Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Travelling To Hawaii

wdavie

By wdavie
in Gluten-Free Restaurants

Recommended Posts

wdavie Newbie
wdavie
Posted

Hi, we are coming to Maui in June from New Zealand. My daugher was recently diagnosed as Celiac and well I am worried about where we can eat etc.

This may be silly but after getting to know New Zealand products and food etc I am worried about travelling and having trouble finding products.

If anyone can suggest places to eat in Maui (Southshore and Paia) and Waikiki, also if there is a Gluten free product guide for the US and where I can get it from, I would really appreciate any help I can get.

Thanks Wendy :unsure:

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


mannabbe Newbie
mannabbe
Posted

Wendy,

You are in luck! I am traveling to Maui in April with my 7 year old daughter (both of us have celiac), my husband - AND a friend and her daughter who are both gluten-free. I promise to take good notes on restaurants and food stores and get back to you. We will be there for 10 days, so I will be an expert by the time I"m done. Can't help you out with Wailkiki unfortunately.

The delphi forums celiac site (at delphiforums.com) is a very active forum that has food lists for US/Canada that are updated regularly. Also, Clan Thompson has a subscription service that you can download onto your PDA, if you are so inclined technically.

If this puts your mind at ease, I already know there are a couple health food stores on Maui that carry some of what I consider to be the "basic" gluten-free food products. I am also dairy free / soy free / corn free, so the info I gather for you will omit those foods as well.

cheers,

Laurie in Seattle

  • 3 years later...
Rubicon1954 Newbie
Rubicon1954
Posted

I am a regular visitor to Maui and have not had much luck finding gluten-free friendly restaurants there. I just returned from there last week and had a reasonably good trip because I rented a condo with a full equipped kitchen. I find that being able to prepare my own meals is essential to keeping me sane and healthy.

I also haunt the farmer's markets, and health food stores - the fresh fruit is a highlight on Maui, and we bought tons of it. There is also a great health food store on South Kihei - Hawaiian Moons Natural Foods. They have a great salad bar, and all the basic gluten-free foods in stock. The people there are real friendly.

There is an Outback Steakhouse in Kihei that doesn't make me sick, but otherwise, I ended up walking out of several restaurants when I found nothing but roadblocks on the menu. I tried Greek Bistro, and even though I made every attempt to order carefully, I ended up sick.

Laurie, I will also be watching for your notes when you return, as I am planning another trip there with my family next year. I am hoping to find some safe places to eat while on vacation.

Linda

Mini Newbie
Mini
Posted

Hello, I'm new to the boards but your topic caught my eye. I've been to maui a few times, and in fact last time I stayed in Pa'ia. You may luck out in Pa'ia because there are a couple of healthy/vegetarian/hippyish sort of places, as well as a really nice market to shop for groceries right in town, and it has a great selection of ready to eat foods as well. People are really friendly in Pa'ia, and I'm sure will be very understanding of your needs. I suggest trying out Cafe Mambo, an ecclectic cafe, or perhaps Fresh Mint, a vietnamese place - both are in town on the main street.

Additionally, I recommend you drive over to Makawao to do some shopping at Down to Earth. Makawao is just about a 10 or so minute drive from Pa'ia, and there are signs in Pa'ia town directing you to Makawao. (there is a down to earth down near the airport in kahului as well). Down to Earth is a great little health food store to stock up on a few items.

I am vegetarian as well as gluten intolerant, and restaurants on Maui are very touch and go. Finding vegetarian options was difficult and finding gluten free was much much harder.

The good news is, in such warm weather, you may find that your daughter may gravitate toward things like like bananas, mango, pineapple, coconut, and other yummy raw fruits and veggies - which are NOT hard to come by on maui (and are delicious!)

Oh, and as far as south shore...well, I had even more trouble finding good things to eat down there compared to north shore and upcountry.

My best advice is to get a little cooler and keep it in the car stocked with things your daughter can eat. I did this for both me and my partner (who is vegetarian but not gluten free). I stocked mine with yummy treats, some vietnamese style fresh rolls from Down to Earth, cold drinks, nuts, fruit, chocolate, rice crackers, nori sushi rolls (lots of japanese food on maui - most sushi rolls are ok as long as they dont have soy sauce), tamari rice crackers, dried tropical fruits - dried mango is like candy, etc. It's hard to find good food on the go in maui, especially if you do some of the glorious drives (up the mountain, to Hana, etc). Definitely keep lots of food on hand!

Have fun in maui!! :)

jkmunchkin Rising Star
jkmunchkin
Posted

I went to Maui on my honeymoon 4 months after being diagnosed, and did very well.

As someone previously mentioned, there is an Outback. In the same shopping center as Outback there is a restaurant named Roy's (which is actually owned by the same parent company as Outback). They don't have a gluten free menu, but they are very knowledgeable about gluten and bend over backwards to accomodate. Their menu changes daily, but they have a few signature dishes that I believe they have every day. They pretty much let me make my own entree. I wanted 1 type of fish they had that day, but I couldn't have the sauce that came on it, so they used a sauce that was typically for another dish, that sounded good that was safe for me. But best of all, their signature dessert, a flourless chocolate cake is out of this world and totally gluten free! I have to confess, we went there twice because of this cake. LOL!! (well we are on the Big Island also, so once on each if that makes it less lame).

There is also a Ruth Chris which has a gluten free menu.

In the same shopping are as Ruth Chris there is a Tommy Bahama restaurant, which was very good and also very diligent about checking the ingredients and accomodating.

The only place I almost had a problem was at a bar/grill type place in Lahaina. The waitress was extremely nice and completely understood what I needed. Unfortunately the kitchen staff didn't. Fortunately from where we were sitting I could see the kitchen and what was going on. I saw them put my burger on a bun and then remove it. When the waitress brought it over I very sympathetically explained that I needed a new burger. She completely understood, and while the guy behind the grill didn't look thrilled I was able to see my new safe burger being made.

Because I was so newly diagnosed at the time, I shipped a box of snacks to myself to the hotel, which came in handy but to be honest I don't think I really needed it. Even being new to the diet I found myself easily finding stuff that I could have picked up to snack on if need be.

Have a great time!!!

Oh and get this book, it is the best guide book.

Open Original Shared Link

Rubicon1954 Newbie
Rubicon1954
Posted

Oh! I just remembered - Maui Tacos! Let them know your gluten issues and they will make sure that yours is made with a corn tortilla. Not much help if you also have corn issues, but I enjoyed a great and inexpensive meal there since I am not sensitive to corn. I saw two locations - One was in the Piilani Shopping Center (the same one that has the Safeway and the Outback), and the other one was on South Kihei Road in the same shopping center as the Hawaiian Moons Health Food Store.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,548
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Lunaluv
    Newest Member
    Lunaluv
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.4k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Scott Adams
      Taken Seriously

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      Your post demonstrates the profound frustration and isolation that so many in the Celiac community feel, and I want to thank you for channeling that experience into advocacy. The medical gaslighting you endured for decades is an unacceptable and, sadly, a common story, and the fact that you now have to "school" your own GI specialist speaks volumes about the critical lack of consistent and updated education. Your idea to make Celiac Disease a reportable condition to public health authorities is a compelling and strategic one. This single action would force the system to formally acknowledge the prevalence and seriousness of the disease, creating a concrete dataset that could drive better research funding, shape medical school curricula, and validate the patient experience in a way that individual stories alone often cannot. It is an uphill battle, but contacting representatives, as you have done with Adam Gray, is exactly how change begins. By framing it as a public health necessity—a matter of patient safety and protection from misdiagnosis and neglect—you are building a powerful case. Your voice and your perseverance, forged through thirty years of struggle, are exactly what this community needs to ensure that no one else has to fight so hard just to be believed and properly cared for.
    • Scott Adams
      Looking for a gluten-free roomie in Denver CO

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      I had no idea there is a "Louisville" in Colorado!😉 I thought it was a typo because I always think of the Kentucky city--but good luck!
    • Scott Adams
      Allergy medication: cetirizine by the HealthA2Z is it gluten free?

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      Navigating medication safety with Celiac disease can be incredibly stressful, especially when dealing with asthma and severe allergies on top of it. While I don't have personal experience with the HealthA2Z brand of cetirizine, your caution is absolutely warranted. The inactive ingredients in pills, known as excipients, are often where gluten can be hidden, and since the FDA does not require gluten-free labeling for prescription or over-the-counter drugs, the manufacturer's word is essential. The fact that you cannot get a clear answer from Allegiant Health is a significant red flag; a company that is confident its product is gluten-free will typically have a customer service protocol to answer that exact question. In situations like this, the safest course of action is to consider this product "guilty until proven innocent" and avoid it. A better alternative would be to ask your pharmacist or doctor to help you identify a major national brand of cetirizine (like Zyrtec) whose manufacturer has a verified, publicly stated gluten-free policy for that specific medication. It's not worth the risk to your health when reliable, verifiable options are almost certainly available to you. You can search this site for USA prescriptions medications, but will need to know the manufacturer/maker if there is more than one, especially if you use a generic version of the medication: To see the ingredients you will need to click on the correct version of the medication and maker in the results, then scroll down to "Ingredients and Appearance" and click it, and then look at "Inactive Ingredients," as any gluten ingredients would likely appear there, rather than in the Active Ingredients area. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/   
    • Scott Adams
      Protein or fat?

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      What you're describing is indeed familiar to many in the Celiac community, especially in the early stages of healing. When the intestinal villi are damaged from Celiac disease, they struggle to properly digest and absorb fats, a condition known as bile acid malabsorption. This can cause exactly the kind of cramping and spasms you're seeing, as undigested fats can irritate the sensitive gut lining. It is highly plausible that her reactions to dairy and eggs are linked to their higher fat content rather than the proteins, especially since she tolerates lean chicken breast. The great news is that for many, this does improve with time. As her gut continues to heal on a strict gluten-free diet, her ability to produce the necessary enzymes and bile to break down fats should gradually return, allowing her to slowly tolerate a wider variety of foods. It's a slow process of healing, but your careful approach of focusing on low-fat, nutrient-dense foods like seeds and avocado is providing her system the best possible environment to recover. Many people with celiac disease, especially those who are in the 0-2 year range of their recovery, have additional food intolerance issues which could be temporary. To figure this out you may need to keep a food diary and do an elimination diet over a few months. Some common food intolerance issues are dairy/casein, eggs, corn, oats, and soy. The good news is that after your gut heals (for most people who are 100% gluten-free this will take several months to two years) you may be able to slowly add some these items back into your diet after the damaged villi heal. This article may be helpful: Thank you for sharing your story—it's a valuable insight for other parents navigating similar challenges.
    • Beverage
      Diagnosed celiac for 1-2 months ago and everything makes me bloated.

      By Beverage · Posted

      I had a very rough month after diagnosis. No exaggeration, lost so much inflammatory weight, I looked like a bag of bones, underneath i had been literally starving to death. I did start feeling noticeably better after a month of very strict control of my kitchen and home. What are you eating for breakfast and lunch? I ignored my doc and ate oats, yes they were gluten free, but some brands are at the higher end of gluten free. Lots of celics can eat Bob's Red Mill gluten-free oats, but not me. I can now eat them, but they have to be grown and processed according to the "purity protocol" methods. I mail order them, Montana Gluten-Free brand. A food and symptoms and activities log can be helpful in tracking down issues. You might be totally aware, but I have to mention about the risk of airborne gluten. As the doc that diagnosed me warned . . Remember eyes, ears, nose, and mouth all lead to your stomach and intestines.  Are you getting any cross contamination? Airborne gluten? Any pets eating gluten (they eat it, lick themselves, you pet them...)? Any house remodeling? We live in an older home, always fixing something. I've gotten glutened from the dust from cutting into plaster walls, possibly also plywood (glues). The suggestions by many here on vitamin supplements also really helped me. I had some lingering allergies and asthma, which are now 99% gone. I was taking Albuterol inhaler every hour just to breathe, but thiamine in form of benfotiamine kicked that down to 1-2 times a day within a few days of starting it. Also, since cutting out inflammatory seed oils (canola, sunflower, grapeseed, etc) and cooking with real olive oil, avocado oil, ghee, and coconut oil, I have noticed even greater improvement overall and haven't used the inhaler in months! It takes time to weed out everything in your life that contains gluten, and it takes awhile to heal and rebuild your health. At first it's mentally exhausting, overwhelming, even obsessive, but it gets better and second nature.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.