂 I love that you were able to find such awesome food (and ice cream)!
You know you’re welcome to visit anytime when we move there 😉
This makes me want to move to Hawaii like right now! Or at least visit! I’m so glad you had such a wonderful vacation 🙂
Thanks, Kiersten! If you ever get stationed there, I’m so visiting! 🙂