Fair food is too much of a good thing

Fair food is too much of a good thing
                        

The Wayne County Fair is a weeklong holiday. Projects for this year’s fair started when last year’s fair ended. Reminiscences from previous fairs mingle with this year’s fair to make fair week memorable.

If you were to describe the fair in one word, what would come to mind? Many people would reply, “The animals.” Many more would say, “The people.” Other replies may include exhibits, tractors, barns, rides, entertainment or sore feet.

But the most popular answer to what the fair means to them is “the food,” which is not a surprise.

A corn dog at any other time of the year is just a corn dog, but if you eat it while walking around the exhibits at the fair, it is almost magic. French fires are greasier at the fair. Cotton candy is sweeter. The onions on a steak sandwich are tastier. The doughnuts are doughnuttier. Everything you eat at the fair tastes different and better.

I will venture to guess that fair food is made with memories and love. A pumpkin pie made in February may come from the same recipe as the one made in November, but the one eaten at Thanksgiving tastes better. Fair food is tasted with more than our mouths; it is etched into our memory with the sights, the sounds, the smells and the feel of the fair.

The question then becomes: “How much fair food does a person need to make a memory?” Here lies a problem. Fair food often contains too many unhealthy calories to be included in a healthy meal plan.

Another question asks: “Can a person get too much of a good thing?” Now that is a debatable question, especially at the fair. The answer lies in how a person defines too much and who decides what is a good thing to eat.

That brings the person at the fair down to the choices that are to be made. Walk from one menu item to the next and the choices are limitless.

Speaking of walking, this type of exercise cannot be ignored at the fair. Just walking from one end of the fairgrounds to the other end to buy an apple dumpling justifies the purchase. The pork steak sandwich remains a favorite solely for its flavor, but it also is low in fat and calories, high in protein.

To answer all these questions, let it be said the food is my favorite part of the fair, after people watching. A person only needs a bite of something to make a memory. But who can eat just one bite? Can a person eat too much of a good thing? You betcha. Portion size is the key to weight control, but too much of a good thing can be justified by walking for hours just enjoying the fair.

If you see me at the fair, don’t judge — it’s fair week.

Bobbie Randall is a registered, licensed dietitian. Email her at bobbierandallrd@gmail.com.


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