Lunch `limo’
This sturdy multi-tasking Salad Shaker from Fit & Fresh will transport your lunch in style. It has a removable ice pack that fits snugly in the lid to keep contents chilled for several hours; a storage compartment on top for crackers or plastic utensils; and a handy dressing dispenser. Everything but the ice pack is top-rack dishwasher-safe. It’s $6-$7 at Cub Foods and Jewel-Osco and by mail-order (drugstore.com or 800-378-4786).
Raising the bar
Athena’s Silverland Desserts has added a terrific lineup of healthful fruit and nut bars. Our favorites are the oat-date bar, Oasis bar (dates, oats, cherries and walnuts) and the fig-alicious Figaro bar with oat topping. The bars are richly flavored, but none exceeds 150 calories. Each 4-ounce treat costs $1.70 at Athena’s Forest Park store, 439 S. Des Plaines Ave., and the bakery departments of Sunset Foods. By mail (708-488-0800 or silverlanddesserts.com), a dozen cost $19.
Primo pasta
Rummo Lenta Lavorazione (“slow manufacturing”) pastas from Italy can star in main dishes as well as summer salads. We liked the texture and flavor of the rigatoni; many cuts are sold, including spaghetti and penne. The pastas cost $1.80-$2 per 1-pound package at Treasure Island, Sunset Foods and Caputo’s Fresh Markets in Elmwood Park, Addison, Hanover Park and Bloomingdale; online, visit specialtyfoodamerica.com.
