Sunny Savage | Inviting the Wild Inside

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ALOHA, I’M SUNNY SAVAGE

As author of Wild Food Plants of Hawaiʻi and creator of the Savage Kitchen mobile app, I’ve taught thousands of people about wild foods. My travels have taken me to every continent, including Antarctica, and the television series Hot on the Trail with Sunny Savage has aired on 4 continents. I enjoy distilling my observations of the natural world into storied solutions.

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GET STARTED WITH WILD FOODS

Discover six edible invasive species in Hawaii with the Savage Kitchen App. Find wild foods near you, with mapping and recipes for tropical and subtropical locations around the globe. Wild adventures await!

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High quality products rooted in knowledge and experience with wild plants.

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SUNNY’S WILD WORLD

Blog of all things wild.

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Protected: Butterfly Ginger Wild Yeast Starter

Protected: Kahili Mac Nut Spread

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@SUNNYSAVAGEOFFICIAL

We are just 102 downloads away from reaching 10,00

We are just 102 downloads away from reaching 10,000 Savage Kitchen App users (in 63 countries)! It’s a big deal, as easier to find funding sources (running out in April) once we reach that milestone. Link to this free download in App Store and Play Store linked in bio as well as directly in stories. #SavageKitchenApp #foraging #sunnysavage

Emerald Ecstasy - this Spanish Needles cocktail re

Emerald Ecstasy - this Spanish Needles cocktail recipe available in the Savage Kitchen App ✌🏽 #alohafriday #spanishneedles #bidenspilosa #wildgreens #loveyourwild #wildfoodlove #craftcocktails #sunnysavage #onewildfoodeveryday #wildfoodplantsofhawaii

Kīnehi is the Hawaiian name for Spanish Needles (

Kīnehi is the Hawaiian name for Spanish Needles (Bidens pilosa), a plant used in the treatment of over 40 diseases. Learn the details on how indigenous cultures around the globe have used this plant in healing practices, along with the scientific studies that back up those uses, in my plant monograph…link in bio! #kinehi #spanishneedles #bidenspilosa #wildfood #wildmedicine #loveyourwild #monograph #plantmonograph #foraging

May you be blessed by the sweet kiss of a flower t

May you be blessed by the sweet kiss of a flower today!

Spanish needles (Bidens pilosa) are used in the tr

Spanish needles (Bidens pilosa) are used in the treatment of many health issues, like being more effective than the most common pharmaceutical prescribed for gastric ulcers. Link to learn more in my bio! See stories for my morning harvest of this edible and medicinal superstar. #eattheinvasives #herbalmedicine #onewildfoodeveryday #sunnysavage #wildfoodplantsofhawaii #kinehi #bidenspilosa #spanishneedles

Want to experiment with Chinese violet (Asystasia

Want to experiment with Chinese violet (Asystasia gangetica) flower dye like in these photos? There are a couple of spots left in my upcoming workshop - link in bio. We’ll be harvesting the leaves to create a dish to sample as well, and everyone gets an 11-page digital download of my plant monograph…a detailed outline about where the plant comes from, botany, how it’s been used medicinally on its home continent of Africa, and current science. #eattheinvasives #asystasiagangetica #chineseviolet #onewildfoodeveryday #wildfoodplantsofhawaii #foraging #sunnysavage #naturaldye #color

There are 4 spots left in my upcoming workshop at

There are 4 spots left in my upcoming workshop at the Maui Nui Botanical Gardens - @mauinuibg link in bio- on Saturday, January 28th from 1-3. So looking forward to creating a 💯 percent local dish with the plants we forage together, as well as doing a dye demonstration with the flowers. Each participant will also receive an 11-page digital download with in-depth information about Chinese violet (Asystasia gangetica), called a plant monograph. #eattheinvasives #onewildfoodeveryday #wildfoodplantsofhawaii #sunnysavage #foraging #asystasiagangetica #chineseviolet

Big News :: the Savage Kitchen App is again availa

Big News :: the Savage Kitchen App is again available for free download in the Google Play Store, and we just welcomed a new user from Dominican Republic, our 63rd Country! The #SavageKitchenApp has been available in the Apple App Store, but the Play Store changed some terms on having a contact email that took me for a spin. I attempted to fix on my own, with no luck, so the app has been down there since September 1st. Yeehaw, celebrating a win it’s back online so you can have a powerful tool at your fingertips for identifying, locating, and eating some of the most abundant wild foods on the planet.

Ever tried making a green oil with Spanish needles

Ever tried making a green oil with Spanish needles and parsley? mmm, fabulous for adding on top of soups or plating fancy dishes. — shoutout to @hawaiiflorafauna for making my dream come true with kāhili leaf twisted lei adorning me here, set design by the fabulous Kelsi Vande Velden of @pandeia and photo by the one and only Cadence Feeley @cadencia

…and then there were strawberry guava martinis!

…and then there were strawberry guava martinis! 🍸recipe in the #SavageKitchenApp #drinktheinvasives #onewildfoodeveryday #psidiumcattleianum #strawberryguava #cocktails #sunnysavage #wildfoodplantsofhawaii

Cleaning out the cobwebs 🕸 Spanish Needles has

Cleaning out the cobwebs 🕸 Spanish Needles has that feel, touching so many body systems in its healing. See my stories for today’s wild harvest, which I made into juice that is a powerful ally in dental health - the juice shown to inhibit growth of Candida albicans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, and Prevotella intermedia - causes of cavities and gingivitis. A tooth powder could also be made of dried leaf. I swish a tablespoon or two of juice, sometimes gargling and sometimes just swallowing. #herbalmedicine #healing #dentalhealth #bidenspilosa #spanishneedles #onewildfoodeveryday #wildfoodplantsofhawaii #sunnysavage

This mornings river prawn catch, with Java plum bu

This mornings river prawn catch, with Java plum butter. Served up with wild lettuce greens, their bitterness perfectly complimenting this sweet buttery goodness. 4 ingredients, 3 wild foraged and invasive, and 💯 percent local. #eattheinvasives #wildfoodplantsofhawaii #onewildfoodeveryday #eatlocal #foraging #hawaii #sunnysavage #prawns #crawdads #javaplum #syzygiumcumini

Happy Solstice! I’m all tucked in tight, on this

Java Jello with Walnuts — ooooh, this flavor com

Java Jello with Walnuts — ooooh, this flavor combo so delicious! Recipe in the Savage Kitchen App. It’s the season for walnuts on Maui, my cousins in upper Kula having the only known tree that drops nuts on the island though LOL. Happy HolyDays everyone! Solstice happens at almost exactly noon this coming Wednesday…plans to celebrate?
#javaplum #syzygiumcumini #blackplum #wildfruits #onewildfoodeveryday #wildfoodplantsofhawaii #foraging #wildfoodlove #savagekitchenapp

Sometimes we dislike, dare I even say hate, someth

Sometimes we dislike, dare I even say hate, something… and then, maybe mysteriously or maybe with effort, consciousness shifts, perspectives change, and we see whatever it is through a new lens - and maybe even learn to love it for its sheer existence. Ancient lore from India says that a Java Plum tree sits on the center island at the center of the world. The tree there is so large that it drops fruits the size of elephants, whose juice forms rivers of purple. Some may call it a junk tree here in Hawai`i (as well as other parts of the world where it has become an invasive of the tropics and subtropics) but the cultures who hold this tree sacred (Hindu, Buddhist, Jain), have gifted me a perspective that it is neither good nor bad…it just is. Rivers of Purple are running on the land here, now, and if it would bring you delight you can harvest those fruits and make the cocktail and mocktail recipes found in the Savage Kitchen App. #syzygiumcumini #javaplum #blackplum #jambolan #savagekitchenapp #sunnysavage #onewildfoodeveryday #wildfoodplantsofhawaii #eattheinvasives #purple #riversofpurple #wildfruit #wildfoodlove

Java plum love 💜

Java plum love 💜

Who’s ready for Java plum popsicles? I know it’s winter and all, but I know you’re not going to tell me you stopped eating ice cream 😜 the high tannic acid content of java plum curdles milk, but the flavors go so well together, so freezing them separately is the trick! #syzygiumcumini #javaplum #blackplum #popsicles #eattheinvasives #wildfoodplantsofhawaii #onewildfoodeveryday #wildfoodlove

Did you know that simply crushing a few Java plum

Did you know that simply crushing a few Java plum leaves in a mason jar of water, and letting them sit for a few hours at room temp or in the fridge, not only flavors the water but also helps control blood sugar levels? Find out more about this exciting research in the Java Plum eBook —> for sale in my online store, link in bio. #javaplum #herbalmedicine #syzygiumcumini #holytrinity #onewildfoodeveryday #wildfoodplantsofhawaii

Oh synchronicity, how I appreciate thee! Decanting

Oh synchronicity, how I appreciate thee! Decanting these 5 bottles of beautiful Java plum-infused vinegar this morning, I realized that this sacred number to the planet Venus was popping up on the day that she makes herself visible to us again. In the West, just after sunset, Venus emerges after her trip through the underworld. A rebirth, told through the myths of Inanna and Persephone, I will most certainly be making my way to the West Side this evening to welcome her and receive her collected wisdom. With Java plums (Syzygium cumini) in full abundance right now, this simple one week infusion makes for beautiful wild and Venusian gifts during the HolyDays. #venus #rebirth #peace #javaplum #syzygiumcumini #wildfoodlove #blackplum #wildfruit #cyclesoflife #cosmic #foraging #wildfood #onewildfoodeveryday #sunnysavage #wildfoodplantsofhawaii

How fitting that the goddess Tūtū Pele has awoke

How fitting that the goddess Tūtū Pele has awoken and is flowing hot lava on Mauna Loa, while neighboring Mauna Kea has the goddess Poli`ahu present as snow on Lā Kū`oko`a - Hawaiian Independence Day. Natural fireworks. Fire & Ice baby.
📸 USGS

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