The Hawaiian Diet
Blog Post #4
April 20, 2015
Brodie Palm
The Traditional Hawaiian Diet, or TDH for short, includes all of the foods that the Ancient Hawaiians and even many Hawaiians today consume on a daily basis. First off, there is a difference between TDH and the food that local Hawaiians eat which includes a large amount of other food cultures from immigrant settlers around the world. What the Ancients used to commonly eat were said to be around two cups of sweet potatoes and cooked greens per day, about a pound of poi (mashed taro root) per day, and also yams. They had an abundance of berries bananas, apples, and coconuts to eat in these times, and fish and other meats were also a key part of there diet. Fish, squid, crab, chicken, and other birds were also heavily integrated in a native's diet, and most natives included around 12% of protein into their diet. This sounds like a very healthy diet indeed, but even though any local Hawaiian will lose some weight and feel much healthier when eating like an Ancient, not many can stick very close to this way of eating for long. Part of this can be blamed on the price of healthier foods and lack of support when dieting. Healthy foods such as poi and pineapple are very common and relatively cheap, but buying fruits and veggies all the time does take a toll on the bank account. Many Hawaiians have grown accustomed to eating cheap and delicious (but usually unhealthy) meals everyday such as spam, pork, and even fast food. There is also a large Asian population in Hawaii that mix in rice, sushi, noodles, and other asian cuisines into Hawaii's normal local diet. Even McDonald's in Hawaii appeals to the community with Asian actors in commercials and Japanese or Korean foods on the menu, and they even have pineapple and taro pies. Although all of this mixing of cultures creates some interesting outcomes, it is really just the cause of an obesity epidemic; very similar to the obesity situation in the rest of America. Personally, I try to eat on the healthier side of the grocery store, but there's not always money to eat these healthy foods. Whenever I think of the people who are worse off than me and do not even get to eat healthy at all because of money, it makes me wonder why people are even complaining about obesity if nobody is going to change anything. In the Like Water for Chocolate, good food seems to spark emotions like happiness, sadness, disgust, or bitterness in the characters. Food seems to affect the way people feel about each other and sometimes vice versa.
Spam and Rice Wrapped in Seaweed (Musubi)
https://therefill.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/spam-musubi.jpg
Recipe: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2008/04/tutorial-how-to-make-hawaiian-spam-musubi-sushi.html
McDonald's Sweet Taro Pie
http://www.electricbamboo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/13-0625-mcd-taro-pie.jpg
Traditional Hawaiian Sweet Potatoes
http://www.hawaiiveggiefarm.com/images/Potato%20closeup.jpg
Recipe for modern spin on Hawaiian Sweet Potatoes: http://www.food.com/recipe/hawaiian-sweet-potatoes-269561
Sources Cited
http://brittanytodd.hubpages.com/hub/Hawaiian-Food-Culture-The-Evolution-and-Effects-of-Local-Food
http://www.livestrong.com/article/319754-traditional-hawaiian-diet/
It is interesting that you point out the fact that the healthier food is usually more expensive. In Like Water for Chocolate, they are cooking recipes that have been passed down for centuries kind of how the Hawaiians cook recipes that ancient Hawaiians use to cook. Its also interesting how natural they eat. In the book they use natural ways like the killing of the fresh chicken to cook their meals. Unfortunately in todays generation, our foods are genetically enhanced to taste better and look bigger. Back then they didn't have the scientific studies to produce that type of food and it shows that in some states, they have continued with that tradition of cooking healthy and natural foods. I also notice they cook with many animals. They might cook with fresh fish or crab. It sounds like Hawaiians eat lots of fruits and veggies too. It surprised me when you said that they used to eat 2 cups of sweet potatoes and cooked greens a day. I know that my family used to make a big deal when I was younger about eating your veggies and fruits but now I feel they don't make a huge deal out of it anymore. Just like in the mainland we have gown accustomed to eating unhealthy.
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