Hawaii Vacation Gifts by Double Brush-Hawaiian Gifts & Blog

Win a Hawaiian Vacation to Oahu and Maui from Monograms

Unscramble the scenic Hawaiian landscape puzzle on the left, and become eligible to win a free Hawaiian vacation to the island of Oahu and Maui. This Hawaii contest is sponsored by Monograms and Budget Travel Magazine. Monograms is a travel planning service with the tag line, Get More Vacation from Your Vacation.

Enter the Budget Travel Magazine contest here. All you need to do is launch the photo scramble picture (using free plug-in called Macromedia Flash Player) and complete the Hawaiian picture puzzle. This is all it takes to become eligible to win the 7 day Oahu & Maui vacation trip for you and a guest. The Hawaiian Trip Prize include hotel accommodations, a Go Oahu card, flight from Oahu to Maui (but not flight to Oahu or onward from Maui), and Service On Call on each island.

This Hawaiian Vacation contest ends on September 22, 2008  Only one entry per person 18 years and older who resides in one of the 50 United States except Arizona.

If you like entering legitimate contests to Hawaii but find it a drag searching through pages of expired listings when doing a search on the various search engines, do yourself a favor and sign up for our Hawaii blog with your favorite feed reader or by email. We take the time to search out and post a legitimate Hawaiian contest every Sunday for our readers.

Check out our previous Hawaiian Sweepstakes and contest listings.

4 Health Benefits of Hawaiian Macadamia Nuts

More studies are being done on the nutritional health benefits of macadamia nuts. Of course living on the Big Island of Hawaii where most of the state's macadamia nuts are grown, I believe that the Hawaiian macadamia nuts we offer taste the best and are the healthiest for you!

Hawaiian Macadamia Nut Health Benefit #1
Macadamia Nuts Lower Risk Factors for Coronary Disease

Nutritious macadamia nuts and some other kind of nuts are low in saturated fatty acids and high in polyunsaturated fatty acids and monounsaturated fatty acids. Scientific researchers have discovered in epidemiologic studies and clinical trials, that the unique fatty acid profile of nuts beneficially affects serum lipids and liproproteins, which reduces cardiovascular disease risk. (Journal of Nutrition, April 2008)

In a randomized controlled feeding study over five week periods, researchers compared the results on the lipid/lipoprotein profile of a macadamia nut-rich diet vs. an average American diet on male and female subjects with mildly elevated cholesterol levels. They found that serum concentrations of total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol in the macadamia group were significantly lower than the levels of the American diet group. The serum non-HDL cholesterol concentration and the ratios of total cholesterol to HDL and LDL were reduced in those on the macadamia diet compared with the American diet. There was no change in serum triglyceride concentration. These results indicate a lowering of overall cardiovascular disease risk.

Hawaii Macadamia Nut Health Benefit #2
Macadamia Nuts Lower Bad Cholesterol

In a study conducted by the University at Newcastle, test subjects with elevated cholesterol levels showed significant reduction in LDL cholesterol, total triglycerides, blood serum cholesterol,and blood clots when macadamia nuts were added to their diet as a nutrient.

Hawaiian Macadamia Nut Health Benefit #3
Macadamia Nuts contain Vitamins and Minerals that our bodies need

Proper nutrition is fundamental for growth and health. Macadamia nuts contain the following minerals that are essential to a healthy diet. These include per 100 grams: 410 mg potassium, 200 mg phosphorus, 120 mg magnesium, and 64 mg calcium. Selenium, iron, manganese, copper and zinc are present in small amounts. Macadamias contain significant amounts of a broad range of vitamins including Vitamin E as tocopherols and tocotrienols, B1 (thiamine), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6, B2 (riboflavin), niacin and folate. They also contain phytosterols. (Natural News)

Hawai Macadamia Nut Health Benefit #4
Macadamia Nuts can help Control your Diet

Macadamia nuts are an all natural nutritious low carb snack and adhere strictly to the Atkins Diet. By eating a small amount of nuts about 1/2 hour before your next meal, it can lower your Ghrelin levels so you feel fuller and won't tend to over eat. For more information read our complete blog post Hawaiian macadamia nuts can help you with your diet.

Thanks Again for so Nicely Caring for my Order

Our customers have been so kind to thank us, but it is we who are more thankful to them.
We want to thank the wonderful people who support what we do. We will continue to do our best and uphold your trust in us.

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Hi Cheryl,
        Just wanted you to know that the box of "hershey kisses" arrived today, Monday, Aug. 18, in perfect condition.  As I opened the box, that wonderful aroma of Hawaii greeted me. (From the flower lei scented soy candle.)  I haven't been back to Hawaii in 20 years, but you never forget the smell.  It makes me want to book a flight right now, except that I am a teacher and go back to school next week.  I'm sure you will be hearing from me for more goodies.  Keep me posted.  Aloha, Joyce

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Dear Cheryl:  sorry for the delay – work has been hectic!

The aloha kisses arrived on Tue, 8/19 is beautiful condition – no melting!  The extra gifts were really cool.  I especially liked the ‘Live Aloha’ card with the Sig Zane design.  The Hershey kisses flower favor is very creative & fun! 

Thanks again for so nicely caring for my order.  I will let folks out here know about you!

Take care,

Donna

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Ma'am,

The gift was received and appreciated. Very impressive. thank you for your service V/R Marcus

Can Your Kona Coffee Latte Do This?

Baristas with signature garnishing techniques to create hearts, swirls, and other simple designs with stir sticks and cream in cups of hot coffee latte, will seem like practitioners of a quaint art form if this invention takes off. See the best examples of coffee latte art.

A man named Oleksiy Pikalo invented a machine that he calls a Latte Art printing machine, AND he gives free online directions to build your own coffee latte art printing machine. Using an old flatbed plotter he bought from Ebay, a book on inkjet applications, and edible ink, he was able to create any image he wanted to  see in his latte coffee cup.

Besides the simple directions which is mostly about the items you will need, he has a couple of videos showing his patent pending invention in action. One video shows how he created the coffee latte art image above which shows a King saying, "Can your latte do this?"

The other video shows his coffee latte printing machine making an impressive Starbucks coffee logo on top of the layer of foamed milk in the coffee cup.

Related Articles you may be interested in:

Starbucks Coffee in Hawaii and Kona Coffee

Kona Coffee Recipes and Kona Coffee Information

Ultimate Road Trip Sweepstakes from Real Simple

This great sweepstakes from Real Simple Magazine is not advertised as a Hawaiian sweepstakes, but I am sure you could use it towards a trip to Hawaii. For the ultimate road trip, enter to win the "On the Road Sweepstakes" for a chance to win $5,000.00 to spend on the ultimate road trip that you create.

One lucky winner can use the winning money to spend on gas, food, lodging, and other travel expenses.

Enter the Real Simple On the Road Sweepstakes by August 25, 2008. This sweepstakes contest is open to adults 18 years and older, and are legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia. No purchase is necessary to enter. Daily entries are accepted.

 To find out about more legitamate sweepstakes that you can enter now, visit our Sweepstakes to Hawaii listings. Better yet, sign up for our Hawaii blog by email or RSS feed to not miss out on our next sweepstakes contest finds that we post on every Sunday.

Hawaiian Mountain Apple Season in Hawaii

It is summer, that time of year when the mountain apple trees in Hawaii are laden with sweet juicy fruit. We were looking forward to more Hawaiian mountain apples from our mountain apple tree in the back yard, but feral pigs have attacked the low branches that were heavy with fruit, and actually broke two of the branches off! I wouldn't have minded so much but they only ate the ripe fruit and so all of the other unripe fruit will go to waste. I have blogged before about wild boars on the Big Island and how to attract or repel them. It pretty much comes down to this, if you have something good to eat on your property and it is not fenced in, you are fare game for pigs to invite themselves to a feast.

Luckily, we still had enough of a Hawaiian mountain apple crop to share with our friends, neighbors, and the people who work at our local post office and library. One postal clerk told me someone else had brought them pickled mountain apples. I have never tried that before but she said it was sort of like pickled mango which I love.

Exactly what are Hawaii mountain apples? Mountain apples (Myrtaceae) or Ohi'a 'ai (pronounced oh-he ah eye) in Hawaiian, are delicious apple crossed with pear shaped fruits with a thin waxy like skin. The skin is easily nicked (even from your finger nail so you have to be careful picking them) and comes in a variety of reddish, pinkish, and white hues in a solid color or mixture of these colors. The flesh is white and crunchy but not exactly like an apple or even a pear. It seems crisp but there is more juice in the flesh and has a mild sweet flavor. (If you can describe the mountain apple's fruit flavor in a better way, please share it with us in a comment.) You eat it as is with the skin on, but throw out (or plant) the marble sized seed in the center. It tastes best fresh picked or chilled.

Mountain apples from Hawaii grow on medium to large trees which can grow to over 60 feet in some places. I am pretty sure that they can be found on all of the main Hawaiian Islands. Mountain Apples commonly grow wild in the mountains (which I suppose is how they got their name) at the mid-elevation range rainforests, and make a nice refreshing treat for fortunate hikers.

Ohi'a 'ai was one of the fruits brought to the Hawaiian islands from the original Polynesian voyagers in their trek across the Pacific in canoes. The mountain apple fruit was nourishing, the tree's wood useful for building things, and the bark possessed medicinal qualities. The ingenious and industrious Hawaiian people also made a dye from the Ohi'a 'ai fruit to decorate their tapa bark cloth.

For more photographs of mountain apple fruits and mountain apple trees in Hawaii, visit Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk Project (HEAR.org)--Invasive species information for Hawaii and the Pacific.

Get the Hawaiian Spirit Sweepstakes from Spirit Halloween

"Get the Hawaiian Spirit" is a new Hawaii sweepstakes contest from Spirit Halloween.

Spirit Halloween sells Halloween costumes for adults, children, and even pets! They also have all kinds of Halloween decorations, props, and things for special effects like lights and fog machines.

With their Get the Hawaiian Spirit contest, you can enter to win a trip to Hawaii--for you and a guest, plus $1000.00 in cash. This trip includes airfare and 5 nights hotel accommodations at a Waikiki Beach Hotel on Oahu.

This Hawaii sweepstakes ends on November 1, 2008.

The Get the Hawaiian Spirit contest is only open to legal adult residents of the United States.

We actively search for the best legitimate Hawaii Sweepstakes and post a new one almost every Sunday. Don't miss out! Sign up for our blog by RSS feed or email. See our list of current "Win a Trip to Hawaii" sweepstakes.

Win a Chintzy "Family Friendly Resort" Sweepstakes Hawaii Vacation

We have found a Hawaiian sweepstakes called the "Family Friendly Resort" Sweepstakes from Shell Vacations Hospitality.

Shell Vacations Hospitality is giving away 12 Four night stays at any of their Family Friendly resorts. They have resort locations in Hawaii (3 on the Big Island and one on Oahu), Las Vegas, Arizona, and Canada.

I got the following from reading the small print on the sweepstakes rules page:

Grand Prizes: Twelve (12) Prize Packages, each Prize Package consisting of a gift certificate good for four (4) nights accommodations for up to 4 people in a studio or one-bedroom unit of the Winner's choice at one of our family-friendly Shell Vacations Club resorts.

This is a really chintzy Hawaii sweepstakes because it does not include airfare, rental car, or spending money. What makes it totally cheap though is that they expect a family of four to stay in a studio or one bedroom unit for their entire 4 night vacation! AND accommodations are subject to availability and does not include the hotel room tax.

If you are still game, enter the Family Friendly Resort Sweepstakes here.

This Hawaii Contest ends September 30, 2008.

Entrants must be at least 21 years of age and a legal resident of the United States.

You can find a list of way better Hawaii contests at our Hawaii Sweepstakes blog category.

We invite you to sign up for our Hawaii blog via email or your favorite RSS feed reader.

Hawaiian Made in Hawaii Candy--Island Princess Candies Review

Island Princess is a local brand of Made in Hawaii candies, snacks, and treats. This Kamaaina company has their own macadamia nut orchards on the Big Island of Hawaii where the finest macadamia nuts are grown, hand picked, and processed to create the foundation for all of their delectable gourmet confections. The attention to quality that starts off with their macadamia nuts, also carries into all of the other ingredients used in their original recipes.

The Island Princess corporate office and candy manufacturing plant is on Oahu, but we recently found out that Island Princess has an office at their macadamia nut farm (not open to the public) in Keaau where we live. This was great news to us as it gave us an opportunity to sample and review some of their wonderful products, and it insured that we could always get the freshest Hawaiian candies for our online customers. We are now selling some of these Hawaiian candies and gourmet snacks that we got to enjoy. Following is a candy review of the Island Princess Candies we now offer.

Island Princess Mini Meles toffee coated macadamia nuts covered in milk chocolate--Review: This delicious candy starts with perfectly roasted macadamia nuts (halves and pieces) that are coated with a thin tasty  toffee hard candy shell, then drenched in smooth milk chocolate with a final dusting of white powdered sugar. I think this added touch makes a nice visual statement as the white powdered sugar contrasts beautifully with the rich brown chocolate color of the candy. The Mini Meles are related to the famous Mele Macs that is the same candy but with whole macadamia nuts in the center instead of halves and pieces. These candies can be quite addictive as they have a sweet complex taste and sublime combination of textures.

Island Princess Dark chocolate covered Kona coffee beans from Hawaii--Review: Aromatic Kona coffee beans and espresso coffee beans are custom roasted to perfection then wrapped in a layer of rich dark chocolate. This high quality chocolate seals in the taste, flavor and aroma of the precious coffee bean like a secret wonderful surprise. When you bite into it there is a pleasant sensation of the smooth lingering chocolate with the light crunchy gritty texture of the roasted coffee bean. This coffee candy confection is great to have around when you want the caffeine but can't get to a cup of coffee.

Island Princess Wasabi macadamia nuts with authentic Japanese wasabi--Review: First of all if you are not familiar with wasabi or "Japanese horseradish", it s a root used as a spice and has an extremely strong flavor. Its heat or hotness is more like a hot mustard rather than the capsaicin in a chili pepper, and the vapors irritate your nose more than your tongue. This unique snack starts with a roasted macadamia nut half or piece that is then coated 3 times with a real wasabi (not cheaper imitation wasabi) mixture to ensure an intense spicy flavor throughout.

It is then baked into a crispy crunchy wafer thin shell--if you have ever tasted an iso peanut snack, that is what it reminds us of. This is not surprising as both are made with mochi rice flour or glutinous rice flour which creates a delicate crisp cracker texture. Don't just pop a bunch into your mouth unless you are brave or will absolutely love the rush of hotness that will stream out of your nostrils! Start with one green colored piece of wasabi mac nut and put your tongue to it. You will immediately feel a hot burn on your tongue and taste the phenomenally strong wasabi flavor. Its intenseness is short lived and mellows so you can bite into the macadamia nut and experience the wonderful combination of flavors and textures together.

Island Princess Chocolate covered macadamia nut candies--Review: How to improve on a classic combination of chocolate covered macadamia nuts? First they use a custom blended chocolate recipe of rich milk chocolate with a hint of dark chocolate for just the right amount of sweetness. To keep the special flavor and texture of the roasted macadamia nut intact, they then layer the chocolate in two separate steps. The resulting candy is fun to eat and tastes great!

All of these Hawaiian candies and snacks come in clear 5 oz. plastic jars with nice labels and cost $7.25 each. They fit nicely into our custom Hawaiian lauhala gift baskets where you can choose from all of the Hawaiian products we offer to create your own custom Hawaiian gift basket.

Choose from our handmade Hawaiian natural candles, Hawaiian perfumes, Hawaiian soaps, Hawaiian lotions, Hawaiian bath salts, Kona coffee, macadamia nuts, and other Hawaiian gourmet treats.

Enter to Win a Family Fun Trek to Hawaii Contest Sweepstakes

This Hawaii contest sweepstakes is called "Family Fun Trek to Hawaii"  and is sponsored by Farm Rich. Farm Rich is a company that manufactures snack foods and appetizers such as French toast sticks, mozzarella bites, mini stuffed pizza slices and more.

You can win a free family vacation to Hawaii for four people to Oahu, the Big Island, and Maui, if you win the Hawaiian grand prize.

Click here to enter Family Fun Trek to Hawaii Contest Sweepstakes.
You can enter online once per day through October 31, 2008.
Open only to adult legal US residents.

Grand Prize for Family Vacation to Hawaii Contest Sweepstakes

Receive a free trip to Hawaii for four (4) people consisting of the following:
(i) roundtrip coach airfare to Honolulu, HI from the major airport closest to winner's home address;
(ii) Inter island flights to The Big Island, Maui, and returning to Oahu;
(iii) first class hotel accommodations (1 room, quad occupancy; room rate and tax only) in Oahu for four (4) days/three (3) nights, on the Big Island of Hawaii for three (3) days/two (2) nights, and in Maui for three (3) days/two (2) nights;
(iv) rental car for duration of trip;
(v) hike Diamond Head in Oahu;
(vi) Tour the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park; and
(vii) visit Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and the Panaewa Zoo on The Big Island.
Approximate Retail Value (ARV) of this Prize Package is $10,000.

We publish a new and legitimate Hawaii contest sweepstakes every Sunday. Don't miss out, subscribe to our Hawaii blog by email or your favorite RSS feed reader. Check out our current list of Hawaiian sweepstakes.