A Taste of Holly’s Hawaii Coastal Cuisine

Personal Background & Journey

Aloha! My name is Holly, and I am a stay at beach Mum. I live a simple island life with my husband and almost 3 year old daughter. I live in a small country community sandwhiched between majestic emerald mountains and sparkling turquoise ocean. It is heaven on earth and I am grateful I get to raise my daughter immersed in nature. I have a background in Elementary Education but my passion shifted when I experienced health problems a few years back. I went from eating McDonalds and smoking a pack a day, to adopting a plant based diet as an experiment to heal my body. The results I experienced were phenomenal and it inspired me to share my journey with others. Creating clean, colorful, living food to nourish my ohana has become a form of mediation for me. I enjoy the entire process of hand choosing my produce, washing, and preparing it. It has been so fun involving my daughter and teaching her about each fruit and vegetable, and how it helps her body. What a special feeling it is to be creating healthy habits with her from such a young age.

Life Aspirations?

My main aspiration in life is to create a warm and loving home environment for my children. It is really important to me that they look back on their childhood with positive memories. I hope that even after they leave the nest, they will always enjoy coming home and genuinely like spending time with us. Nothing is more important to me than my family and they inspire me to continue to work on myself and be the best Mum I can be. I have two children’s books that I would love to publish, as well as a cook book full of delicious plant based recipes. I would also love to open a healing sanctuary for women, especially mothers. A place where they can rest, restore, connect, as well as heal. My time to create and birth these projects will happen in good timing.

What is a Bento Box to you?

To me, a bento box is all about putting together a healthy meal to go. We usually spend the first half of the day at the beach. Packing breakfast, lunch, & snack bentos is the best way for us to still eat fresh, whole foods while we are out instead of reaching for packaged/processed foods. I love to utilize leftovers from the night before. I freshen them up with cold fruit & salad. My daughter is half Japanese, so bentos are a big part of her culture & I am happy that they are a normal part of her day. She loves to help me prepare them. We sit on the beach and share our bentos together while we take a break from the sun. As a Mum, it is so important to me that I feel my best & have the energy to be fun and active. Nothings impacts the way I feel more than my food choices so it’s an area that I don’t slack on. Bentos make the right food choices totally doable.

What do you pack in your TAKENAKA Bento?

I love to pack big hearty salads, sushi, pasta, onigiri, stir fry, sandwiches, fresh fruit, dips and veggies. Today I created a pitaya/coconut chia pudding with fresh tropical fruit & granola for breakky. For lunch we have sweet soy soba noodles with brown rice and salad. Snacks are always necessary when you have a little one, so I packed fresh guacamole & veggies to dip.

What is your Favorite part of our bentos? What colors did you choose?

I love the minimal design and gorgeous colors. I love everything in my life to be colorful so when I saw the colors you offer it was love at first sight. For me, no matter what I am doing, if good colors are involved I can’t help but feel good. I love the depth of these bentos. It’s amazing how much food they can hold. Tight and cozy, yet so lightweight. This comes in handy because I like to keep my beach bag as light as possible. They are simple to wash and easy to store. I chose the colors Pistachio Green, Candy Pink, & Periwinkle Blue purely because they spark joy.

Pitaya Coconut Chia Pudding

YOU WILL NEED:

½ cup chia seeds

2.5 cups coconut milk

½ tsp vanilla bean powder

2 Tbs pure maple syrup

4 Tbs pitaya puree

METHOD:

1. Whisk together chia seeds, coconut milk, maple syrup, and vanilla bean.

2. Cover and place in the fridge overnight.

3. Mix pitaya puree into the chia pudding until well combined or leave it swirly.

4. Serve with fresh fruit, granola, coconut flakes, a sprinkle of your favorite nuts, or all of the above

*I used starfruit, papaya, guava, lilikoi, and fresh coconut meat. I know these fruits are not accessible to everyone. Any fresh fruit will do!