Iowa State Fair Food August 2, 2010

I don’t mean to be The Grinch to Kim Reed’s Who-like reaction to the Iowa State Fair, but now that she’s released her joy-filled email, I can write MINE.  I’ve never been to The Fair, and I have no intention of going.  If, like the Grinch, I could haul it all to the top of Mt. Crumpet, I would do so.  So this week’s letter is pretty much just cut and pasted from last year’s letter, and other reputable internet sites. 

 Now, I’m not going to tell you not to eat your favorite-once-a-year-fair-foods, but some food choices are going to be better than others.  Please pay attention to what you eat as you can easily eat a week’s worth of calories/fat/sodium in a single visit to the fair. 

 A couple of years ago, the Iowa Heart Center gave some excellent tips.  I didn’t see an updated list this year, but these tips still apply:  http://www.iowaheart.com/content/viewcontent.aspx?art=433

 1.   Forego the cave-man-size turkey leg for a turkey tenderloin – they’re both tasty but at 1,400 calories and 55 to 60 grams of fat, that turkey leg could stay with you for years. At just 350 calories and 30 grams of fat, the turkey tenderloin is the heart-healthy alternative.

 2.    Go with the Pork-Chop-on-a-Stick instead of sausages or brats – Although it sounds decadent, Iowa’s famously flavorful “Pork Chop on a Stick” wins by a mile when it comes to nutrition and calories versus a large Italian sausage. While the meaty pork chop has about 500 calories and around 10 grams of fat, the Italian sausage will pack on 1,200 calories and between 55 and 60 grams of fat.

 3.    Sweet tooth nagging you? Have a big, sticky cotton candy rather than a funnel cake. Cotton Candy weighs in at about 150 calories against the funnel cake’s whopping 800 calories.

 4.    Stagger your beers with water – rather than downing beer after beer at 250 calories for a large regular beer, try following each beer with an ice-cold bottle of water. The water will also keep you hydrated and help you avoid the bad effects of too much alcohol in the heat.

 5.    Kettle corn over nachos with cheese – Just one helping of nachos with cheese will add 900 calories and 35 fat grams. Sure, Kettle Corn has some fat, sugar and salt, but it’s far fewer calories than a much smaller volume of nachos.

 6.    Dippin’ Dots over a Wonder Bar (bonus points if you can tell me what a Wonder Bar is) – Dippin’ Dots calorie and fat count: 170 and 10 grams in a half-cup serving.

 7.    Feel like something on a stick? Try roasted corn-on-the-cob rather than a corn dog. At just 250 calories and zero grams of fat (not counting butter), you’ll fend off the corn dog’s 700 calories and 35 to 40 grams of fat.

 8.    Banana-on-a-Stick or watermelon rather than a deep-fried candy bar (or deep-fried pineapple.  I’m not sure how I feel about that one yet): How many calories in a deep-fried candy bar? Really, you don’t want to know – OK, we warned you: the deep fried candy bar will set you back 800 calories and 40 grams of fat.

 9.    Pork loin sandwich over a fried pork tenderloin – For filling, high-quality protein, the lean pork loin sandwich beats the fried tenderloin hands down.

 10. Carmel apple rather than a bloomin’ onion or fried cheese curds. Yes, there’s caramel on the outside, but there’s an apple on the inside. At about 500 calories each and nearly 40 fat grams, the caramel apple is a sweet-and-sour treat on the healthier side.

 And the good people of the Iowa State Fair were kind enough to provide a list of healthy options and their locations:  http://www.iowastatefair.org/services/fooddirectory.php

Healthy Food Choices

• Salad on a Stick at The Salad Bowl (west balcony of the Agriculture Building; Cultural Center) – an iceberg lettuce wedge with carrots and tomato served kabob-style, served with dressing.
• Baked potatoes and corn-on-the-cob at Westmoreland (south of the Anne and Bill Riley Stage)
• Salads at various locations: Campbell’s (Elwell Family Food Center), Diamond Jack’s (west of the Livestock Pavilion), The Salad Bowl (west balcony of the Agriculture Building; Cultural Center), The Greek Garden (north of the Varied Industries Building and southeast of the Administration Building), Master Jack’s (west of the Grandstand) and Steer and Stein (east of the Grandstand)
• Sandwich wraps at The Salad Bowl (west balcony of the Agriculture Building and Cultural Center Courtyard)
• Mixed fruit cups, melon cups and shish-kabobs at Beattie’s Melon Patch (west of the Giant Slide) and mixed berry cups at Stockman’s Inn (southwest corner of the Cattle Barn)
• Veggie corn dogs at Veggie Table (north of the Varied Industries Building)
• Turkey tenderloins at the Iowa Turkey Federation (west of Anne and Bill Riley Stage) – the turkey breast sandwich has less than 5 grams of fat and is low in calories.
• Pork chops on-a-stick at the Iowa Pork Producers Association (main location: east end of Grand Avenue; satellite locations: east of the main stand and on Rock Island Avenue west of the Livestock Pavilion)

So have a great time at the fair, and please, please, please remember to drink plenty of water or other non-caffeinated, non-alcoholic beverages.

And just for your food information, I was watching The Travel Channel or The Food Network and they featured a vendor at some state fair that sells the Krispy Kreme Burger.  Oh yeah.  One cheeseburger with bacon that substitutes the bun with 2 Krispy Kreme Donuts.  So let’s say 1 Krispy Kreme is roughly 270 calories.  A restaurant-style cheeseburger like those at Red Robin (sans bun, mayonnaise and pickles) is going to be about 530 calories.  This means your Krispy Kreme Cheeseburger (made with 2 donuts) is going to be about 1070 calories.