Traveling with kids can be a handful. Trying to stay active and healthy while traveling can be even more challenging. We’d been planning our family trip to Maui for a while, and friends that have lived there in the past told us that we’d find lots of great outdoor activities to keep the kids busy, but finding healthy, organic food might be a challenge. Tropical islands provide loads of things to do outside, but Hawaiian cuisine is known for it’s rich, greasy food. Luckily for us, after a little research, not only did we find an abundance of outdoor family-friendly activities, but we found that on Maui, locals are starting to become more conscious about the food they are eating, and a profusion of organics have been popping up all over the island.
The airport is in the town of Kahului and fortunately we discovered lots of organic options to choose from upon our arrival. After the long flight across the Pacific,the kids were famished (of course!) and my husband still needed his morning cup of coffee! I had heard about a little organic market called Alive and Well (aliveandwellinmaui.com) in Kahului, just 5 minutes from the airport, and it ended up being the perfect lunch stop. 
There’s a deli with smoothies, fresh juice, soups and sandwiches, and plenty of gluten-free options. A few doors down is Maui Coffee Roasters (mauicoffeeroasters.com). They carry local Maui honey, granola, and of course, organic, Maui coffee.
Even further down the street, I had to try a locally-made, vegan, gluten free, Pono Pie (ponopies.com), B Raw energy bar (brawbar.com) and a jar of r.i.p.e.’s cold pressed juice (ripejuicemaui.com). The girls even got to help out in their joint, local kitchen. Delish!
Revived and satiated, we set out to stock up on food for the week. When we travel as a family we always like to have lots of options for meals and snacks in our hotel room, just in case we don’t want to go out. You never know when you may have kids with emergency hunger pains or are just plain tired of eating in restaurants day after day.
Luckily, there is a local vegetarian grocery store called Down To Earth Organic & Natural Market (downtoearth.org) right in Kahului. They support local farmers and products from over 100 farms in the area. We stocked up on organic oatmeal and eggs for breakfast, tropical fruit galore, and attempted to try every pudding and hummus they allowed us to sample. We even got a big glass of fresh Big Wave Organic Kombucha they keep on tap.
As we were leaving to begin our Maui adventure we noticed a sign posted on the wall. It was a great introduction to the Hawaiian Principals and a wonderful learning opportunity for our girls:
Aloha: We aspire to live in peace, love, and harmony with others.
Malama: We encourage everyone to take care of themselves, each other, and the ‘aina (land).
Pono: We strive to do what is right, acting with a sense of responsibility and duty.
‘Ohana: We help foster a feeling of family and community within Hawaii Nei (the islands).
‘Aina: We respect and appreciate Hawaii’s land; its beauty and natural resources nurture and sustain us.
