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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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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SUNNY’S WILD WORLD

Blog of all things wild.

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Protected: Spiny Amaranth Artichoke Dip

Protected: Too Hot to Handle

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There’s 1 spot left for the PoliPoli Wild Food H

There’s 1 spot left for the PoliPoli Wild Food Hike on Saturday, April 22 from 9-10:30am. Link in bio (grab it quick, the Kīhei walk sold out in a few hours!)

I drink tea made with blue butterfly pea flowers f

I drink tea made with blue butterfly pea flowers from my garden nearly every day, but what a festive treat to pair with red hibiscus petals and lychee for this fabulous purple concoction - LOL what do my insides look like!?! 💜

See Kīhei through the lens of wild and under-util

See Kīhei through the lens of wild and under-utilized foods growing in the urban landscape! $20 class, register using link in bio.

Ulu gnocchi made with @nohoanafarm flour, buddha’s hand from @la_kahea, wild lettuce greens foraged by me…made this in a cooking class with the wildly talented and absolutely fabulous Rosa of @molto.ono.maui…we also made sourdough pincinelli pasta with wild wood sorrel, and a wild amaranth pasta. So much fun, can’t recommend her classes enough. We also learned a wine pairing and made cookies as well. See stories for more!

Venus💋Jupiter (up at the very tip top of photo,

Venus💋Jupiter (up at the very tip top of photo, just before being swallowed by a giant rain cloud)…planetary conjunction happening now✨

When the collective wakes up that we are in the Si

When the collective wakes up that we are in the Sixth Mass Extinction, now losing a species every 20 minutes, that this plant called spiny amaranth (Amaranthus spinosus) will be physically near to so many. If we choose life in that moment, spiny amaranth offers increased sperm motility so we can continue as a species, it offers pain relief, it offers over 80% of our nutritional needs from one plant, and so much more. As Dr. Zach Bush says, “Weeds aren’t the problem, they’re there to heal the problem.” As we are in Invasive Species Awareness Month, and since I hear so many people say they hate this plant, I just want to offer an alternate story. I get it, dealing with its thorns really fukken sucks, but so does this continued war with it. I choose eating a plant that has evolved to be resistant to glyphosate and shares that genetic resiliency when I eat it. I love it and it loves me. And in the spirit of Robin Wall Kimmerer’s sentiments, “it” doesn’t do it justice, it is “kin”. 📸 Forrest & Kim Starr #invasivespeciesawarenessweek #invasivespecies #spinyamaranth #amaranthusspinosus #onewildfoodeveryday #sunnysavage #wildfoodplantsofhawaii #kin #wildfoodlove #wildgreens

Sometimes plants travel to new places and don’t

Sometimes plants travel to new places and don’t know how to fit in and cooperate with others, these are invasive species. As humans we are caretakers in this situation, our role to bring balance and not further destruction. Here, I’m slingin kāhili ginger (Hedychium gardnerianum) to make into sushi pickle. If you’re interested in putting in the work of becoming a caretaker to `āina let me know if a workshop to learn making pickled ginger root and lei with its leaves would bring you delight. This plant is in the top 100 most invasive species on the planet. 📸 @cadencia #spine #rootmedicine #invasivespecies #alohaaina #eattheinvasives #onewildfoodeveryday #wildfoodplantsofhawaii #sunnysavage #wildfoodlove #kahiliginger #hedychiumgardnerianum

More spanish needles and parsley oil in the works!

More spanish needles and parsley oil in the works! Getting those wild greens in so many ways, during this season of greeeeeen 💚✅ #spanishneedles #kinehi #bidenspilosa #wildgreens #sunnysavage #eattheinvasives #onewildfoodeveryday #foraging #wildfoodlove

Get tix now for the Feb 10th Wild Food Hike in Wai

Get tix now for the Feb 10th Wild Food Hike in Wailuku from 5-6pm (link in bio). The Feb 16th date sold out within a couple hours…only a few spots left for this Friday, so get’um. We will be taking an easy stroll to identify the abundance of wild greens popping up at lower elevations on island, talking story about preparation and recipe ideas, and connecting in with our elders - the plant nation. #foraging #wailuku #onewildfoodeveryday #wildfoodplantsofhawaii #sunnysavage #wildfoodlove #eattheinvasives

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

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