Playful Rooted

We had so much good food on Kauai! I’m very used to doing research and making a list of vegetarian-friendly spots before we travel (because lots of places are limited in veggie options), but I hardly needed to do that on Kauai. Everywhere we went, there were so many great, healthy choices. Juices and smoothies and salads and noodle bowls and curries and just so much great stuff. Here are the highlights and the spots I fully recommend!

Fresh Bite

As you drive into Hanalei from the south, you see a group of food trucks right off the main road. In the few hours that we spent in Hanalei, we ate at two of those trucks. 😉 The first was Fresh Bite. This place has vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options, and you can customize pretty much anything you want. Love.

We tried the quinoa Buddha bowl, the purple sweet potato fries, and the poi bowl (because Hawaii). I didn’t love the poi, but I think that’s just my personal taste. Ben really enjoyed it. And I liked all the fruit on top! 😉

Holey Grail

The second truck we visited in this group, Holey Grail, makes vegan, gluten-free taro doughnuts fried in 100% coconut oil. Basically the healthiest doughnut you could ever eat….AND the most delicious.

I’m STILL dreaming about these beauties. We got the tasting box, which included one of each flavor plus the “hot single” add on.

The hot single, which was topped with just sea salt, was by far my fave, as I am a woman of simple tastes. Ben and the kids preferred the chocolate one, no surprise there. And I would do A LOT of things for a single bite of either one of them right now!

Java Kai

The sweetest little coffee shop we visited in Kauai — I had many macadamia nut lattes there, and I honestly miss them! Lots of dairy-free options on their coffee menu, and they also serve a GREAT breakfast menu with lots of veggie options. Even the kids adored this place.

Leahi Health

A cute little place in Koloa, Leahi Health serves up a menu of fully vegan bowls, salads, tacos, and juices. The service was really bad, but the food was really good!

We tried a Surfer Bowl, a Baja Bowl, and some kind of green juice. All were delicious!

Ohana Juice

Ohana Juice was just up the road from us in Kapa’a, so we had to make it a point to stop here when we could. Totally delicious juices and smoothies, plus breakfast bowls, salads, and sandwiches.

We tried this gorgeous açai bowl, which even the kids loved, and two very tasty smoothies — one of which I immediately spilled all over our rental car. Super.

Kickshaws 808

This food truck is totally not vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free. But! They always have at least one veggie option. I had been pretty jazzed to try their barbecue jackfruit sandwich, but on the day we went, they weren’t serving it. Bummer! So I ended up ordering a buffalo cauliflower sandwich instead, and….oh. Yes. It was an absolute joy to eat. This is a good place to stop if you’re heading to Poipu; grab some food here, then picnic on the beach!

Island Taco

Island Taco in Waimea was one of the first places we ate on the trip, so you’d think we would have forgotten about it by the end, but oh, no. Seriously THE BEST chips and salsa I have ever had in my life! (And you don’t get this body by skimping on chips and salsa.) Also a bunch of great veggie options; the tofu tacos (with HUGE homemade tortillas) were a big hit, and even Sawyer’s rice and bean plate was absolutely delish.

Seriously, if they shipped their chips and salsa to the mainland….our bank account would be in big trouble.

There were a bunch of restaurants I had on my list that ended up being closed, either temporarily or permanently, when we arrived, which was such a bummer. Not just because I wanted to try them, but also because it breaks my heart to see the effects this pandemic has had, and continues to have, on people’s livelihoods. Still, I’m grateful we had the opportunity to go and help stimulate Kauai’s economy in some tiny way.

Anyway! This is the last of my Kauai posts. It was a trip we will never, ever, ever forget. Everything was magic. The food, the beaches, the snorkeling and paddle boarding, the slow-paced island lifestyle, the scenery, the sunshine, the aloha.

Kauai is magic.

xo!