Festival Internationale-part 2

Another day of Festival, and I'm just as excited! I love listening to the music as we walk around, it's just a reminder that there's so much life out there beyond cajun/zydeco, which I also love!
Fest Food is the next best reason to spend the weekend at Festival Internationale. The great thing about Fest Food is the size of the portions are (usually) much more appropriate than if you'd go to the actual restaurant.  Although I did have something last night that I chose not to eat the whole thing because I didn't want to be uncomfortably full. The "con" of Fest Food is that nearly everything is served hot. While that wasn't a problem last night because the air was cool and breezy, during the day it's sometimes hard for me to eat hot food when it's hot outside.

As we were walking around, I was checking out what was available in different locations. I did have my reliable snacks in my bag-pineapple chunks, grapes, honey roasted carrots, and Zydeco nutrition bar. Those are in-case-ance (pronounced N-K-shuns, like insurance) in case my son has a meltdown because he gets too hungry. Luckily we didn't have to use them yesterday. Some things I noticed throughout downtown:

• There are far more adult beverage stations than non-adult beverage locations. Or maybe the adult beverage stations were just MUCH bigger, so they were easier to spot. This is why I also always carry water in my bag.
• I love that they sell iced tea and lemonade in addition to blah sodas. I didn't find out if it was sweetened or not, but I will and let you know.
• I saw a stand with roasted peanuts~awesome! It's a much better snack for kids than the Dairy King ice cream, provided there are no nut allergies. Check out the peanuts, they were at the corner  of Jefferson St and Vermillion. The cart looked like it had wheels, so I'm not sure if they were on the move.

So my selections from lat night included the Fried Eggplant Seafood Volcano from Big Wil & The Warden. I would typically never choose anything fried unless it were really irresistible, but this one came recommended to me. I tried it, it was good, but not irresistible and not worth the fried-ness. I gave most of it away to someone else who seemed to be enjoying it. Next! The next thing I got was the Chicken Schawerma Sandwich from Zeus Cafe.  The sandwich was great with a hint of cool yogurt sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, all enveloped by a pita bread wrap-thingy. Yummy! But I didn't eat the whole thing-it was too much.

So I'm getting ready to head out there again today with the family. I've had my eye on several things to try! I don't know how I'm going to fit them in. If you see me randomly taking bites of people's food and asking them about it, don't worry, it's only so I can better inform everyone about the Best (Healthiest) Fest Food!

Best (Healthiest) Fest Food-Festival Internationale-Part 1

We are getting started with my most beloved week of year-Festival Internationale de Louisiane! There are so many festivals in the area, but this festival is definitely my favorite! This year I'm taking on a new challenge at Festival...to find the Best (Healthiest) Fest Foods.

I started Wednesday evening, Festival's opening day. The Fais Do Do Stage was the lone stage and the vendors were limited, but the food was perfect! I avoided the fried stuff but tried Lagneaux's seafood jambalaya, Broussard's Cajun Cooking's red beans and rice, and bread pudding. I'm not much of a bread pudding fan, and this one didn't change my mind. However the red beans and rice were cooked to perfection-just the right spice, and the perfect amount of beans and juice mixed with the rice. Of course there was sausage, which I typically leave out. I'm always a sucker for red beans and rice! While non-alcoholic beverages were available they were hidden a little. Luckily I brought some water (I rarely leave home without water) so it wasn't much of an issue.

I'm not making it to Festival tonight, but will plan to be there through the rest of the weekend. I'll keep you posted on what I find!

Happy Festival-in'!