BYO Festival Food

A week and a half ago, I had a dream of mine for many years realized when I went to The Lights Fest.  I know I’m not the only one who saw that scene in Disney’s Tangled and was bummed out that at that time, you’d generally have to travel to Thailand to see something like that in real life.  A couple months ago, an ad popped up for an event a couple hours’ drive away and so I knew I had to go!

As someone with a special diet, I can’t ever really trust that they’ll have food I can eat, especially when it’s something in a rural area like this event was, so I had to bring my own food.  Plus, it saves a lot of money, and since they allowed it, who wouldn’t want to bring their own food?  It was obvious when we got there that some people were serious pros at bringing their own festival foods, toting coolers on wheels and all other sorts of fancy contraptions.  But, I had my trusty soft sided cooler with a strap, and we lugged our folding chairs and other items, sans wheels.  Thankfully our daughter is old enough to handle a little chair with only a few episodes of whining of how heavy it was getting (insert eye roll).

When it comes to festival food, it’s gotta be cold, it’s gotta be easily portable, and it’s gotta be easily eatable (is eatable a word?  probably not…).  For everyone else, they wanted PB&J sandwiches, so that was their main meal, and I’m not complaining.  We threw in some baby carrots, a bag of peanuts, Pirate’s Booty, yogurt tubes, and Babybel mini cheeses, along with some juice pouches and we were good to go.  Alas, for me, I can only eat carrots and peanuts out of those options, so I needed something more substantial, so that’s where this recipe comes in.

 

Vegan Veggie Wrap

Serves 1

Prep Time: 5 mins

Ingredients:

1 gluten-free wrap, such as Mission’s Gluten-Free Spinach Wrap

1 handful organic baby spinach

1/4 organic red bell pepper

4-5 baby carrots

3-4 slices organic cucumber

3-4 slices tomato of your choice

1.5 oz Violife Vegan Feta Cheese or vegan cream cheese of your choice

 

Instructions:

Slice the red pepper and carrots into thin strips.  For the Violife, I usually cut two long strips and add it to the sandwich that way.  If you are using vegan cream cheese, it is easiest to add it directly to and spread it on the wrap.  Assemble all of the parts into the tortilla and wrap like a burrito.  Wrap it in either a reusable wrap like I have shown here (mine is a Bee’s Wrap in a special pattern that I don’t think they make anymore, but you can still find a couple here if you love it; I can’t vouch for that site selling it, however), or in parchment paper (or aluminum foil).  It’s a little messy, so you’ll want to make sure what you use is leak proof as best you can.  I sometimes make this sandwich with hummus in addition to a vegan cream cheese (I haven’t tried it with the Violife because even though it’s supposed to be “feta” like, it’s more like goat cheese to me), or I throw in sprouts or other veggies I may have around.  The wrap does start to fall apart a little, especially after it’s been on the road, so that’s why the wrap is pretty important.  If you prefer, you can make this on a gluten free bagel or bread, which is also good and is a little more hearty.

 

 

All in all, we had a good time.  My husband and I had some La Croix as our special drink we’d brought, and I think next time, we’d pack a couple more items, and maybe we’d pull out that two seater wagon to pull the kids and the stuff…but, it was fun.  Admittedly, I wish I’d had more time to really take in the sights of the lanterns…part of the time you’re waiting to light your lantern so you don’t really get to see the full effect.  It was beautiful nonetheless.  And of course the kids got all excited when a couple lanterns caught on fire since I guess those people didn’t follow instructions…well…for pyros and festival goers alike, it’s a great time with kids or adults.  Live music, being outdoors, decorating and launching lanterns, what’s not to love?

 

And at last I see the light….

 

Enjoy those last days of summer festivals…

xo,

Jen, Rapunzel, and Flynn (Eugene)