Getting our trans fat on

So by my calculations when we call it quits for the year in early November, our 2011 show season will have conservatively added up to some 21 days away from home. That’s 21 days either at shows themselves or traveling to or from them.

As anyone that spends much time away from the comforts of home traveling on business will tell you, one of the biggest challenges out there is the food. Specifically the quality of it or, more importantly, the lack there of. Not that we haven’t encountered some truly wonderful restaurants over the years (Onyx in Springfield this coming weekend is the current fetish) but dinner for the most part is not usually the issue: it’s the things we throw down our maws while running around all day to and from the show rings themselves or while sitting in the truck for hours on end. Every now and then we find a place near the show facilities that has better options than the fried fair food on offer at most venues but that is definitely the exception, not the rule. I certainly tip my hat to those friends of ours who are vegetarians for tolerating the options they face while at the shows. At least I have the “choice” of a greasy $5 burger!

The worst part of course is that most of this dietary train wreck is completely self-inflicted. Show food is definitely selected primarily on the basis of ease of consumption. There I was today at the supermarket getting ready for the NAAS, playing ship’s purser and stocking up on the supplies that will fuel a team of 4 people plus any of our friends at the upcoming show who know where our stash of naughtiness is hidden. It started off optimistically enough: oranges, a big bag of mini carrots, and a tub of hummus. We can snack healthily, right? Then it all went downhill in a hurry. Bags of chocolates, canisters of potato chips, granola bars (sorry but anyone that claims they’re health food really hasn’t read the labels too closely), crackers, and of course multiple cases of beer as well as diet soda to keep the Show Boss on her toes. You could look at a yearly tabulation of our grocery receipts and see that with the exception of our shearing days (that’s another story unto itself), we really only buy junk food in that quantity 6 or 7 times a year. What a coincidence!  We also go to 6 or 7 shows each year. Who really needs breakfast anyway when you can eat two handfuls of chocolate chunks (the Kisses were too petite), half a canister of chips, and wash it all down with soda and beer? Needless to say I will stay away from the scale and the blood pressure machine for several days upon our return home.