Hydro­ponic let­tuce is one of my new favorites. The bonus is that the Costco near me sells a big con­tainer of it. The brand is eva pro­duced by Grupo Altex. I try to pur­chase food as locally as pos­si­ble. For me in South­ern Cal­i­for­nia, this food didn’t have to travel far from Mex­ico, but I’d still like to find a sup­plier in my own county.

Hydro­pon­ics is an agri­cul­tural pro­duc­tion sys­tem that allows plants to be har­vested with­out the use of soil or earth. Nutri­ents dis­solved in water are sup­plied directly to the roots. The process is unique in that it requires about 80% less water than tra­di­tional crops. It pre­vents soil ero­sion and pol­lu­tion of aquifers by avoid­ing the use of toxic substances.

For us folks who are gluten-intolerant, these lit­tle romaine leaves pro­vide the per­fect, healthy ves­sel for the con­tents of our favorite sand­wiches: egg salad, turkey, tuna. Packed tightly in rolls into a con­tainer, they also travel well.

My favorite is filled with a rolled up slice of turkey, a driz­zle of may­on­naise, slices of red onion, avo­cado and a sprin­kling of toasted almond slices for crunch. Add the con­tents of your favorite sand­wich and you’ll be sur­prised at how sat­is­fy­ing they are.