What's Local @ Whole Foods, River Forest

Something Lucky For Lunches

The kidz lunches are a small chink in our eat local armour. While they're happy with Nueske ham sammys, I'm not always keen on paying that much for lunch meat. So, the ham or turkey I pack them away with, let alone the peanut butter, is seldom local. I am, however, determined (as I have said before), to not let a phoney whittled down "baby" carrot grace their impressionable lips. I have this vow, while also trying each day, to pack away something veg in their lunch. One localvore solution is sprouts or sprouty things.

Sprouts/microgreens are available enough. The winter markets around the Chicago area have them, the Thursday Geneva market has them, Madison has them, Irv and Shelly have them, and...and, now Whole Foods in River Forest has them. Last night I found about three varieties of sprouts grown by Chicago Indoor Garden, an urban agriculture venture. I picked up a pack of sunflower shoots--which really taste like sunflower, not something vaguely chlorophyllesque.

I guess finding something local for the veg portion of lunch is not the hard part for most parents. I'm guessing it's having the kidz happy to munch on a handful of sprouts in front of their friends come lunch time. I guess I'm a lucky Dad.