Green Gifting: Candles

Candles are a great way add the magic of the holidays to your home. We have candles made of soy, palm wax and beeswax that are made with essential oils, natural fragrances or unscented altogether.
My favorite candles are the Everyday Icon candles, with powerful prayers for Powerful Stress Relief and to Our Lady of Tattoos and Piercings.

Green Gifting: Mana Gift Card

Mana Gift Cards can be purchased in any denomination, from $1 to $500. They can be used on anything in the store; from very practical groceries and toothpaste, to the more decadent items like specialty cheese and luxury spa products. Mana Gift cards are easily slipped into a card and mailed. If you have been good, Santa might even leave one in your stocking. These cards are especially thoughtful for elders who don't need another "thing" to dust and may be on a limited income.

Green Gifting: Tin toys

Tin toys are a great alternative to plastic. The robot and package are made from recylced materials. Just like the original 7" windup made in the 1950's in Japan, this retro robot walks as sparks shoot through his chest. The on/off switch on his back pack control the action. of the wind up motor Great classic boxy design from which many other robots were born!

Happy Thanksgiving!

As you gather with your ohana to celebrate this day of giving thanks, Mana Foods would like to thank YOU for being part of our Maui ohana.
A Thanksgiving Blessing
In the spirit of humility we give thanks for all that is.
We thank the great spiritual beings who have shared their wisdom.
We thank our ancestors who brought us to where we are now.
We are grateful for the opportunity to walk this planet,
to breathe the air,
to taste the food,
to experience sensations of a human body/mind,
to share in this wonder that is life.
We are grateful for the natural world that supports us,
for the community of humankind that enables us to do many wonderous things.
We are grateful that we are conscious,
that as intelligent beings we can reflect upon the many gifts we have been given.
by Tom Barrett

Natural Beauty: Bulgarian Rose Water

Throughout history, roses have been used as symbols of love and beauty, as confetti at celebrations, for medicinal purposes, and as a source of perfume. Rose Water usage dates back to ancient civilizations like Persia and Egypt, Cleopatra herself was said to have bathed daily in Rose Water.

Bulgarian Rose Water is now available at Mana Foods. Rose water is suitable for all skin types and is especially beneficial for mature, dry or sensitive skin. It has anti-bacterial properties to help fight acne and diminishes the redness caused by enlarged capillaries. In addition to all of the skin care benefits, rose water can also be used for it's aromatherapy properties: peace, calm, easing grief, mental clarity.

Fresh Organic Turkeys

The turkeys have landed and priced right! Fresh, never frozen, free range and organic turkeys. If you don't see the size you want in the meat department, just ask and we will be happy to provide the size you are looking for. We have plenty on site, but limited space in the display case.


Come to Mana Foods for all your holiday shopping: organic produce, stuffing, gravy, specialty cheese and baking supplies.

Enjoy our fresh baked on-site pies: Apple, vegan apple, pumpkin, vegan pumpkin, pecan, cherry and strawberry rhubarb. Also look for our holiday themed raw, vegan desserts in the deli department.

Sugarcane plates & cornstarch utensils

The Ultra Green Party Pack is perfect for a quick Thanksgiving clean up or a beach party. The Tree Free sugarcane paper products biodegrade or compost in 60-90 days, while the cornstarch cups and utensils biodegrade or compost in 150 days.
Each kit contains a bonus serving bowl and 12 of each of the following: 16oz cornstarch cups, 10 inch plates, knives, forks, spoons and napkins.

How to make your own poultry seasoning

Poultry Seasoning

1 tablespoon dried rosemary
1 tablespoon dried sage
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried marjoram
1 tablespoon celery seed
3/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
Ground ingredients together in a spice grinder, mini-food processor or a mortar and pestle.
Makes about 1/3 cup.

Fresh & Local: Rosemary

Fresh Rosemary Lore & Recipes
Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.), is an adaptation of the Latin "Ros marinus" meaning "dew of the sea." Egyptians and Greeks considered rosemary to be a sacred plant, associated with love, death, and remembrance. In Egypt rosemary was used to embalm the dead, and sprigs were placed in tombs to symbolize the memory of the departed.
In ancient Greece, students wore a garland of rosemary while studying or taking tests, in the hopes of improving their memory.
In Medieval times rosemary was considered to be a love charm and a sign of remembrance and fidelity. The herb was often placed on the bride's head as a wreath (to help her remember her vows?) and rosemary wine was used to toast the couple.

Rosemary Butter
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 Tbs Fresh rosemary leaves,
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp crushed dried red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation: Mix all the ingredients together well. Best served after infusing for at least 4 hours.

Bruno's Rosemary Chicken
4 cloves garlic, peeled, cut in half length wise
1 roasting chicken (4-5 lbs.)
1 package Fresh rosemary
1 lemon
Salt and pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Rub cloves of garlic on chicken skin. Slip 2 half cloves of garlic between the skin and the meat on each breast of the chicken. Place remaining garlic in cavity of chicken.
Rub fresh rosemary over chicken. Slip sprig of rosemary between skin and meat of each breast. Place more rosemary inside cavity of chicken. Cut lemon in half and squeeze one half over chicken, place other half into cavity.
Grind rock salt & fresh pepper to taste
Roast at 350 degrees for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours until juices run clear.


Rosemary Honey Lemonade
This makes a great vodka martini base (1 shot vodka, 2 shots lemonade
shaken over ice)
1/3 Cup honey (more or less to taste)
6 cups water
6 sprigs fresh rosemary
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
plus a few thinly sliced rounds of whole lemon

Bring honey and 2 cups water nearly to the boil in a small saucepan.
Add rosemary sprigs, cover and remove from heat.
Let this syrup infuse for 30 minutes then strain into pitcher.
Stir in 1/2 cup lemon juice and remaining 4 cups water.
Add lemon rounds and chill until ready to serve.
Garnish with lemon rounds and sprigs of rosemary.

Fresh & Local: herbs

We are lucky enough to have Coca Farms, a certified organic farm that grows the most amazing selection of fresh herbs. You can now buy fresh sage, rosemary, oregano, thyme, chives, marjoram, basil, Thai basil cilantro and dill all grown locally on Maui.

If you want to replace fresh herbs with the dried herbs in a recipe, use three times as much that is called for. Also, people often make the mistake of adding fresh herbs too early in the cooking process, with evaporates all the the essential oils. Try adding your fresh herbs 1-3 minutes before the cooking in complete.

The exception to this would be fresh Bay leaf, which is best added early on for the best flavor in your soup or stew.

How to make your own Pumpkin Pie Spice

Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp of ground allspice
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg.

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl, blending well.
Use immediately or store in an airtight container
Makes 2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice

Green Genius: biodegradable plastic bags

Green Genius makes a line of revolutionary biodegradable plastic products. Their Green Genius biodegradable food bags and trash bags, are the same strength and price of regular trash bags. But unlike their more stubborn cousins that may take a thousand years to biodegrade, Green Genius bags biodegrade under active landfill conditions, typically within 1 to 15 years (ASTM D5511).

Here's how they do it:

Step One: Plastic is combined with a proprietary additive called EcoPure that bonds organic “nutrients” to the plastic’s molecular structure. The addition of this additive allows the plastic to be eaten by microbes, making the whole bag biodegradable.

Step Two: When a Green Genius plastic bag is disposed of in a microbe-rich environment, like a landfill, the microbes are attracted to the embedded "nutrients" and begin to colonize on the plastic.

Step Three: Microbes begin feeding on the nutrients, and the plastic begins to break down into simpler organic matter like sugars, fatty acids and amino acids.

Step Four: The bag is now entirely edible by microbes, which attracts even more microbes, and a feast ensues.

Step Five: Microbes continue to feed on the plastic until only the simplest organic matter remains — water, biogas (carbon dioxide and methane) and biomass (humus).

To learn how these products biodegrade, click here

Fresh & Local: Exotic Tropical Fruits

I call these "Dr. Suess fruit", the showy Dragon Fruit (pictured here) and the comical rambutan and are both available at Mana Foods, grown on the Big Island.

Rambutan in the lychee's hairy cousin and it's name is derived from the Malay word rambut, which literally means hairy caused by the 'hair' that covers this fruit.

Dragon fruit, also known as fire dragon and dragon pearl, is the fruit of the night blooming Cereus. This plant is often seen in Hawaii with beautiful white flowers, called moonflower or Queen of the Night, but no fruit. This is because there aren't many pollinators to help the plant bear fruit. In it's native areas, the Cereus is pollinated by nocturnal creatures such as bats & moths. But, for cultivating purposes in Hawaii, the trees are often hand pollinated because we do not have fruit bats here in Hawaii, as they do in Central America.

20% Off Dr. Hauschka select products

Select Dr. Hauschka products are now available at a 20% discount, while supplies last. This sale only happens once a year, so be sure to take advantage of this special pricing.

Whenever I use Dr. Hauschka's Rose Day cream, I am instantly transported to a wonderfully scented sanctuary of peace and my super dry rosacea skin is soothed. I recently found out that the roses are Biodynamically farmed in Bulgaria and that the farmers are paid fair-trade prices. It made me love this company even more!

Their formulations are based on an understanding of the way skin works and its relationship with overall health. A Dr.Hauschka Skin Care regimen should be part of a healthy lifestyle supported by diet, exercise and contemplative practices to reconnect us with our natural rhythms. All of these factors have an effect on skin health and beauty, and all are a part of Dr.Hauschka's holistic approach.

Every plant and mineral ingredient is carefully selected based on its individual effects and the way it interacts with other ingredients, as well as whether it came from an ecologically and ethically sound source. Dr. Hauschka chooses packaging that's Eco-friendly and which allows them to keep the products free of artificial preservatives.

How to cook a Thanksgiving Turkey

Thawing Times:
Thawing Time in the Refrigerator (40 F)
Approximately 24 hours per 5 pounds (Whole Turkey)
8 to 12 pounds 1 to 2 days
12 to 16 pounds 2 to 3 days
16 to 20 pounds 3 to 4 days
20 to 24 pounds 4 to 5 days

Thawing Time in Cold Water
Approximately 30 minutes per pound (Whole Turkey)
8 to 12 pounds 4 to 6 hours
12 to 16 pounds 6 to 8 hours
16 to 20 pounds 8 to 10 hours
20 to 24 pounds 10 to 12 hours
(Change water every 30 minutes)
After thawing, remove neck and giblets from both neck and body cavities, wash turkey inside and out with cold water, drain well. Thawed turkey may remain in refrigerator 1-2 days.

Roasting a Turkey
Timetable for Fresh or Thawed Turkey at 325 F
These times are approximate and should always be used in conjunction with a properly placed thermometer
Unstuffed
8 to 12 pounds 2 3/4 to 3 hours
12 to 14 pounds 3 to 3 3/4 hours
14 to 18 pounds 3 3/4 to 4 1/4 hours
18 to 20 pounds 4 1/4 to 4 1/2 hours
20 to 24 pounds 4 1/2 to 5 hours

Stuffed
8 to 12 pounds 3 to 3 1/2 hours
12 to 14 pounds 3 1/2 to 4 hours
14 to 18 pounds 4 to 4 1/4 hours
18 to 20 pounds 4 1/4 to 4 3/4 hours
20 to 24 pounds 4 3/4 to 5 1/4 hours

1. Set the oven temperature no lower than 325 F.
2. Place turkey breast-side up on a rack in a shallow roasting pan.
3. For uniform results, it is recommended to cook stuffing outside the bird. If stuffed, stuff loosely.
4. For safety and doneness the internal temperature, as registered on a meat thermometer, must reach a minimum of 180 F in the thigh before removing from the oven. The center of the stuffing should reach 165 F after stand time.
5. Juices should be clear.
6. Let the breast stand 20 minutes before removing stuffing and carving.

Fresh & Organic: Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry Sauce Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup water or orange juice
4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries (1 – 12 oz. pkg)
(optional: pecans, orange peel, raisins, currants, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice)

Directions: Wash and pick over cranberries. In a saucepan bring to a boil water/orange juice and sugar, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add cranberries, return to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer 10 minutes or until cranberries burst.
At this point you may add any optional ingredients.
Remove from heat. Cool completely at room temperature and then chill in refrigerator. Cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools.
Makes 2 ¼ cups.

Raw Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients:
2 Cups fresh cranberries
1 orange
1 apple
1 Cup dates
Water for consistency

Process all ingredients in a blender and serve!

1st Annual Island-Wide Coastal Clean Ups

1st Annual Island-Wide Coastal Clean Ups
Lahaina, Wailuku/Kahului, Paia, Kihei, Hana

Volunteers 700-800++ we estimate that there were around this number total.
569 Volunteers that signed in.
Waste 20,480lbs
Green Waste 30,00lbs
Total Waste 50,480lbs

Stats to recognize and take seriously!

13,521 Cigarettes Buts and Filters
2385 Bottle Caps
1049 Beverage Bottles
1,010 Cups & Plates
1,376 Food Wrappers
600 Straws
332 Fishing Nets
335++ pieces of Fishing Line

Most alarming
13,521 Cigarettes, Thousands upon thousands of pieces of plastic, bottle caps, food wrappers, and fishing materials!!

North Shore Paia Stats:
154 Volunteers
4 miles long
13,400 estimated pounds of waste
concerns abandoned cars and drug pipes

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