We don't spend enough time inside the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. We go fairly often, especially during the winter, since it's the site of the Green City Winter Market, but it's rare that we bother to look at the exhibits. Which is a darn shame, because there are some pretty amazing things to see. Take in the butterflies, see the beautiful nature dioramas, marvel at the wonderful pictures of the Chicago River, and after you're done, sit down for a snack. Why? Because the lunchroom at Notebaert hosts "Nature's Lunchbox," an exhibit on healthy and sustainable eating. more ›

This weekend is the first Green City Market of 2011. Schwing! To kick things off, GCM is holding a food photo contest for all of you Chicago foodies out there, and the prizes are pretty sweet, in our humble opinion. The contest is “Farm to Table,” and the idea is to show the raw ingredients you buy at the market and how you transform them into your dinner. You should take pictures at the market, while cooking, and of the finished product. more ›

In the gray days of March, when the produce at the store is looking its most tired and our spirits really need an infusion of chlorophyll, we start to crave farmer’s markets. Fresh vegetables, flowers, being outside, and getting as much produce as we can eat for whatever cash happens to be in our wallets; farmer’s markets help revive us after the long, hard winter. Daley Plaza (our usual haunt) doesn’t open for another month and a half, so that’s clearly out. Luckily, Green City Market has come to the rescue. more ›