- Kristal Loo
- Instagram: @kristalsbites
- YouTube: Kristal Bites
- Occupation: occupational therapist
- Hometown: Pearl City, HI
- Age: 38
I sat down with Kristal and her adorable dog, Max, last week to chat about life outside of social media, as well as what drives her Instagram and YouTube content. We talked about everything from her roller derby days to eating street food in India.
3 interesting facts about Kristal
- She played the tuba for a short time in high school. This petite woman had big lungs from swimming competitively, which made her the perfect candidate for playing this extra large instrument.
- Kristal participated in roller derby for 5 years. Her roller derby name was Loonatic Loocy. She started the sport not knowing how to rollerskate, but with a lot of determination and practice, she was later able to gain a spot on a travel team. She was also part of a roller derby scene in season 3 of Hawaii 5-0.
- Kristal studied abroad in Australia in 2000. While there, she saw Michael Phelps swim at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games.
Favorite forms of self-care?
- Bootcamp workouts
- Barre classes
- Reading personal development and inspirational books
I know that you enjoy traveling. Out of the places you’ve been to, what has been your favorite destination?
India.
What did you enjoy about India?
It was this feeling that you have. There’s so much energy and it feels like this positive energy. It’s something that’s really hard to explain, but more of a feeling you have when you’re there. You know, there’s definitely a lot of poverty, but there’s such richness in culture and food and colors and their architecture. The architecture is so beautiful.
Did you have a favorite dish while you were visiting India?
I loved the street food. There was so much variety. There were different things like a potato patty that you have with their chutneys or their different sauces or the most unique thing I would say was this puff called pani puri. It’s basically like this puff that’s crispy. They poke a hole in it. They drop a few things in there like sometimes potato, a little bit of crispy things, like crispy noodles and then they take this liquid and then they fill it.
When did you become a foodie?
I’ve always loved food and always loved eating. But to tell you the truth, all the food you see me make now is way different than what I was making before. The food I make now is…I always put a twist of some sort in it. That has only come about because I’ve been a part of Instagram. I kind of see what other people are doing, and I’m like how can I make this better? Or what can I do that makes this a little different? And its kind of challenged me in that way in seeing how other people are being creative, so it inspired me to try to make some things that are different and have a unique flair to it.
Do you have a favorite recipe?
That’s kind of been changing as I make new things, and I know people ask, “Well what is your go to?” and I don’t really have one, because I think I change things up cause I like variety. But lately I’ve been making a lot of shrimp cause that’s kind of what I’ve had in the freezer for some quick meals.
Do you have any favorite places that you like to eat at?
It depends what it is. That’s a hard question. For brunch, it’s Koko Head Cafe. For different, I like Dagon. I do like Ichiriki. That’s always kind of fun to take visitors. I try to rotate restaurants.
I asked Kristal to share one of her recipes with us, and she sent over her recipe for Ice Cream Pie.
Ingredients
- ice cream of choice at least 1.5 quarts
- 8-10 Oreo cookies
- 1 1/2 TBS melted butter
- toppings, mix ins, or syrups of choice
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Melt butter
- Crush Oreos
- Place a layer of crushed Oreos to cover the bottom of a 9″ loaf pan or pan size of your choice
- Spoon or drizzle butter over cookies. I like to start around the edges and work my way to the inside.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes
- Let ice cream warm up for about 20 minutes, so it’s easily scoopable but not completely liquid.
- When the crust is cooled, spoon ice cream into the pan and smooth out the top. You can pour the melted ice cream on top to help make it smooth. Wipe the edges of the pan if needed.
- Sprinkle any desired toppings (e.g., extra Oreos, chopped peanut butter cups, chocolate covered pretzels, chopped nuts)
- Freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight
- When you are ready to serve, let it sit on the counter for 5-10 minutes to soften. Cut and serve. You can add any syrups or garnish if you like.
If you love delicious food, you’ll want to follow Kristal on Instagram for yummy pictures direct from her kitchen, the yummy restaurants she visits, or from her frequent travels (@kristalsbites). You’ll also want to subscribe to her YouTube channel (Kristal Bites) for food reviews and a look at how she makes her mouth watering dishes.
Mahalo to Kristal and Max for spending some time with me! Stay tuned for more interviews with “People I Follow on Instagram.”
