Greetings, all. If you’re familiar with food prices in Honolulu this summer, would you please give me ballpark costs for items such as eggs, milk, cheese, vegetables, distilled spirits, and other things a more-or-less diabetic person might buy to prepare for herself rather than eating two scoop rice plate lunch. If you have better or less expensive groceries or farmer’s markets to recommend, this would also be much appreciated. Mahalo!
I don’t live in Hawai’i, but I’m a frequent visitor. Groceries and other staples are more expensive. There are ways to minimize this, though. If you are on Oahu or Hawai’i, get a Costco card. On the mainland, membership makes sense. In Hawai’i, it’s esssential. You can get Kona coffee for Maxwell House prices.
Japanese tour buses make it a stop, for god’s sake.
(These same buses make a 15 minute stop at Volcano National Park. Yup, that’s plenty of time to appreciate Kilauea. Try the back slope vent hike next time, guys.)
Milk & cereal are about 2X-3X mainland prices. Out of curiosity wouldn’t a diet of lower cost local produce and seafood be a lot better for a diabetic (or almost anyone) than a mainland style diet with lots of milk, cheese and eggs?
Well, I didn’t say “lots.” The issue is that I would know what to eat there and what to take with me, if I knew what was too expensive there. But to answer your question, the typical contemporary Island diet is not healthy for someone like me (or for Islanders–there’s a high diabetes and coronary disease rate).
Similarly, a “mainland style diet” typically includes a lot of simple carbohydrate-based foods and processed foods, neither of which I eat (chips, french fries, bread, cereal, candy, cookies, pasta, tortillas, corn, sweetened sauces). I would rather eat local food, but there’s a lot of it that’s very starchy or sugary that will completely throw off my metabolism for months to come–bad for the eyes and toes, mood, weight, muscles, etc.
Milk (which I drink only in my coffee) can raise my blood sugar slightly in larger quantities. Cheese is more a 2-ounce serving kind of thing. The fat in cheese can help slow down sugar in foods with simple carbohydrates (like most breads) so that I have less of a spike-and-crash experience. Eggs have no effect on blood sugar. I currently eat 1-2 eggs a day but have fantastic triglycerides and cholesterol because I eat so many vegetables and so little simple carbohydrate.
Fish: Yes. Taro leaf: Yes. (NB: Must it be eaten cooked, or can it be eaten raw?) Watermelon: Yes.
I’m very open to suggestions of other Island vegetables that are available and less expensive. Otherwise I’ll be pretty much stuck with fish. Granted, I enjoy fish, but some variety is nice. Also, I’ll be at a conference, and although members of the American Psychological Association won’t look askance at it, I’d still fee self conscious whipping out a packet of fish (and nothing else) for lunch.
Poi: Nope. Simple carbohydrate, might as well eat a fistful of candy. Macaroni: Nope. Rice: Nope. Spam: Nope. Banana: Nope. Most bread, crackers, and cereal: Nope. Noodles: Nope. Teriyaki sauce or any other sugared glaze: Nope.
Pineapple: Lower simple carbohydrates than than most perfumed fruits, but still on my general nope list.
So that’s the story.
I have never been to Hawaii, but people tell me the food is very expensive (because it is imported). Years ago, the islands jhad big beef ranches and dairey farms…why isn’t food locally produced?
Can I just say you would be soooo much happier with the fistful of candy than with the serving of poi? Don’t worry too much about missing out on the poi.
I would look into farmers markets. We went to one when we were on Kauai, and the produce was so incredibly fresh. Even something I don’t usually even consider, radishes, were memorably good. Farmers markets were listed in the local papers, so if there are some in/ near Honolulu you should be able to find a listing.
And you will have lots of options for great fish. Grilled fish over various salad greens could be a versatile option.