Kauai Healthy Lifestyle with Verde
Verde Chilaquiles with NewMona Hui Farm eggs, Kauai Kunana Dairy feta cheese, Lawai Valley Mushrooms and Govinda Farm’s kale and tomatillos. Maris Manzano photo.
When Maris Manzano, owner of Verde, read Round One: Battle of the Bulge in Kauai Midweek, she learned that Dan and I were on a mission to lose weight. Knowing that Verde is one of our favorite go-to stops for a quick bite to eat, Maris, who is into fitness, gave me a call and asked how she could help. Since Jane Riley, our personal trainer at Kauai Athletic Club, has me on 1300 calories a day, I suggested calorie counts. Maris created this Healthy Thursday meal, which is available starting today and under 380 calories!
Verde Chilaquiles ($12.99) are made with local ingredients including NewMona Hui Farm eggs, Kauai Kunana Dairy feta cheese, Lawai Valley Mushrooms and Govinda Farm‘s kale and tomatillos. Since Maris went through considerable effort to create a new, low calorie, locally sourced menu item, she’s keeping it on the menu for the entire month of March. If you’d like to see more of these types of meals at Verde, stop by and try it and let her know what you think.
Go to the Tasting Kauai Facebook page and leave a comment about how you stay healthy, and you can win a $20 gift certificate to Verde. This offer will expire at midnight HST on Wednesday, March 12.
Verde made some changes including taking down the walls, opening up the space and adding a wide, granite-topped bar. There’s new tables and chairs, new AC, new lighting and fixtures as well as new bathroom fixtures.
Verde’s Escabeche and Red Salsa are available at Costco.
” I remodeled Verde to better serve our customers,” says Maris. “From counter-style to full-service with a wider range of tequila options and margarita menu. It’s still the same Verde ohana, same menu and same price. I want to incorporate the new look as part of Verde’s brand (along with Verde’s Salsas and Escabeche at Costco). I had a possible Verde franchise or Verde #2 in mind when I remodeled. That is the look I want for the brand, to be duplicated. Whether it happens or not, hey, we are all happy with the new look so it’s OK. After 5 years, it was due for a change. It’s rustic, homey but with a touch of elegance. It’s smart but it has warmth.”
On March 12, Verde turns 6 and they are celebrating by starting an anniversary tradition by serving the Green Chile Sopa Burger, that is made with the Westside’s Makaweli Meat Company beef. Proceeds from the burger go directly to Verde staff, which is Maris’s way of saying thank you.
Green Chile Sopa Burger
Verde is also implementing their “Fundraising Burrito” to help the community raise funds. Fundraisers earn 40-percent profit from pre-selling $10 Chicken burritos.
“I get fundraisers such as Kapaa Swim Team and Kauai Technical Institute of Jiu-Jitsu, to name a few,” says Maris. “It just gradually grew over the last 3 years from friends or people I know who simply asked for help to raise funds. Next thing I know, other schools and local organizations started inquiring about it. So, I was like, wait a minute, I need to get on this and create a standardized system! Basically, a Verde fundraising burrito ticket is $6 with an actual value amount of $10. So, fundraisers make a $4 profit. Donors just present the fundraising burrito ticket at the restaurant to pick up their burrito.
Mahalo Maris, and Verde, for supporting Kauai’s small community is so many ways. Watch for the following hash tags on Facebook and Instagram (tastingkauai and verdehawaii) to learn more. #KauaiHealthyLifestyles #KHL #HealthyThursday #TastingKauai #VerdeHawaii #KauaiFood
P.S. This is not a paid advertisement, just aloha for good, clean food and healthy lifestyles.