Eating well at horse shows is a challenge, especially at reining shows in Texas and Oklahoma where the only available vegetables are fried pickles, sleepy iceberg lettuce, and greasy zucchini “medley.” My survival strategy: request a mini-fridge in my room, drive to the nearest purveyor of healthy groceries (I’ve gotten good at finding them) and stock up. Oranges, apples, bananas, baby carrots, hummus, little tomatoes, packets of cashew and pecan butter, Lara bars, kombucha, green juice—especially green juice—and whatever prepared foods look yummy. I like to eat things like quinoa and lentils and kale (ah, trendy kale!), and most of the cowboys seem to find this amusing/disgusting. Even Mandy, who’s game to try almost anything I cook at their house, stops short of green juice. I can understand. It took me a few tries to get into it, but now I find it delicious. I even love the bitter ones that aren’t cut with apple or pineapple.
This week we’re in Scottsdale, where the Whole Foods Market is extra deluxe. There are three café-like areas, including a sports-bar-ish thing in back, plus extravagant produce and prepared food sections, four aisles of beauty/skincare/vitamins, and a books/CDs/DVDs area with listening station, where I picked up several yoga, meditation and soothe-your-mind type CDs. (“Sounds of rain and gentle thunder embedded with Alpha Brainwave Pulses surround you with warmth and inner calm.” Sold! Actually, I think this one did help me fall asleep the other night…)
Today I happened to be there when they were opening a giant wheel of parmigiano reggiano. Yum!
