topic Re: Fair Food in Community Chat

Fair Food

Suhse — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 00:54:03 GMT

I recently posted about my happy experience,trying a Glazed Doughnut Cheeseburger, at our recent, Pig OUt In The Park Event (Yummy, honest!)

Today, I had to work for awhile this morning. The Dietary Department was closed, but, we had a few stat Dietary consults, and I was on call.

I was talking to a co-worker, before I left, she was asking if I had gone to POINTP, and I said I had and told her what I tried.

She's about my age (41) and told me that she has Never, not even Once, had Any Fair Food. Growing up, she said her Parents didn't allow it. If they went to the fair, they brought their own snacks, or ate before or after. She said part of it was that, it's expensive to take 5 kids and 2 adults and eat, but, mainly, her Parent's felt the food was unhealthy, and since they weren't going to be allowed to eat like that, they thought it was a bad idea to even let them try the stuff??

As an adult, she said she also, never, allowed her one child, a Daughter, who is now 20, to eat Fair Food. One of the Cardiologists, who we were doing a consult for, was in the office chatting, and he said that, he also, was not allowed to eat any of the food at the Fair's.

I had no idea there were so many wi ck ed Parents We didn't get to stuff ourselves, but, we always got a favorite treat or two. It didn't hurt us and I don't think we had ideas that we were going to get Elephant Ears and Corn Dogs for dinner, at home. We knew it was a fun, special event.

Isn't eating, part of the fun of going to the Fair? Does anybody really develop bad eating habits, by muching on a Caramel Apple once a year??

Helping people learn to manage their diets and learn healthy eating, is my career, but, it's not an obsession. I truly believe that balance and moderation, work well for most healthy people.

So, has anybody never had the joy of decadently bad Fair Food? And let's be honest, would the Broccoli Booth be nearly as much fun?

Re: Fair Food

deepwaterdotter — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 01:04:45 GMT

They serve ""decadently"" tasty cream puffs at the Wisconsin State Fair. I last had one when I was 14 years old (the Stone Ages).

Re: Fair Food

gazelle77 — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 01:06:40 GMT

I do think it depends on your generations...I was born in 1955... There were no food restrictions growing up. Most people just ATE and enjoyed food. Food was not good or bad. But over the years things have changed. Probably for the better.....but not as much fun! I have many wonderful memories of fair food, especially the Seattle worlds fair in 1963... The food court and the yummy strawberry covered thick waffles smothered in whipped cream ....OMG!

Re: Fair Food

biancardi — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 01:07:02 GMT

a corn dog, apple fritter, fried dough - sure. good to have.

but I would draw the line at deep fried butter or some of the newer creations. Those are just plain silly

and since Americans, both adults and children, are obese, they are not eating very healthy to begin with and fair food today surely doesn't help - because you can make that fair food at home now.

Re: Fair Food

tansy — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 01:07:48 GMT

Elephant ears and freshly pulled taffy for me. I haven't been to the big state fair in a number of years though.

Re: Fair Food

FrostyBabe — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 01:15:08 GMT

On the very few occasions that we went to a fair, carnival, the movies, or an amusement park as a kid, we were not allowed to eat the food there. We either ate before, after or had a lunch packed for us to take along.

Re: Fair Food

NoelSeven — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 01:21:39 GMT

The Gilroy Garlic Festival serves a lot of treats with garlic. I did share a small glass of garlic wine with DH years ago. Blech

Re: Fair Food

kittymomNC — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 01:25:32 GMT

Nothing made at home ever tastes like real Fair food to me. I've lived here in NC for the last 40 years, and when my son was young, we always went to the NC State Fair. Even after he was a teenager and went with friends, I went with my friends just so we could eat our way through the whole thing! It was a treat, because we certainly didn't eat those things on a regular basis - my favorites were hot dogs or sausages with peppers and onions, french fries, corn dogs, and fried dough or funnel cakes. Yum - my mouth waters just thinking about it!

Re: Fair Food

Suhse — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 01:25:59 GMT

On 9/1/2014 deepwaterdotter said:
They serve "decadently" tasty cream puffs at the Wisconsin State Fair. I last had one when I was 14 years old (the Stone Ages).

Last year, at one of our Christmas events, one of the Cardio Thorasic surgeons, and his wife, who is an RN, at large Cancer clinic, brought in cream puffs, that they love to make. Beyond Delicous!!

I'm pretty sure that they limit their cream puff eating, they're both about the size of string, BUT, they've got them down to such an art, there has to have been a fair amount of practice!

Re: Fair Food

september — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 01:33:21 GMT

I agree, it's fun to go to a fair, and try some new foods, most of them, things I wouldn't normally eat. I first started doing this with my girl pals in my early twenties. We were all between 100 and 110 pounds in weight, but would look forward to these splurges. Today? The ones I still keep I touch with (and myself)... We might not be that teeny anymore, but we're all still thin and fit people. It's all about balance. We know we can't eat that way every day.

Re: Fair Food

RedTop — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 02:24:50 GMT

During the 60's when we went to local carnivals, Ithe only food I remember was hot dogs, popcorn, and candy apples. We always left with popcorn and an apple. I was in high school before I heard about the state fair, and married before I ever attended. Forget popcorn and candy apples, now I want a funnel cake, a ribeye sandwich, roasted corn, and a deep fried Snickers bar! My girls knew they had to eat real food before they could choose their special treats. Funnel cakes with extra powdered sugar is their favorite fair food.

Re: Fair Food

Sister Golden Hair — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 04:11:14 GMT

A huge corndog, homemade root beer and a funnel cake, then I'm happy.

Re: Fair Food

Marienkaefer2 — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 04:20:27 GMT

I don't eat fair food anymore (most is too greasy or heavy for my stomach), but I used to LOVE: cotton candy (it had to be pink), bright red candy apples, corn dogs, and at the Oktoberfest I liked the HUGE squares of gingerbread with real whipped cream! My parents let us eat that stuff at the fair. At home, we got kale.

Re: Fair Food

Luv2Decorate — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 11:24:21 GMT

We didn't have CarniFood when we were kids, I never thought a thing of it. My parents would get us popcorn and we were happy. I think it was probably too expensive. But they would let us ride the rides, all day for $2.00. I guess we probably didn't want to eat after doing the tilt-a-whirl. octopus, and zipper over and over again.

At our local Festival every year, they get fabulous vendors come in. Several are restaurants with food trailers. One is a greek restaurant that has the best souviaki and gyros or greek salads.

Re: Fair Food

brii — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 11:31:34 GMT

We went to a food truck fair last weekend. It wasn't junk food - lobster rolls, BBQ, and other tasty choices

Re: Fair Food

shesallthat — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 11:42:01 GMT

our state fair is every october. i have not been since my oldest son was around 5. i have no use for it. i did not eat any of the food except for some cotton candy that he liked. now if you want some you don't have to wait until once a year - there are places in the mall that make it year round!

Re: Fair Food

Deb1010again — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 11:45:10 GMT

On 9/1/2014 kittymomNC said:
Nothing made at home ever tastes like real Fair food to me. I've lived here in NC for the last 40 years, and when my son was young, we always went to the NC State Fair. Even after he was a teenager and went with friends, I went with my friends just so we could eat our way through the whole thing! It was a treat, because we certainly didn't eat those things on a regular basis - my favorites were hot dogs or sausages with peppers and onions, french fries, corn dogs, and fried dough or funnel cakes. Yum - my mouth waters just thinking about it!

We ate the same things! I LOVED the sausage and peppers, french fries and fried dough the MOST!

Re: Fair Food

heartkeeper — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 13:32:18 GMT

I just went to a fair last Saturday. I had a vegetable platter and New England clam chowder. Not everything has to be deep-fried Oreos.

Re: Fair Food

spud188 — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 13:43:40 GMT

OP have you had one of those waffles at Riverfront Park?? OMG!!

Re: Fair Food

Yazova — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 13:53:25 GMT

Eating it once in a blue moon is not going to kill you. I had a deep fried turkey leg the other day along with a funnel cake and I'm not dead yet.