Let's Talk Story - Down to Earth Blog

Every January we like to focus on getting a strong foundation for our health to set the tone for the entire year. Making resolutions is easy, but following through with them is the challenge. We know that having support is the key to the success of our resolutions and Down to Earth is here to help!

This month our outreach calendar is full of workshops that are going to help you on your healthy journey for 2016. We started the year with our popular monthly cooking classes on January 2nd in Honolulu and January 5th in Kailua.

As you plan your Christmas shopping list, consider making a more conscious effort to purchase local presents. You’ll be giving great gifts and supporting your community. Down to Earth works with over 400 local vendors, including more than 100 local farmers, to bring you as many locally grown foods and products as are available. We believe supporting local businesses helps promote a healthy and sustainable lifestyle in Hawaii. Also, locally made products are just plain amazing because they're made with genuine love and care.

The weather has cooled down -- maybe just a little bit here -- and the holidays are just around the corner. I love making my own crafts for the holidays and putting them all around the house. You can get super creative and crafty with just a couple things.

Here are a few fun crafts you can do with your keiki:

Potato Prints: Cut potatoes in half and score them with patterns. Dip them in paint and make whatever design you want. Some fun examples are trees or pumpkins!

Aloha everyone! Can you believe we are almost toward the end of the year? Seems like just yesterday was the start of a fresh new year. So many exciting things have happened in Hawaii this year. There are two celebrations that I love: Halloween and Non-GMO Month!

You must be wondering, why on earth do I love to celebrate non-GMO Month? It’s because it’s the time of year when we can really raise awareness about GMOs and what we can do as a community to find alternatives. Just wanted to share some tips on how to celebrate and inform your loved ones about GMOs:

Aloha Kakou. What a beautiful summer we are having in Hawaii Nei. Even with it being a little warmer than usual this summer, there’s no place I’d rather be.

I am so excited to share my newest obsession of this summer. Now, if you live in Hawaii you’re probably well aware of this amazing fruit. But in the 12 years that I have lived in Hawaii, I have never really delved into it, until now. It’s absolutely a miracle food to me and I can’t get enough. Ok, have I piqued your interest? Well this incredible fruit is… noni!

When you think of the word sustainability, do images of farms, recycling symbols, and windmills come to mind? Sustainability can be a huge concept to wrap your mind around. Working at Down to Earth, I’m usually surrounded by like-minded people who incorporate sustainable practices in their lives without a second thought. However when I run into the “real world”, it shocks me sometimes how little many care about sustainability. 

Like many locals, I come from a family of UH Wahine Volleyball fans. If there were a sport that could bring my entire ohana together, it would definitely be volleyball. As part of the Love Life! Team, Mama T and I did a cooking demo for the UH Wahine Volleyball team in early May. I was excited to finally meet some of the amazing athletes from the UH Wahine Volleyball team. They were a bright and diverse group of women from various backgrounds—one of them shared beautiful stories of her hometown in Germany!

Eating organic is essential to a healthy future for ourselves and our environment. Last month our Love Life! team gave a cooking demo to Hawaii Famers Union, Patricia Bragg, and a group of young people on a cultural exchange with Native American Indians and Hawaiians. It was a pretty epic evening in the back roads of Waimanalo on Green Rows Farm. This demo was so special because we had young people -- our future -- visiting and connecting with organic farmers from across the Islands.