Food Glorious Food

My son loved the Jamie Oliver Food Revolution program. He makes even better food choices now that he seen the show. He orders only white milk when we are out because he now knows there is more sugar in chocolate milk than there is in soda (and there are 10-12 teaspoons of sugar in soda). He has always been pretty good with vegetables but now is really into getting as much as he can. And after seeing how chicken nuggets are made we steer clear (though we had some in the freezer and I can't really afford to throw away food). He even took a pass on pizza day at school which is a big treat as his school doesn't offer lunches, calling it "prOcessed crap." Yes the big "O" British pronunciation, thanks Jamie for teaching the boy to use the word "crap" as well.

Tonight we went to the new Whole Foods in Schaumburg to look around, have an adventure, pick up some items I used to get regularly at Whole Foods in Evanston and Chicago back in the day, and price organic produce. Our produce will continue to come from Valli Produce because their prices are more in line with my budget right now. Even the things I used to get have gone up so much in price that I couldn't afford or justify buying them.


They had a table of marbled scented soaps that resembled cheese wheels or blocks of fudge and I sniffed all of them. I was very tempted to get some non-patchouli ones but the kid protested and swore he would NEVER go into the bathroom again if I got stinky soap. Unfortunately all that sniffing gave me a sinusy headache. I'll have to go back for the lemongrass, or mint and lavender, or the frankincense and myrrh (maybe I'll get this one at Christmas time) when the boy is not with me. Next time I just grab it and go.

The smaller stores in Evanston and Chicago often smelled of patchouli from the bulk scented soaps. It was the default scent of the 90s for me even though I never owned any of these soaps or perfumes. The Schaumburg store is much larger than it's city counterparts which allows the scent to dissipate, also today was only the second day the store was open, the scent may build up over time. In small doses it's nice but if I get a snoot full the headaches begin.

We ate pizza from their food service, which was very good, not too expensive and made me feel good because I know they only put good stuff in their food. We got a few items we needed and/or had coupons for (honestly we didn't NEED a pint of Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia but with a $1 coupon it's gonna happen) and headed for the 10 items or less aisle. We brought our own bags and the guy behind the register asked if I wanted to donate the bag credits or keep them.

I was stumped, bag credits? Donate? To whom? If you bring your own bags, which we do as often as we remember to open the trunk before walking into a grocery store, Whole Foods gives you a 10¢ credit per bag, you can keep it or donate it to a local charity. The local charity for the Schaumburg store was, according the the cashier, "something called WINGS?"

"Oh yes donate!" He had no idea what is was or what they did so I explained, WINGS stands for Women In Need Growing Stronger. They help women and children struggling with homelessness and domestic violence by providing shelter, child-care and other assistance. They have resale shops too, one in Palatine, one in Niles and a new one in Schaumburg.

So now it's time for the call to action. If you are going to Whole Foods bring your own bag. It's better for the environment and if you can see yourself parting with 10¢ for each one you can help WINGS in a small way. If you want to help them in a larger way see their web site linked here.


I went to the Whole Foods website and found this video. I thought I'd share. Wish I could afford to shop there all the time but for now I am a Valli girl.



I promise crafty posts soon.
Katie