Eating when traveling

As we have already mentioned, eating in the booth is bad form and may turn away customers. That does not mean we should skip meals. Luckily, many shows have a fun selection of more exotic offerings like buffalo burgers or alligator and so on.

On the other hand it can be a challenge for vendors to cook food and keep it at a safe temperature. Just this last weekend, as of this writing, I bought a bison burger that turned out to be bloody raw inside and not very warm. I should have ordered it cooked well and it was my mistake.

I chucked it and bought a hot dog instead. Getting sick at a show is not a pleasant experience. Often, the only bath rooms are port a-potties and the lines are sometimes very long.

Some shows have one company provide the food service. This is fine if they have a good variety of wholesome foods but sadly this is not always the case. Other shows do not have any food to speak of and sometimes the food is just bad.

We like to bring our food when we can, or at least bring some healthy snacks so we are not tempted to pig out on items that are probably not the healthiest choices. This is not meant to be a slam against the food vendors. It's just that eating hot sausage sandwiches and fried dough all weekend may not be the best diet.

We opt for low fat cheeses, low fat crackers and fruit. After all we may not be moving around too much, being stuck at the booth all day. Healthy snacks are easy to eat in the booth and they are not as messy as a big steak and cheese sandwich. A container of low fat yogurt is self contained and highly portable plus it can give a much needed energy boost in the mid afternoon.

A small cooler can be used to keep water, soft drink and food cold all day. We also bring stainless steel thermoses of tea and coffee. We kept breaking the glass versions so we switched to stainless steel. Water at a show can be very expensive and if you prefer some of the sugar free soft drinks or other healthy choices you may be disappointed.

Bringing a lunch and snacks can save money and time when you need to eat and can't leave the booth for long. Reusable ice packs keep everything cold all day long. It's nice to have a little snack for Sunday evening when all the food vendors are closed and your body is burning calories packing and loading.

Be sure to pack some napkins or paper towels and especially water free hand wipes. Good for cleaning up spills, wiping off eye glasses and remember that some po ra-potties do not have hand washing stations.

One last thing. If you are two or more people traveling together then don't both of you have the fish. Remember what happened in the movie Airplane? If one of you becomes ill the other can run the booth.

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