Faire Eating - How to stay on track

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hdsqrl
hdsqrl Posts: 420 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi all,

As we approach autumn, I know a lot of us are gearing up for faires of one kind or another. Rather than limit this to just Renaissance Faires (my favorite), I thought I'd also make note of Irish/Scottish Festivals, County Faires, etc. This isn't a question of "how do I go for one day and not blow my eating?" but more of a "I go all the time (or even work at one of these) - what can I do to plan ahead to ensure my success?"

In my case, I'll be spending about 11 hours (plus an hour drive time each way on either side of that), dressed in full garb, walking all over a somewhat hilly site, sometimes performing, sometimes acting in a serving capacity, etc. I will almost always been seen out in the open and need to appear at least somewhat authentic at all times - which means no dragging out a plastic sandwich bag of grapes, etc.

My plan is to pre-pack some whole fruit (apples and pears, mainly, as they travel well), maybe also sew up a cloth bag for grapes and/or cheese cubes, a hardboiled egg or two, and depending on if I'm willing to add some bready-carbs to my day, maybe a roll or even a loaf of something round (bought from the store) that I can share with others. Leftover steak or chicken might be do-able, too, if there's some on hand. (Pro tip for the sewers among us: At JoAnn's, near the beading stuff, they sell material that's intended to be made into diaper covers - it's cloth on one side and plasticy-coated on the other - totally washable and resistant to leakage. I am using that for my food baggies.) I'm also sewing up a smaller "lunch bag" that I'll stash in my larger bag that I'll stick an ice pack in to help keep things cool.

If I need to purchase food out there, hand-held items that are also healthy are a challenge. Yes, there's always the good ol' turkey leg, but those of us who've done faires for a long time are rather burnt out on those. Scotch eggs are tasty, but fried, so they're off the list. At the KC faire, we have a vendor who makes amazing crepes that can be loaded with vegetables, so hooray for that option. Steak or pork chop sandwiches are also good, especially if you ditch the bun. (I do carry a wooden bowl, but having to clean that out is a pain in the neck, so I prefer hand-held options.)

What other ideas do you have?

Editing to add: Nuts! I forgot nuts! I'll pack some of those, too. And my fitbit, of course. ;)

Replies

  • mewaybright
    mewaybright Posts: 240 Member
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    Does the fitbit measure steps? You may find that if you wore a pedometer you may well walk more than 10,000 steps in a day and if you manage to couple that with a workout you will be burning way more calories than you can possibly ingest in a day while being on the move. I mean if you think on it natural food is well within the healthy spectrum and during days of old natural is what there was… I mean there were no Lays Potato chips or French fries… lol

    Something I do to help maintain a daily calorie intake and keep me on track is to drink Shakeology which is from Beachbody (if you weren't familiar with it). You can purchase it from any Beachbody coach and if you don’t have one to go through drop me a note (I’m a BB coach) and I’ll give you my info so you can use my website to order it.
  • hdsqrl
    hdsqrl Posts: 420 Member
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    Yep, the fitbit measures steps - plus flights of stairs, which, if you're walking up a hill, it'll count that as a flight of stairs, I've learned, heh. It'd be both uncomfortable and overkill to try to wear an HRM all day, but the fitbit is small enough to be tucked into my pouch and not be seen. :)

    I'm totally with you on the idea of foods back then would have been healthy - unfortunately, the food that's sold out there has been designed to appeal to faire-goer's, so there's fried chicken strips, pizza, gyros, etc. They used to sell fruit-kabobs, but I haven't seen those the last few years.

    I suppose I could do the Shakeology as breakfast before I leave home, yeah? I'll think on it some more.
  • mewaybright
    mewaybright Posts: 240 Member
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    I love gyros... so long as they are authentic. Btw… that is healthy food, Greeks are one of those nationalities that live long healthy lives based on diet...
  • FionaNiConnor
    FionaNiConnor Posts: 90 Member
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    Honestly I don't try all that hard at faire. Between working for a very busy vendor, helping out with Guild and Hostel stuff, privy runs, and visiting, I am on my feet all. day. long.
    Sure, there are a ton of food options for sale from food vendors, but I'm cheap so I stop at the grocery before my weekend starts and fill the ol' cooler. I'm usually camping on-site, so I can leave my cooler in my own tent or if there's space I can stash it with me at my vendor tent. I pretty much graze all day at faire, but almost exclusively on things like nuts and dried fruits.

    Most of the shows I go to have "Stone Soup Ceilidh," which is a big potluck, after hours. Everyone brings food to cook, tosses a couple of bucks the propane provider's way, and has a wonderful communal meal. It's not always the healthiest thing, but when I've been walking (usually moving pretty quickly!!) all damn day, I'm not super worried about it. I have the discipline now to govern my own portion size, and a small ceramic bowl so I can't pile the food in there.
  • hdsqrl
    hdsqrl Posts: 420 Member
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    DRIED FRUIT! Yes, see, there's something I hadn't considered! I'm totally with you on the "walking all day, shouldn't care about calories" aspect, but I also know that if I eat like crap, I'll be exhausted the next day and my body will complain about being laced into the bodice again. I figure, if I eat right, I'll keep my energy up and not suffer that 3pm crash every afternoon, right?

    What's your home faire, and what sort of vendor do you work for? It'd be nice to be able to tote in a cooler, that's true. I will be able to stash things in one area, but also wanted to be able to carry some items on my actual person, as I work with the special events crew (weddings, themed events, daily Royal events, etc) and never know each day what I'll be doing or where I'll be based (if anywhere!) I'm going to make myself a messenger bag in the same colors as my skirts so I won't be limited to only using my belt pouch(es) for space. Also, then when a bride needs me to run back to the bridal space to get her camera or whatever, I'll be able to carry it secretly and not break the bubble for the patrons I pass along the way. :)
  • LPCoder
    LPCoder Posts: 404 Member
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    I understand the whole "Authentic" thing for the Ren Faire. Go to the tanners stall and buy yourself a good soft leather satchel. Then go to a CHEAP store and buy a lunch bag made of the diving suit material (you will be cutting it up!) Cut the lunch bag to fit inside the leather satchel and voila! you have a period looking cooler to attach to your belt! Fill with cheese, fruit, nuts, eggs, cooked/diced chicken...no one will know that you have an upgrade!
  • hdsqrl
    hdsqrl Posts: 420 Member
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    Nice! I hadn't considered making a lunch bag that was just a lunch bag...figured I'd stash my lunch in a larger bag with other things. But this is worth considering for sure! Thanks!
  • FionaNiConnor
    FionaNiConnor Posts: 90 Member
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    Well, it's not like I don't care about my caloric intake while at faire; I'm just less obsessive about it since I am exercising literally all day.
    I specifically love having things like sea salt peanuts, almonds, pistachios, dried cherries, dried cranberries, fresh apples, fresh strawberries, cheddar cheese, hard breads, beef jerky (not the best, but I need that meat), and of course lots and lots of tankards of water. I always start my day with a bottle of cranberry juice- sometimes I have to hold my water, as it were, for longer than is strictly healthy for my bladder, so I like to have that cranberry goodness keeping my innards clean! When I'm being a booth bunny, I'm lucky to be able to keep bowls of the stuff on the shelves I'm working off of. When I'm running around, I try and chuck a handful of nuts/dried fruit/an apple/jerky in my pouch and munch on them as I need to.

    My home faire is the Connecticut Renaissance Faire, www.ctfaire.com. It's changed a LOT over the last few years and due to an injury I wasn't able to go last year at all, so I'm not 100% what I'll be walking in to this year. In the past, I had worked for a company called "Silvermane," which is now under new ownership and the "Silvermane" is a DBA for "Tintagel's Gate." Silvermane sold costume & battle ready arms & armour, home decor, costume & period clothing, books, etc. Nowadays, I'm not sure what Pat (the owner... he used to manage Silvermane and bought it out so he's made changes) is selling, though I know he produces a lot of his own leather goods and his lovely wife makes jewelry.

    I like the messenger bag idea. I may have to explore my fabric stash and see what looks good enough for a periodish bag. a couple of friends of mine use modified bandoliers to keep little stuff (and cash) in while working or running around. That does interfere with the overall effect of the bodice, though. ;-)
    DRIED FRUIT! Yes, see, there's something I hadn't considered! I'm totally with you on the "walking all day, shouldn't care about calories" aspect, but I also know that if I eat like crap, I'll be exhausted the next day and my body will complain about being laced into the bodice again. I figure, if I eat right, I'll keep my energy up and not suffer that 3pm crash every afternoon, right?

    What's your home faire, and what sort of vendor do you work for? It'd be nice to be able to tote in a cooler, that's true. I will be able to stash things in one area, but also wanted to be able to carry some items on my actual person, as I work with the special events crew (weddings, themed events, daily Royal events, etc) and never know each day what I'll be doing or where I'll be based (if anywhere!) I'm going to make myself a messenger bag in the same colors as my skirts so I won't be limited to only using my belt pouch(es) for space. Also, then when a bride needs me to run back to the bridal space to get her camera or whatever, I'll be able to carry it secretly and not break the bubble for the patrons I pass along the way. :)

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