Healthy Prepared Meals, Delivered Fresh Across Chicago's Northwest Suburbs
White Oak cooks healthy, ready-to-eat meals in its Long Grove kitchen and delivers them chilled — never frozen — across Chicago's northwest suburbs and Lake County. Individual entrées run about $10 to $15, meal plans start at $74.99 a week, delivery is free over $50, and nothing requires a subscription.
How it works
- Order by Monday or Thursday, 10am. Pick individual dishes, or a plan that covers a whole week.
- We cook it that morning. Everything is made from raw ingredients in our own kitchen — there is no central commissary and nothing is reheated from elsewhere.
- It arrives chilled, that afternoon or the next day. Late afternoon or early evening. Not home? Leave a cooler and we will pack it with chill bricks.
- You heat it and eat it. Two to four minutes in the microwave for most dishes, ten to fifteen in the oven for the ones in foil trays. Instructions are on every container.
What we mean by healthy
"Healthy" gets used so loosely on food packaging that it has stopped meaning much. Here is what it means in our kitchen, specifically enough that you can hold us to it.
Cooked, not assembled
Everything is made from raw ingredients twice a week in Long Grove. There is no reheating of something that was made in another state a month ago.
Ingredients we can name
Organic and locally sourced produce where we can get it in season, pastured poultry and pork, grass-fed beef, wild-caught fish and shrimp — from named Illinois growers including Broadview Farm and Gardens in Marengo and Spence Farm in Fairbury. We cook in expeller-pressed grapeseed and coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil, not industrial seed-oil blends. More on where our ingredients come from.
Salt used as seasoning, not as a preservative
Frozen and shelf-stable prepared food leans on sodium to survive and to taste of anything. Because we deliver within a day or two of cooking, we do not have to. Our anti-inflammatory plan runs 1,200–1,500 mg of sodium a day; our comfort-food plan sits at a moderate 1,500–2,000.
Portions built for a meal, not for a photograph
Each entrée is one adult's dinner. Nothing is padded with rice to make the container look full.
Two meal plans, two different jobs
We run two weekly plans, and the difference between them is mostly sodium and menu style. Most people know which one they want as soon as they see them side by side.
| Anti-Inflammatory Low Sodium | Fresh 2 U — "Everyday is Sunday" | |
|---|---|---|
| Menu style | Plant-forward, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern leaning | Classic American comfort food — meatloaf, roasted chicken |
| Sodium per day | 1,200–1,500 mg | 1,500–2,000 mg |
| Rotation | 4-week rotating menu | 3-week rotating menu |
| Formats | 3-day or 4-day, all three meals | 3-day or 4-day; Full Day, or Lunch & Dinner only |
| Protein choice | Plant-based, fish, lean chicken or mixed | Choose your dinner mains from the rotating selection |
| Best for | Watching sodium, eating plant-forward, managing inflammation | Wanting good food you don't have to cook, without a dietary brief |
Both are delivered Monday and Friday, both subscribe-and-save at 10%, and you can move between them.
Local fresh, national frozen, or a meal kit?
Three quite different products get shelved under "meal delivery". Worth knowing which one you are buying.
| Local fresh-prepared (us) | National frozen subscription | Meal kit | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How it arrives | Chilled, ready to heat | Frozen | Raw ingredients and a recipe card |
| Time from cooking to you | Hours to a day or two | Weeks to months | Not cooked |
| Cooking required | 2–15 minutes to reheat | Reheat from frozen | 20–45 minutes, plus washing up |
| Texture after heating | As it was cooked | Softer — freezing ruptures cell walls | As you cook it |
| Sodium | Lower — salt is seasoning, not preservation | Typically higher | You control it |
| Subscription | Optional | Usually required | Usually required |
| Suits | People nearby who want cooked food, fast | People anywhere, stocking a freezer | People who want to cook but not to plan |
Meals by dietary need
| If you're looking for | Start with | Example dishes |
|---|---|---|
| Low sodium | The Anti-Inflammatory Low Sodium plan | Moroccan Lentils & Rice with Salmon · Greek Lemon Chicken |
| Vegan | Health-Focused & Plant Based collection | Mujadara Lentil Bowl · Vegan Mushroom Marsala · Black Bean Avocado Wrap · Vegan Chickpea Salad |
| Plant-forward, not strictly vegan | Comfort Bowls | Mediterranean Vegetable Bowl · Pad Thai Vegetable Bowl · Thai Quinoa Salad |
| Higher protein | Main Courses and Seafood | Peruvian Stir Fry Steak Bowl · Chicken Marsala |
| Dinner for two | Gourmet Meal for Two | Choose a main — chicken, salmon, pork or duck — plus a salad and a dessert |
What does it cost?
| What you're buying | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Single entrée or bowl | $10–$15 | One adult's dinner |
| Wraps and lighter items | $5–$7 | Lunch-sized |
| 3-day meal plan | from $74.99 | Breakfast, lunch and dinner |
| 4-day meal plan | from $99.99 | Breakfast, lunch and dinner |
| Subscribe to any plan | 10% off | Pause or skip any week |
| Delivery | Free over $50 | On every order, including catering |
Where we deliver
Chicago's northwest suburbs, the North Shore and Lake County, with collection in Long Grove, Lake Zurich and Chicago's Rogers Park. Delivery days, cut-offs and pickup locations. Our products are also stocked in independent grocers across Chicago and the suburbs.
Common questions
How much do the meals cost?
Single entrées are $10 to $15. Wraps and lighter items run $5 to $7. Meal plans start at $74.99 for three days and $99.99 for four. Delivery is free over $50.
Do I have to subscribe?
No. Order once, order when you feel like it, or subscribe for 10% off and skip any week you do not want.
Are the meals frozen?
No. They are cooked twice a week and delivered chilled. We do not freeze or ship meals.
How long do they keep in the fridge?
Three to five days from delivery, and every container carries a best-by date. You can freeze them at home for later if you need to.
How do I heat them?
Black PETE containers are microwave-safe: transfer to a plate, two to four minutes on high, rest three minutes, then three minutes on medium. Foil trays go in a preheated 375°F oven for ten to fifteen minutes — add a splash of broth or water and remove the plastic cover first, and never put foil in the microwave. Anything in another container should not be heated in its packaging. Instructions come with every order.
Can I choose my own meals?
For individual dishes, yes — order whatever you like. The weekly plans follow a rotating menu, which you can see before you order.
Do you deliver to my town?
We cover Chicago's northwest suburbs, the North Shore and Lake County, with pickup in Long Grove, Lake Zurich and Rogers Park. See our delivery and pickup page for days, cut-offs and collection points.
Browse this week's meals, or call 847-754-0708 if you'd like help choosing a plan.