Bourbon and Beyond: What I Ate as a Dietitian at a 4-Day Outdoor Music Festival

Bourbon and Beyond - Louisville, Kentucky September 2025

Every other year, my friends from around the country and I gather for a weekend girls' trip, which always involves music and exploring local cuisine and spirits. This year, we converged on Louisville, Kentucky, in early September, for a fantastic four-day festival called Bourbon & Beyond.

I normally travel with higher-protein and fiber foods to have good options when I'm not at the festival. This year, I traveled lighter and gave myself a break from my usual morning breakfast routine. While I really enjoyed being more laid-back, I do wish I had brought my protein powder, which I use in my coffee. However, I still had several great morning options to set myself up for the day without crashing.

Traveling Meals & Snacks:

I had two long days of traveling, first to Louisville, Kentucky, on a Wednesday, and then back home to Portland, Oregon, the following Monday. I flew into Chicago, where my friend, B, from Green Bay, Wisconsin, picked me up and we drove the rest of the way to Louisville. My flight out was non-stop to Chicago on an airline that only provides small snacks, so I brought a mini-bagel sandwich with turkey, bacon, and avocado, as well as protein pretzels.

We made one stop along the way for a quick bathroom break and to grab some snacks. I love Red Vines and only have them while traveling. After 5-8 minutes of looking, I learned that Indiana favors Twizzlers, and there wasn't a Red Vine to be found. Thank you for saving me from myself, I guess, Indiana. I ended up eating some Boujie Mustard Fitzel pretzels instead.

Upon arrival in the small town where we were staying, we went directly to a local pizza place called Jail House Pizza to meet our hosts and other festival goers staying at the Bed & Breakfast for the weekend. I love a good local pizza place with an amazing crust, and Jail House Pizza hit the spot. The garlic knots and chicken bacon pizza with a honey mustard sauce were my favorites. Fortunately, we had a lot of leftovers that we were all looking forward to having over the next several days as midnight snacks after we got back to the house each night.

For the trip home, we left after breakfast. I had some leftover pretzels for snacks, in case I needed them, and made a bagel with some herbed spread. We made one stop at Panera for lunch, where I was able to save half of my turkey sandwich for dinner. I only ended up eating the other half of my sandwich and some pretzels after a full day of sitting.

Day 1: Yogurt Parfait & Grilled Cheese Sandwich

We stayed at a lovely bed and breakfast that provided shuttle service to and from the festival every day and included great breakfast options. I started my day with Greek yogurt, fresh berries, and high-protein granola, which set me up for a great day, providing 20-25 grams of protein and 8-10 grams of fiber. I don't typically eat much in the morning because I'm not hungry. I normally get my morning protein in by making protein lattes. Therefore, making sure I got protein and fiber in before heading to the festival was really important, especially because I didn't anticipate there would be healthy meal options at the festival.

We arrived early on the first day to get a feel for the layout, learn where the water sources were located, and set up our chairs for the concerts. The promoters of Bourbon & Beyond had several water stations throughout the large festival area at the Highlands Festival Grounds.  With temperatures in the high 80s to 90 degrees, hydration was just as important as enjoying the food, music, and local bourbon options. The festival grounds are located near Kentucky Kingdom, a small amusement park that was open to attendees of B&B, offering soda fountains with complimentary water and ice. Having access to ice and water without paying $6 for a bottle of water was a blessing. I made sure to include at least one electrolyte packet a day with the heat and dancing.

A buttery grilled sandwich and seasoned French fries from day one.

Now for the festival food! The area we were in on the first day didn't have many vendor options, and they were typical festival fare... corn dogs, loaded tater tots, pizza, mac and cheese, grilled cheese, etc. I planned to just enjoy whatever food I felt like having each day, knowing that four days of less-than-ideal eating isn't a big deal since 80-90% of the time I eat really well. I was craving a grilled cheese and French fries, as it's not something I have often. It was good, not amazing. I had to remove some of the cheese on the second half of the sandwich because it was a little rich, but I wasn't overly disappointed. I also noticed a Brisket vendor had a Brisket Mac and Cheese that I was definitely planning to try at some point.

When we got back to the Bed and Breakfast around 1130 PM, the leftover pizza and garlic knots were too tempting not to have a slice and a few knots before settling in for the night. It definitely didn't disappoint.

Day 2: Farm to Fest Bowls

My daily breakfast to start each day fueled and ready to go.

I ended up starting each of my days with the yogurt, berries, and granola, along with a few small slices of the most amazing pastries I've ever had. My friend, B, brought a variety of Kringle's for the house to share. If you know anything about Kringle's, you know that Uncle Mike's in Green Bay makes the best Kringle's ever! Salted Caramel Pecan, Pumpkin Cheese Cake, Caramel apple, and S'mores are my favorites! I don't normally have sweet pastries, but when Kringle's are in the house on vacation, there's zero guilt involved... I may have had a slice or three every day.

Farm to Fest Bowl was the winner of the weekend! This was the Lemon Garlic sauce with the beautiful Romanesco broccoli.

Once we made it to the festival grounds in the early afternoon, we explored the area more than we had on day one. There were two main areas where stages were set up, far apart from each other, with artists performing simultaneously in each area. The area with the smaller stages had a lot more food vendor options, many of which were healthy options that I was excited to see. The one that caught my eye and I wanted to try was the Farm-to-Fest Bowls. After scoping out the other vendor options, I settled on the bowl, and it did not disappoint. It was a vegan bowl with a choice of turmeric rice or quinoa, black beans or chickpeas, and a selection of three vegetables that were rotated daily, except for the potatoes, which were available every day. Additionally, there were four different sauces to choose from. I chose the turmeric rice, black beans, potatoes, a double portion of Romanesco broccoli, and the lemon garlic sauce. I also paid a little extra to add avocado for the healthy fats. While the total protein was slightly less than I normally have, the fiber, fresh vegetables, and incredible flavor of the lemon garlic sauce I chose made it a very satisfying meal that kept me going for the rest of the day.

I was not expecting such a healthy meal to be available. While I originally decided to enjoy the typical festival food available, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try healthier options, and I was very happy with my choice. Once back at the house for the evening, we snacked on cheese curds and Kringle from Wisconsin.

Day 3: Brisket Mac and Cheese

Our day started a little later, so I planned to only have one meal at the festival. I decided that since I had a very healthy meal at the festival on day two, I would try the brisket mac and cheese I saw on a menu on the first day.

Personal opinion, if it's made with Velveeta, it should be called Mac & Velveeta.

It was not amazing. I was disappointed that the Mac and Cheese was actually Mac and Velveeta. I was really hoping for a good cheese sauce made with real cheese. The Brisket was equally disappointing, lacking flavor and being a little dry. Together, it wasn't bad, but it didn't live up to my expectations. I had high hopes because the vendor stand was one of the few with a custom sign hyping up the cattle ranch and brisket, only to be disappointed by the average quality. My other friend, L, who made the trip, is from Houston; she tasted the brisket and agreed that it wasn't all that great.

We shared and finished the meal, but it wasn't as filling as I'd hoped, so by the last few hours of the concert, we shared some tater tots to finish off the comfort food day. I wasn't hungry when we made it back to the house, so I opted out of any snacks or treats.

Day 4: Farm to Fest Bowl & Bagel Sandwich

Day four was the longest day for us, as we arrived at the festival around 1:00 PM and didn't leave until 11:30 PM. There was a thunderstorm very early in the morning. While the previous days weren't humid, the humidity increased significantly on the hottest day. I really prioritized getting a lot of water in throughout the day.

Since it was the longest day, my Houston friend and I decided to share two meals during the day. I really wanted to try the Miso Pesto sauce at the Farm to Fest bowls, and since the typical festival fare had been disappointing so far, I figured a wonderful flavor and a high-fiber meal was where it was at. I got the rice, black beans, avocado, and potatoes again, but had cabbage and cauliflower as the other vegetables with the Miso Pesto sauce. Once again, I was not disappointed; it was incredibly good!

Since I split the bowl with my friend, several hours later, and several hours before the end of the shows, we were starting to get hungry again. The bagel sandwiches looked really good and, honestly, seemed hard to mess up. We split the turkey with pepper jack on an Asiago bagel. The deli turkey was of good quality, not the pressed turkey bits kind, but actual sliced turkey breast. They put a hearty portion of at least 3 ounces in the whole sandwich, plus lettuce and tomatoes. It was satisfying and held us over until the end of the evening.

My Wisconsin friend got orange chicken with rice and broccoli on the last day. It had a good flavor, and the broccoli still retained some crunch. If I had known the brisket mac and cheese was going to be so disappointing, I would have gotten the orange chicken on day three.

Despite not getting back to the house until 12:30 in the morning, we enjoyed cheese curds and Kringle before heading to bed to prepare for the long day of travel home.

The Bourbon

Penelope Whiskey was the winner of the weekend with the wheated old-fashioned!

Asides from friends and music, I do enjoy bourbon and old fashions from time to time. Since the festival featured a variety of bourbons as well as music, I was excited to try the different local options that aren't available in Oregon. Just like my meals, I allowed myself some flexibility to enjoy a few drinks each day, while being mindful of the heat and the need to stay hydrated.

I tried several neat pours to get a taste of some of the bourbon, but also enjoyed a few of the bourbon cocktails each brand offered. There are several really good old-fashioned ones that I enjoyed. Penelope ended up the winner of the weekend for me. Their old-fashioned has a wonderful cinnamon undertone due to the wheated bourbon they used. It's the only vendor I went back to on the last day.

Friends, Music, and Food!

Overall, I had a wonderful trip with friends, great music, mostly delicious food, and excellent bourbon. It's rare for me to travel without bringing protein- and high-fiber snacks to reduce my reliance on eating out and the limited healthy options available. I allowed myself to indulge in delicious foods and beverages that may not be the healthiest option, but they bring me joy. I didn't feel deprived of the full experience, nor did I feel guilty about eating foods I don't normally have.

The occasional weekend of indulgence for celebrations, holidays, or music festivals is how we find balance between maintaining our health, living longer and more productive lives, while still enjoying all life has to offer, including the foods and beverages we love most.

If you're looking for support to improve your diet and lifestyle in a sustainable way, schedule an introductory call with me to learn how we can work together.

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