Let's Talk Story - Down to Earth Blog

A few years ago, when I was a high school teacher in Australia, I assigned my homeroom students a task to each come up with a random act of kindness and write it on a small card. On the other side of the card were the words “You’ve been hit with a random act of kindness. Please feel free to pass it on.” The criteria of the acts of kindness were that they should be done anonymously if possible, and they should be generic enough that anyone could achieve them. We then placed all the cards in a box and each of us drew a card randomly.

The holidays are just around the corner and I couldn’t be more excited. I love the holidays because I get to hang with my family and connect over good food. Over the past couple years I was so sick and tired of becoming bloated after a big holiday dinner that I’ve become more aware of my actions.

Plant-based eating style is a lifestyle change that many people are currently considering, however, this doesn’t mean that everyone has all the facts. Looking for the best and most educational vegetarian flicks out there? Look no further.

Meal prepping is everywhere these days. Do a YouTube search of this term and you’ll be in a deep rabbit hole of methods, recipes, and more. It can be intimidating! You watch a 3-minute video and the results are 10-12 beautiful little meals ready to pop in the fridge. They make it look so easy! It seems like so much work but who has the time?? And also did I mention that it seems like a lot of hard work? While I’m not sure if you could really do a successful meal prep that wouldn’t require any work whatsoever, it’s probably a lot easier than you think.

Sometimes life gets hectic and we get a little too busy to make it to the grocery store. Well, now no need to worry! We have partnered with a third-party grocery delivery app in Honolulu, called Avocado Shopping. You can get groceries delivered in as little as two hours. Trained shoppers will select fresh groceries and deliver to your home, office, or anywhere.  

Summer is right around the corner, you can feel it in the air! Temperatures are getting higher, and we are starting to see more of the sun. During these hotter months of the year, protecting your skin is so important. However, it’s not just about lathering on sunscreen and moisturizing lotions. You want to make sure the products you’re using have safe ingredients, so you can feel confident that you’re protecting your skin.  Some of my favorite after-sun products are from Ny’ala Skin Care, a locally made skin care line with clean ingredients.

In case you haven’t heard, a new Down to Earth has opened in Kakaako and we could not be more excited. The store itself is the biggest DTE yet, and the deli is outstanding. Not to mention Kakaako is one of our favorite places to hang out. Stop by the store (500 Keawe Street) to grab kombucha, sandwiches, and chocolate (all picnic essentials). Then head to Kakaako Waterfront Park to enjoy your food by the ocean! You can also take advantage of the Biki bike stations and go for an afternoon ride around the park.

At Down to Earth, Earth Day is one of our favorite days of the year. We love promoting sustainable practices to help keep our Earth healthy! On our website, we have articles on the many reasons to go vegetarian, one of those being for the sake of the environment. One article brings up that vegetarian and vegan diets use significantly lower amounts of Earth’s resources. If you are already vegetarian, or maybe not quite ready to make the leap, there are many other practices you can implement to lower your environmental impact.  

At Down to Earth we have lots of foods with multi-cultural influences:  from our hot bar, to the store, and throughout our cooking classes and events. Our hot bar has a wide variety of multi-cultural deliciousness, from manupuas, curries, fried rice, Okinawan sweet potato salads, pizzas, pastas, soups, etc.