Healthy Food is Medicine

Our first seasonal event of 2024, the “Vernal Equinox Festival,” attracted well over 30 people and four large, friendly dogs, filling the small farm.

The theme of this year’s event was avocados and turmeric (autumn ukon), both just harvested from the farm. Chie, a healthy cooking expert, and Suzue, a healthy fasting consultant, talked about the nutrients and health benefits of avocado, which is rich in vitamins and minerals as well as oleic acid that reduces the risk of heart disease and plant fiber that improves bowel movements, and turmeric, which promotes digestion and liver function, reduces arthritis pain, and has antiseptic and detoxifying effects.

The dishes that used the most ingredients were quickly served on the table and gone in no time.

Excerpt from Suzue’s presentation slides
Excerpt from Suzue’s presentation slides

Left: Chie Wachi with Yukhoe Style Avocado Roll, Right: Suzie Nishiyama with Turmeric Koji Chicken Curry

Nature + Healthy Cuisine = Big Smiles

Participants also brought their own special dishes. The Second Nature Farm Members and volunteers enjoyed healthy and yummy dishes in the spring breeze from the ocean toward the Ko’olau mountains while catching up with each other. Their big smiles were spreading all over the farm.

The following “Summer Solstice Festival” is scheduled on Saturday between mid-June and early July. Let’s see what kind of harvest will appear on the table.

Author of this article

日本の新聞社系週刊誌記者、第二電電(現KDDI)広報責任者を経て米国留学。「持続可能な発展」などの政策比較研究を行い2000年カリフォルニア大サンディエゴ校で太平洋国際関係研究修士号取得。ハワイで有機園芸業を行っていたGary E. Johnsonとの結婚を機に2005年ハワイへ移住。翻訳出版とヨガインストラクターを続けながらGaryと共同で、「健康な食の生産、体と心の浄化、自然生態系の保全」を目的(3Pモットー)にした「森林農業+ヨガ・瞑想」プロジェクトをオアフ島ワイマナロで推進している。

After working as a reporter for a weekly newspaper and as a public relations manager at Daini-Denden (now KDDI), she moved to the U.S. to study comparative policies, such as on “sustainable development.” In 2000, she received her M.A. in Pacific International Relations from the University of California, San Diego, and in 2005, she married Gary E. Johnson, an organic gardener in Hawaii. While continuing to work as a translator, publisher, and yoga instructor, she has been working together with Gary on the Agroforestry + Yoga/Meditation project in Waimanalo, Oahu, which aims to “produce healthy food, purify the body and mind, and preserve the natural ecosystem (3P motto).”

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