Papaya & Poi Breakfast Bowl Recipe

This year we’ve had the pleasure to meet and work with the extraordinary beekeeper Kailin Kim, (also known as @ho.olahoney on instagram) in our efforts to save 5 million bees from extermination. Aside from managing Hawaii’s only family-run bee rescue operation, producing tons of honey while taking care of our world’s precious pollinators, raising two of the next generation beekeepers, and so much more, Kailin keeps up a healthy lifestyle with a few of her favorite traditional Hawiian recipes. For a taste of Hawaii and an amazing energizing boost, follow Kailin’s recipe below, featuring our Comvita UMF™ Manuka Honey!

Papaya Poi Breakfast Bowl

As a full time beekeeping family, breakfast is an important meal in our household and you can guess that it usually involves some type of honey! With long days working in the apiary, on the farm, or off on bee rescues across the island, we trust in breakfast to fuel us through the morning and help set us up for a productive day. And with two growing boys, we’re always looking for new and interesting ways to make healthy and nutritious meals fun.

While we have buckets of Hawaiian honey on hand at all times, there is one special honey that we can’t live without in our house, and that is Manuka Honey from New Zealand.

When I lived in New Zealand for a little while after graduating, I saw that Manuka Honey was a staple in every home and a true taonga (treasure) of Aotearoa. It seemed like every family had someone that worked in the bee yards in the summer and everyone knew the value of this unique honey.

With that being said, I feel very fortunate that we can enjoy Comvita’s UMF™ Manuka Honey here in Hawaiʻi, especially for some added immune support in this papaya poi bowl.

We are lucky to have a variety of fruits growing on our island year round and we can usually forage around our yard to gather ingredients for this delicious papaya bowl. It is a filling enough to eat as a meal in itself and everyone in our house loves it, filled with a Hawaiian staple, poi, and topped with chunks of kalo (taro), fresh strawberries from our local farmers market, sweet apple bananas, and of course Manuka Honey!

This recipe is super easy to throw together for a simple and beautiful breakfast, and you can easily change it up depending on what fruits are in season in your area (think fresh kiwis and blueberries).

Photo by Kailin Kim

Ingredients for Papaya Poi Bowl:

• 1 ripe papaya
• 1 cup of poi
• 1-2 apple or bananas
• Handful of fresh strawberries
• Comvita’s UMF™ Manuka Honey, to drizzle
• Optional: Chunks of cooked taro, granola, or chia seeds, for topping

Directions for Papaya & Poi Bowl

• Cut papaya in half lengthwise and scoop seeds out with a spoon.
• Fill papaya halves with poi, yogurt, or acai smoothie
• Top with sliced taro, fresh fruit, granola, and/or chia seeds
• Generously drizzle Manuka honey over the entire fruit bowl.

Can’t find poi? No problem. If you are able to access raw taro, I’ll walk you through making your own, and if not, you can substitute the poi for yogurt or a blended acai smoothie.

Directions for Quick Poi:

• Cook whole, raw, and unpeeled taro, in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker for 1 hour at normal pressure with 1 inch of water in the pot.
• Release pressure and cool, then scrape skin off of taro with a small spoon.
• Cut taro into 2 inch pieces.
• Blend taro chunks with water in a food processor or blender until a thick paste forms. You can also use a mortar and pestle to break down chunks into a paste then mix with water until desired consistency is formed.
• Enjoy!

A helpful note: Raw taro has properties that are known to cause itchiness! Make sure to cook thoroughly for one hour to prevent getting an itchy mouth or throat, and be cautious when handling raw taro to avoid skin sensitivities.

To learn more about Kailin and her family, check out our blog on their life as beekeepers.