Fair Food – It’s Festival Season

I tell you. This is one tough blog article to write. It would be easy to just bash on all of the calories and fat grams loaded in fair food. I mean, people typically get all fired up during festival season for the rides, games, music, animals, events and exhibits. Still, from what I can tell in attending these incredible festivals is that people attend for the fair food. Especially the deep fried fair food. So, why put a damper on all the fun, right?

Each year I attend a festival or two and it seems like the news and media like to showcase the “what’s new in the weird and wild minds of the fried fair food vendors.” And they are right. Many of the fair food you see definitely turn your head and make you think, “Really? Who thought of that?” And sadly, curiosity get’s the best of many people because they just have to try it. Even f they buy one item to split between friends.

I Can Relate

Hey, I know. I have been there. From time to time I will participate in the fair food adventure. And you know what? I regret it every time. The taste buds are happy for a few seconds and then the toxic, bloated, guilt factor set in. Has this ever happened to you?

Fair Food Reality

When it comes to fair food I have learned that the frying process adds tons of calories. It also adds a lot of fat grams to the item. Deep frying also robs fair foods of their nutrients if there were any to begin with. I saw one web site state that a large baked potato has 220 calories with under 1 g of fat. Here’s the magic of deep frying that potato into fries, you increase the calories to around 700 calories and increase the fat to 43 grams.

Each year there seems to be a crazy wild variety of what gets deep fried such as gum, candy bars, vegetables, curds, snack cakes, cheese cake, fruit and even butter! Many of these are served on a stick for convenience to quickly eat while standing in line at the next fair food vendor. Some dip their fair food in chocolate.

I got the following info from WebMD about the frightening nutrition facts on Fair Food

Here are more frightening nutritional figures, from the Calorie King web site, about fat and calories in food at the fair or festival:

• 

  Fried Snickers (5 oz.): 444 calories and 29 grams (g) fat

• Fried Twinkie (2 oz.): 420 calories/34 g fat
• Funnel cake (1): 760 calories/44 g fat
• Twinkie Dog Sundae: 500 calories/14 g fat
• Cotton candy: 171 calories/0 fat
• Fried cheesecake (6 oz.): 655 calories/47 g fat
• Foot-long hot dog and bun: 470 calories/26 g fat
• Giant turkey leg: 1,136 calories/54 g fat

“Eating at a fair or festival can wreak havoc on your waistline because it is so easy to consume thousands of calories,” says Christine Palumbo, RD.

Fair Food Tips And Final Thoughts

I don’t want to come off all judgmental (but I probably will) about the fair food offered at festivals and take away people’s fun. Yet, I think it is important that people know about their choices and the industry that is contributing to an obesity crisis. If we don’t take a stand against it and just stand in line for it, what are we saying? We are OK with this treatment?

That being said, I am sure many of us can look at these sorts of things as an isolated event of indulgence, fun and pleasure. I know I typically do. If you are going to let your guard down and have some deep fried fair food, do the following:

• Eat a healthy meal before going to the festival
• Work out really hard in the many days leading up to the festival
• Watch your nutrition and eat very healthy daily before and after the festival
• Share your fair food choices with 4 or more people so that you get a taste, but not a full blown hit the system.
• It’s OK to have a bite or two and then throw the rest away. Truly, it’s OK!
• Get back on the exercise and nutrition wagon ASAP.. OK, I already said this! 🙂

If you do feel you need help getting back on track after a fair food coma, please let me know and I will gladly help you formulate a plan for free!