Sometimes you throw it all out the window.

The Food & Wine Festival coming to your town is one of those times.  I ate red meat for the first time since October, inhaled sweets, and sampled more bourbon than I knew existed.  Needless to say it was quite the weekend!

When I picked up my schwag, I was excited to see that I made the brochure!  This pic is from a volunteer opportunity at a local farm during last year’s festival.

Can you tell which one is me?

I remembered why I quit eating red meat (omg – the tummy ache!), and why I quit eating so much sugar (my sleep quality was soooo bad).  Not that I’m complaining.  I loved every moment of it… but I look forward to returning to clean eating this week!!

I took full advantage of the education opportunities and the ridiculously expensive 3 day pass.

The first class was the “History of the Southern Cocktail.”  The panel was impressive and I learned a lot.  For instance, ice was actually a sign of aristocracy in the South in the 1800s.   Due to the heat and the fact that freezers weren’t yet invented, ice was more expensive than meat or dairy.  It had to be transported from the North!

The traditional drink of the Kentucky Derby, the Mint Julep, was packed to the brim with ice to ensure Derby attendees knew who was part of the upper crust.

We sampled two drinks:

• Chatham Artillery Punch – lemon, sugar, bourbon, Cognac, Jamaican rum, and sparkling wine
• Crusta – bourbon, Cointreau, Angoustura bitters, Marischino liqueur, and lemon (SO good!)

My second class of the day was “How to Taste Blind.”  The two sommeliers in the session picked out the wines perfectly!  I proved  – once again – that I have a terrible palate.

I picked the Sauvignon Blanc, but didn’t get the region or year (FYI – a greener color to a white wine indicated a younger age).  This was a 2009 from France. The reds were a 2007 Syrah from France and a 2008 Camenere from Chile.  I was way off on both!

This was just the first part of day 1!  I have lots more to share throughout the week!

---

Despite the indulgence, I did have a good workout week.  Post-Blend I took Monday off before diving into it.  It must have done my body good because I was able to run 3 miles straight through for the first time since January!  I have an appointment with an ortho to have my knee looked at next week… part of me thinks I could cancel, but better safe than sorry.

Saturday morning I knocked out a P90X Plyo workout… it left me a sweaty mess, but was the perfect thing to do before heading back to F&W Festival for day 2!

Workout Recap (5/7 – 5/13):

• Monday – REST
• Tuesday – This Pinned workout, Bis/Back, 100 push-ups
• Wednesday – Shoulders w/ plyo, 3 mi run, P90X Ab Ripper X, 100 push-ups
• Thursday – This Under 10 Legs workout, 2 mi walk, Legs/Core
• Friday – Tris/Chest w/ plyo, 100 push-ups
• Saturday – P90X Plyo, 100 push-ups
• Sunday –  3 mile run

***

Rainy mornings should mandate a work from home day.

Have you ever done a blind wine tasting?

Have you ever thrown any food “rules” out the window for a big event?