What do you take with you to eat at shows? At first all of the fried stuff and sweet stuff sounds and smells good, but we just can't eat that stuff every weekend for the next 4 months. I'm looking for easy, nutritious foods to take with us to shows. Any suggestions?
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We love peanut butter and jam sammies, cheese sticks an apple and maybe an energy bar...we like Pure Bars, all raw, all natural and made in Michigan!
Costco has the best quality nut mix (mostly cashews) so it is always easy to keep on hand for clean snacking
I always carry those nut packs that have M&Ms in them. Good protein and a little sugar and they fill me up for a meal.
V-8, or the much cheaper Wal-Mart equivalent vegetable juice. I buy the big can and transfer it to refrig container. Then use a smaller plastic container to take to shows.
I make sweet tea the night before shows since most hotels have tea bags. We're on the road for a month or two with each tour, so we're in hotels every night.
The day before we start a tour, we'll make what we call "Traveler's Salad." Since we're embarking on a four to five day driving trip to get to our market (usually Florida), we eat this in the van every day for four days. Steam or par-biol until slightly soft some broccoli and sliced carrots. Chop celery, tomatoes, cucumber, and onion. We sometimes add that little tiny cooked pasta (cook a half cup or a little more of the dry pasta). Either make your own vinagrette or what's much easier is to start with an el cheapo obtained from Dollar Tree or other dollar store. You might need to add a little water to this and usually some sugar or sugar substitute to sweeten it a bit. I like to add some red pepper flakes. Sometimes we use a little red wine in it. OH! Maybe some black olives and artichoke hearts. I usually cut the pitted olives in half to make them a bit smaller. You can eat this with bread or crackers and cheese. Sometimes we make this in the hotel room, but we usually only do it upfront.
We have a cooler that plugs in to voltage. We don't plug it in in the van, but do in the hotel at night. Most hotels have a refrig, so we can empty it into their unit once we're staying for four days or a week. You might want to get a refrig thermometer because you never know what's happening with those units, though. We keep ice in a gallon size heavy duty zip-lock bag in the cooler while driving. Put that in the TOP of the cooler, not the bottom.
We also boil eggs and potatoes. Don't keep potatoes for more than about 36 hours since they'll degrade quickly. I wrap each one in plastic wrap. I usually don't boil more than two or three. Cold boiled potatoes taste great to me.
We might be inclined to bake a pumpkin or banana bread to kick off a tour. And we travel with a small rice cooker and electric boiling pot (like a fondue pot) we picked up in a thrift store for a few bucks. You'll need a small cutting board and some spices. And a plastic tote!
I like to get that low-sodium Zatarain's Jambalaya (or cheaper version from ALDI) and red beans and rice. I also sometimes use a half cup of TVP (textured vegetable protein) when cooking the Jambalaya.
Also at ALDI, you can get sweet potato chips and other goodies for less money. And a bag of natural almonds. Maybe some cashews. And also a package of 70 percent Cocoa dark chocolate!
I like to get avocados and eat them straight out of the skin at the show. We're vegetarian and avocados are very nutritious. Greek yogurt is also perfect since about six ounces contains about 30 percent of a daily dose of protein. Don't waste your time with that el cheapo regular yogurt. I usually buy a Kroger brand of the Greek style since I can get it for 79 cents or less. Sometimes I find close dated Fage for that price and buy a few of them. Grapefruit is also a perfect item for shows. I peel them and eat them like an orange, but prefer them since they contain less sugar. And they are awesomely refreshing.
My wife and I always make some sandwiches for lunch.
Most hotels have a small refrigerator so it is easy to buy stuff and make the sandwiches in the morning before heading to the show.
Heck, I would bring some homemade gumbo if I knew there was a microwave...yum..
We don't particularly care for the food that is sold at most shows. I bring my small Igloo ice chest and put the sandwiches and a jar of jalapeno peppers and some drinks. I never have eaten much for lunch and it makes going out to eat after the show that much more enjoyable.
I eat Paleo....so bring my own food in a cooler . A cooler on wheels.
I prepare boiled eggs at home, baked or grilled chicken strips, grapes, sweet cherries,melon or other fruit .Also, you could make lettuce wraps, just wrap meat and/ or veggies in lettuce. Nuts, pumpkin seeds. At night , I often make banana shakes ,,,,one or two bananas, cocoa, coconut milk & ice in a blender . We make at least one shopping trip to a grocery store on the road & restock any fruits,veggies, ect . It requires a little thinking ahead , but worth the effort .
Shrimp always works as long as you keep it chilled. It's finger food, not messy, and you can eat it discreetly. Cheese sticks work, cheese and crackers, small sandwiches. During cooler weather, hot soup in a thermos drank out of a cup is a good way to go.
Most Subways are now open for breakfast except on Sunday. I stop in Subway and get a 6' or 12' depending on how long the show is that day. I always get it dry (no condiments) so the sandwich does not get soggy and get packets of mayo and mustard on the side. For Sundays I will stop in after the show Saturday night and get my sandwich for Sunday. I always have a box of zip lock freezer bags in my trailer so I can put the sandwiches in them and in my cooler which goes everywhere with me. AS for drinks Crystal light drink powders for water are great and cheap.
I grew up vacationing all over the US with the family. We made our meals in rest areas and road side stops from one end of the country to the other and back many times. I no longer will eat potted meat.