Eating green: it’s the new black, like, every season. Unfortunately, maintaining a healthy diet can be rather pricey, especially for something you end up scarfing down between classes. Thankfully, you don’t need to work overtime whenever you want to eat something healthy! Strawberry Fields, Urbana’s natural food market, is conveniently located on both the Gold and Silver lines about one mile from the Union. Here are some of the things I like to purchase exclusively from Strawberry Fields.
1. Juice
While some juices can cost upwards of $9 for one 12-oz. bottle, Strawberry Fields frequently offers monthly specials to combat some of those steeper price tags. For instance, this month, you can pick up a bottle of GT’s Kombucha for $2.89 instead of the regular $3.99. Something to keep in mind: while a lot of them taste amazing (I’m looking at you, Gingerade), they all have an underlying taste of fermented alcohol. But the health benefits of kombucha are endless, so I encourage you to give it a shot!
Photo by David Cui
2. Bread
Strawberry Fields offers an abundance of reasonably priced, freshly baked bread. I recommend purchasing a baguette, slicing it up, spritzing it with some olive oil and popping it in the oven for about 5-7 minutes. And voila! You’ve got a bunch of mini toasts that you can dip in hummus, top with some cheese and meat or crush up to use as croutons for your next homemade salad.
Photo by David Cui
3. Fruit
Strawberry Fields has perhaps the largest selection of apples, pears and oranges that I’ve ever seen in my life! If you need fruits for something like apple pie or sangria, I would highly recommend getting them from here. Pro tip: freeze fruit chunks to use as ice cubes in fruity cocktails!
Photo by David Cui
4. Granola
I’m a huge fan of Espresso Royale’s fruit parfaits because of their granola. Their secret? The cherry vanilla granola from Strawberry Fields! I can guarantee that you will not regret your first purchase, and you will definitely be coming back for more. It’s always fresh and available in bulk at Strawberry Fields.
Photo by David Cui
Tips before visiting:
Before you plan your first visit to Strawberry Fields, here are some other money-saving tips to help you get the most out of your shopping trip. Know those annoying coupon books that get thrown at you on the quad and at TIS? They all include a $10-off coupon for any $35-purchase at Strawberry Fields, an offer that doesn’t expire until August. Couple that with the 7%-off student discount every Wednesday, and it’s almost as exciting as a Wildfox sample sale. Almost.
Address: 306 W. Springfield Ave., Urbana, IL
Hours of operation: Mon – Sat 7AM – 8PM, Sun 10AM – 6PM