Greinig puts grasshoppers on menu for schoolchildren
Release Date: Oct. 26, 2006
Highland Park News
By Korrina Grom, Staff Writer
It's not uncommon to visit a movie theater in Canada and be offered a bag of roasted ants along with that tub of tasty, buttery popcorn. In Bali, dragonflies make a savory snack.
And at St. Gilbert School on Friday, mealworms, crickets and chocolate-covered grasshoppers were on the menu.
Highland Park naturalist Theresa Greinig has opened wide the eyes and mouths of some fourth-grade students in Mary Fink's class in Grayslake about what is eaten where. She even has offered them some sample cuisine.
"The cricket was disgusting," said Caitlin Wolfe, who clutched her stomach as she walked around the classroom. "I think it was cool to learn about the bugs, but eating the bugs was pretty gross."
Greinig, a naturalist from the Heller Nature Center in Highland Park, visited St. Gilbert School to teach students about insects' unique qualities and to convince them that it is OK to eat bugs. Although many classroom programs come to Heller Nature Center, she is sometimes brought in by teachers in county schools as "the Bug Lady" who can teach about insects.
Greinig said bugs are eaten in many countries. Termites, crickets and larva are considered tasty in Nigeria. In South America, people enjoy fire-roasted tarantulas.
"Insects, depending on how you cook them, can be really good for you," Greinig said.
Take a giant water beetle, for example. Just one of those creatures packs nearly 20 grams of protein -- almost as much as an average-sized chicken breast, which has roughly 26 grams of protein, Greinig said.
"And you would have to drink a glass of milk to get the same amount of calcium as eating one grasshopper," Greinig added. "It's kind of a different way of thinking, isn't it?"
While eating bugs isn't common in the United States, she noted, many of us eat bugs every day without knowing it. The Food and Drug Administration, Greinig said, allows for a certain amount of bug material in food. For example, the FDA allows for up to 60 insect pieces in a serving-size of peanut butter.
Even chocolate can have its fair share of bugs -- up to 80 pieces of insects can be found in chocolate, Greinig said.
"I don't want to eat anymore," joked Madeleine Kozak.
Armed with this knowledge, Greinig invited Fink's class to sample the insects she had prepared in an oven. The roasted mealworms were flavored with various seasonings, including barbecue and cheese.
"They're a little dry and crunchy, like chips," Greinig said.
The crickets, Greinig commented, "look like honey-roasted peanuts" and were flavored with cheese or salt and vinegar.
Greinig and Fink, who bravely sampled a mealworm and said it was tasty, walked around the classroom to distribute bugs to students who were eager to try them. Most students had a taste.
The chocolate-covered grasshopper, said Emily Donnelly, "didn't taste like anything, just chocolate. It was good."
The mealworm, on the other hand, "was really disgusting. I didn't like that one," said Donnelly.
Luc DeLacluyse said even though he ate the bugs quickly, the after-taste wasn't so great.
Jake Reed seemed unfazed by the experience.
"It doesn't bother me," said Reed, who admitted to eating a pill bug while outside one day. The mealworm, he said, was flavorless but crunchy.
Kozak decided against sampling the insects.
"I just didn't feel like it," she said.
Students who ate the bugs were awarded not only bragging rights but also a badge of honor -- an "I ate a bug" sticker from the Heller Nature Center.
Greinig said, if she has time, she will usually cook the bugs at the Heller Nature Center.
"You can order them pre-cooked," she said.
Heller Center programs are usually presented on site, although some schoolgroups come there too. Occasionally, she travels to other communities in Lake County. One group of kindergarten teachers came to Heller from Chicago. These are programs that attendees pay for and they fall within the educational mission of the Center.
Greinig enjoys her work with bugs.
"I like them because they're fascinating," she said.
Staff Writer Kenneth L R. Patchen contributed to this story
Photo courtesy of Steve Sokol/For Pioneer Press
* To download an image, right-click on a link and select "Save Target As..." or "Save Link As..."
By Korrina Grom, Staff Writer
It's not uncommon to visit a movie theater in Canada and be offered a bag of roasted ants along with that tub of tasty, buttery popcorn. In Bali, dragonflies make a savory snack.
And at St. Gilbert School on Friday, mealworms, crickets and chocolate-covered grasshoppers were on the menu.
Highland Park naturalist Theresa Greinig has opened wide the eyes and mouths of some fourth-grade students in Mary Fink's class in Grayslake about what is eaten where. She even has offered them some sample cuisine.
"The cricket was disgusting," said Caitlin Wolfe, who clutched her stomach as she walked around the classroom. "I think it was cool to learn about the bugs, but eating the bugs was pretty gross."
Greinig, a naturalist from the Heller Nature Center in Highland Park, visited St. Gilbert School to teach students about insects' unique qualities and to convince them that it is OK to eat bugs. Although many classroom programs come to Heller Nature Center, she is sometimes brought in by teachers in county schools as "the Bug Lady" who can teach about insects.
Greinig said bugs are eaten in many countries. Termites, crickets and larva are considered tasty in Nigeria. In South America, people enjoy fire-roasted tarantulas.
"Insects, depending on how you cook them, can be really good for you," Greinig said.
Take a giant water beetle, for example. Just one of those creatures packs nearly 20 grams of protein -- almost as much as an average-sized chicken breast, which has roughly 26 grams of protein, Greinig said.
"And you would have to drink a glass of milk to get the same amount of calcium as eating one grasshopper," Greinig added. "It's kind of a different way of thinking, isn't it?"
While eating bugs isn't common in the United States, she noted, many of us eat bugs every day without knowing it. The Food and Drug Administration, Greinig said, allows for a certain amount of bug material in food. For example, the FDA allows for up to 60 insect pieces in a serving-size of peanut butter.
Even chocolate can have its fair share of bugs -- up to 80 pieces of insects can be found in chocolate, Greinig said.
"I don't want to eat anymore," joked Madeleine Kozak.
Armed with this knowledge, Greinig invited Fink's class to sample the insects she had prepared in an oven. The roasted mealworms were flavored with various seasonings, including barbecue and cheese.
"They're a little dry and crunchy, like chips," Greinig said.
The crickets, Greinig commented, "look like honey-roasted peanuts" and were flavored with cheese or salt and vinegar.
Greinig and Fink, who bravely sampled a mealworm and said it was tasty, walked around the classroom to distribute bugs to students who were eager to try them. Most students had a taste.
The chocolate-covered grasshopper, said Emily Donnelly, "didn't taste like anything, just chocolate. It was good."
The mealworm, on the other hand, "was really disgusting. I didn't like that one," said Donnelly.
Luc DeLacluyse said even though he ate the bugs quickly, the after-taste wasn't so great.
Jake Reed seemed unfazed by the experience.
"It doesn't bother me," said Reed, who admitted to eating a pill bug while outside one day. The mealworm, he said, was flavorless but crunchy.
Kozak decided against sampling the insects.
"I just didn't feel like it," she said.
Students who ate the bugs were awarded not only bragging rights but also a badge of honor -- an "I ate a bug" sticker from the Heller Nature Center.
Greinig said, if she has time, she will usually cook the bugs at the Heller Nature Center.
"You can order them pre-cooked," she said.
Heller Center programs are usually presented on site, although some schoolgroups come there too. Occasionally, she travels to other communities in Lake County. One group of kindergarten teachers came to Heller from Chicago. These are programs that attendees pay for and they fall within the educational mission of the Center.
Greinig enjoys her work with bugs.
"I like them because they're fascinating," she said.
Staff Writer Kenneth L R. Patchen contributed to this story
Photo courtesy of Steve Sokol/For Pioneer Press
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