Hawaii: In Real Life ~ Sweet Dash of Aloha

Let’s face it, we all want to eat healthy, but it seems so hard to find recipes that incorporate wholesome ingredients with good taste. Or is it?

Kapiolani Community College (KCC), a renowned institution for pumping out culinary legends, published  “A DASH of Aloha: Healthy Hawaii Cuisine and Lifestyle” book in 2007 — the first in a series of books with ideas for healthy living, and recipes for making tasty dishes based on the Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan. Using Hawaii grown, farm-fresh ingredients, these recipes turned out to be as delicious as they are healthy, and the book is now used in health education, dietary counseling, and healthy cooking training.

Since the first book was such a hit, KCC has come out with another in the series called “A SWEET Dash of Aloha: Guilt Free Hawaii Desserts and Snacks.” Our resident pastry chef (and KCC alum, naturally), Ed Morita, looked through the book and was surprised to find that these healthy recipes are every bit as tasty as the desserts he learned to make — except these are much better for you. We decided to visit Alyssa Moreau and Carol Nardello, two of the book recipe contributors, at his alma mater to check out their guilt-free desserts.

Pretty good, huh? If you want to view Carol and Alyssa assembling the desserts, visit HawaiiIRL.com to see how easy the recipes are. I also got some still shots, here, while Dawn Sakamoto Paiva has her photos here.

If you’d like to buy a book, one of the easiest ways to do so is online at Watermark Publishing (@WatermarkHawaii). Oh, and if you want to meet the authors and have them sign your copy, they’ll be having a book signing on February 11 at Whole Foods Kahala at 2 p.m.

Also, if you’d like a taste tester when you make any of these desserts, I can be available.