Care and Feeding

Hosting me for a clinic or competition? Well, don’t forget to feed me please! Most people are really great at this, but from time to time I’ve had the experience of being thrown a cereal bar, and handed a cold cup of coffee as we head out the door to start the day (good thing they didn’t do it the other way around!)

I’m not terribly complicated when it comes to eating. I am not a vegetarian, and I don’t have any food allergies that I know of. I love trying new foods, especially if they are spicy. I’m generally a pretty light eater in the evenings.

All that said, I’ve found that many people get stressed if they are hosting someone they don’t know, partially because they don’t know what to provide for food. Here’s a list of my regular eating habits. This isn’t some sort of crazy, rock-n-roll star “food requirements list” where the guy asks that all green M&M’s are removed from the tray. It’s just what I normally eat. Don’t feel like you have to go out and have some special food just for me!

Things I eat regularly:

Breakfast:

COFFEE, lots of coffee! (not hazelnut please). I use Coffeemate French vanilla zero sugar creamer. No worries if it’s just good old coffee with cream & sugar.

Oikos triple zero greek vanilla yogurt with Purely Elizabeth Blueberry Hemp granola. (Chobani or other brands of lowfat vanilla yogurt work. Golean crunch is another go-to.)

Alternates: English muffin w plain or veggie cream cheese, bacon egg & cheese sandwich (not sausage.)

Snacks:

Snack bars are great to keep me going.

• Nuts – Cashews (roasted/salted), pistachios (not peanuts)
• Zone Perfect, Balance, or Cliff Bars
• Blueberry fig bars
• Snickers

Day time drinks:

• Smart Water, Aquafina, or Dasani purified water
• Clearly Canadian (something in the berry family)
• Diet Coke/Pepsi

Lunch:

• BLT wrap – lettuce, tomato, mayo, provolone, pepperoncini, black olives
• Chef or Cesar salad w/ grilled chicken
• Roast Beef (pink) wrap with lettuce mayo pickles and horseradish
• Small Italian grinder

I don’t mind hamburgers, hot dogs, or a couple slices of pizza with just about anything on it from time to time.

Dinner:

• Chicken breast, grilled, sauteed, baked (I try to avoid fried 😉
• Fish, as above
• Steak (medium rare)
• Green beans, broccoli, spinach, squash, zucchini
• Rice

If we’re dinning out, I love the local favorites over national chains. I’m as comfortable in a 5 star as I am in quirky dive. Ethnic foods are usually quite fun. I’m a big fan of spicy foods or a really good barbecue joint (apologies to the scribe.)

“Off the clock” drinks:

• Blue Moon no-alcohol is my current go-to beer
• (Heineken n/a, Corona light, Mich-Ultra)
• Guiness (yum!)
• NOT IPA
• White wine (sauvignon blanc, vino verde, pinot grigio)
• Vodka dirty martini

What to feed me if you were disappointed with me:

Spam
Boiled Cabbage
Beats
Tuna casserole (but I love Tuna steaks or sushi, weird, huh?)
Chitlins
Eggplant
Brussel Sprouts
Baby food (just seeing if you’re still reading)
Sourdough
Pumpernickel Bread (just can’t figure out how to like it)
Doughnuts (Okay, I might eat 1 Boston creme, but that’s all! …or a chocolate glazed, but no, you can’t make me eat em)
IPA Beer (Why was that even invented?!)
Canned Beer (not as offensive as IPA)
Canned IPA (Are you kidding me??)