All posts by Genevive Bjorn

Environment, Family, Health, Lifestyle, Politics

Hawaii Residents Eat Cheap in Hard Times

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(Added 9/30/09: If you’re looking for the best burger or cheeseburger in Hawaii, read this review.)

Residents of Hawaii frequently eat cheap food away from home and those cheap foods carry a high hidden cost in the form of heart disease, diabetes and some types of cancer while increasing profits to fast food companies.

According to Angelina Ahedo, lead author of a study published in 2007 on how frequently members of different ethnic groups living in Hawaii eat fast food:

Native Hawaiian [study] participants ate at fast food restaurants more frequently than Chinese, Caucasian, Filipino, and Japanese participants (p < .05).

Her study also showed that participants with higher BMIs (an indicator of obesity) ate more frequently at fast food restaurants. She also found that gender, income level, of Native Hawaiian ancestry, consuming away-from-home foods, and dieting to lose weight were significant predictors of high BMI.

A second study recently published this week by The Cancer Project looked at rocketing sales of “Value Menu” items offered by fast food chains. They found that five most popular cheap eats are:

  1. Junior bacon cheeseburger – Jack in the Box
  2. Cheesy double beef burrito – Taco Bell
  3. Breakfast sausage biscuit – Burger King
  4. McDouble – McDonald’s
  5. Junior bacon cheeseburger – Wendy’s

According to a 2005 report from the Institute of Medicine on the marketing of junk food, the main targets of Value Menu marketing are teenagers, young adults and minorities — in other words, most of Hawaii. Add in hard economic times, and it’s easy to see why the sales of McDonald’s Dollar Menu raised over $5 billion in revenue five years after it started.

Such huge financial gains to companies come at a high price to individual and public health in the form of chronic diseases. When taking the ill health effects into account, I wonder how much does that 99-cent McDouble really cost Hawaii?

Sources:

1. A. Ahedo et al. Californian Journal of Health Promotion. 2007; 5(2):1-12. Available at: http://www.csuchico.edu/cjhp/5/2/001-012-ahedo.pdf . Acccessed 12/15/08.

2. The Cancer Project. Cheap Eats for Hard Times: The five most unhealthful fastfood ‘value menu’ items. Winter 2008. Available at:  http://www.cancerproject.org/media/news/081208.php . Accessed 12/15/08.

3. Institute of Medicine. Food Marketing to Children and Youth: Threat or Opportunity?.  December 6, 2005. Available at: http://www.iom.edu/?id=31330&redirect=0 . Accessed 12/15/08.

Family, Lifestyle, Politics

Holiday Baking Hawaiian Style

Want to give your holiday baking a little island flair? Try adding some flavors from Hawaii like coffee, rum, apple banana, mango, papaya, coconut, vanilla beans, and, of course, Maui cane sugar. You can easily order these ingredients online if you can’t them in a store nearby (see resource list below for suggestions). Or ask someone who’s going on vacation to bring you back a few things.

(Hawaiian style it: Individual servings of apple banana bread with vanilla rum sauce)

One of my favorite holiday recipes is Hawaiian apple banana bread with vanilla bean rum sauce. Start with your favorite banana bread recipe, but substitute apple banana puree (about 1.5 cups puree for 2 whole bananas). Same for the sauce. Use your favorite icing recipe and add a splash of Hana rum and ground vanilla beans. Sprinkle the top with freshly shredded coconut.

Another crowd pleaser is Kona coffee cake. I never leave a party with anything but an empty pan. Using your favorite coffee cake recipe, substitute finely ground pure Kona coffee. I especially love using peaberry from the Hualalai area. I also find that adding fresh, unrefrigerated eggs from your nearest hens really plumps up the flavor of the coffee. A hint of vanilla bean or dark chocolate tastes fabulous, too.

For any of your holiday baking, you can substitute raw Maui cane sugar for demera and turbinado sugars. The golden color of the Maui cane caramelizes beautifully.

During the holidays, it’s the simple pleasures that we enjoy most: time with family and friends and good food. Enjoy and aloha!

Online shopping for Hawaiian foods:

Familyfoodhawaii.com

Hawaiianfoodonline.com

Suresave.com

Travel

Bargain Holiday Vacation in Hawaii

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The economic crisis means that traffic and airfares to Hawaii are down. You might be able to scoop up a bargain holiday vacation in Hawaii if you know where to look.

(Local wreaths: Christmas Berry trees bloom in Hawaii during the holiday months.)

For starters, join Hawaiian Airlines frequent flier program, and you’ll be privy to their member-only web sales. I recently got an alert for a round-trip from Portland to Honolulu during the holidays for $350. This is their usual off-season price. Their typical fares for the holidays are double that or more.

For accomodations, look at Vacation Rental By Owner (VRBO.com) . Most owner-managed units are suffering from dropping tourist numbers and a downward-spiraling housing market. Negotiate a little or look for last-minute specials, and you could book a condo in Kihei for well under $80 per night — an unheard of price in recent years.

If you decide to spend the holidays in Hawaii, don’t forget to gloat to your family and friends on the Mainland who are suffering through bad weather and mad crowds.

Aloha!