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Enjoying Fair Food While Watching Your Diet

How to eat those wonderful fair foods while staying on your diet!

Nashville, Ark. – What could be better than a night at the county fair, checking out the exhibits, watching a livestock show, or enjoying a delicious meal from the kitchen? Can it get any better? Fair season is upon us. The Howard County Fair officially starts Monday with livestock entries. The exhibit hall will open on Tuesday, September 5 with home arts entries being accepted.

 At each fair, food is as much a part of the fair as the exhibits, rides and livestock shows. But all the fair food we enjoy this time of the year can add extra calories. Can you enjoy fair foods and still not gain weight? It depends on what you eat and how much you eat.

On average, you have to walk about 1 mile to burn 100 calories. Most walking trails around the county are laid out for you to easily get a mile in. At Dogwood Pavilion trail, at the city park, two times around the trail equals one mile. Or, if you prefer to go by time, at a 3-mph pace, it’ll take you 20 minutes to go a mile. Walking at 4 mph, it’ll take 15 minutes to go a mile.

Here is a list of favorite fair foods and the distance needed to walk to burn off the calories.

  • Caramel apple – 3 miles
  • Corn dog, large – 4.5 miles
  • Cotton candy – 1.5 miles
  • Fried candy bar on a stick – 4.5 miles
  • Funnel cake, 6-inch diameter – 3 miles
  • Soft drink, 32 oz. – 2.5 miles
  • Sno-cone – 2.5 miles
  • Soft pretzel – 3 miles

Wow! Before you stuff your picnic basket with carrots and celery sticks and head to the fair, consider this: With a little planning, it’s possible to fit in many favorite fair foods in an overall healthy diet.

  • Start by ordering the small drink instead of the larger sizes. Better yet, buy water to drink at zero calories and spend your fair-day calories on something else.
  • Split fair foods among several people. For example, share a large funnel cake with friends.
  • Limit yourself to your favorite fair foods. Choose reasonable serving sizes of lower sugar and lower fat items. They are possible. Instead of the double meat, double cheese cheeseburger; order the single meat, single cheese version.
  • Plan times to eat, rather than grazing your way from one end of the fair to the other. Mindless eating is eating without paying attention. Before you know it, that whole bag of chips is gone!
  • Wear comfortable shoes. You are more likely to walk further if your shoes are comfortable. Consider tracking your steps to see how far you walk. There are free apps available or wear a pedometer. One-mile equals about 2,000 steps.

Finally, if you do overindulge, try to eat healthier the next day. Going overboard one day will not necessarily ruin your diet. It’s when we go overboard several days in a row. So go ahead and enjoy some of your favorite foods at the fair, just don’t over do it!

Need some help getting started with a walking plan?

Consider forming a team and joining the Fall Walk Across Arkansas starting September 11 and going through November 5. This eight-week program encourages participants to get out and exercise! To join, you just need to form a team of 2 to 10 people, register your team and members https://walk.uada.edu/walk/ and start walking. Registration is open now.

Throughout the 8 weeks, members will log the time they exercise each day. This can be done by the team captain or members on a weekly basis. While walking is the preferred method of exercise, many other types of exercise can be counted, including housework, gardening, etc. The goal is to get up and get moving!

Members will receive encouragement throughout the program through online newsletters, which are full of tips and tricks to keep you on track plus nutrition information. And the best thing is it is free to join!

If you would like more information on healthy eating, Walk Across Arkansas, or other exercise programs offered through the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, contact the Howard County Extension Office at 870-845-7517 or visit our office located on the second floor of the courthouse.

Recipe of the Week

This recipe was a favorite for years at the EHC kitchen at the Howard County Fair. It was shared by Garland County EHC. This recipe makes a lot. You might consider reducing the amount of ingredients by cutting it in half or only make a ¼ of the recipe.

  • 7 ½ cups self-rising flour

  • 1 Tablespoon ginger

  • 1 Tablespoon nutmeg

  • 2 cups sugar

  • 2 Tablespoons cinnamon

  • ½ cup powdered milk

  • 4 eggs

  • ½ cup canola oil

  • 2 cups water

  1.  Combine all dry ingredients and store in an airtight container in a cool place.
  2. To use the mix beat together eggs, canola oil, and water.

     

  3. Add dry ingredients. Beat until smooth.

  4. Drop by rounded tablespoons in deep fat, preheated to 375°F.

  5. Drain on paper towel.

    Note: Final product will be small bite sized round donuts

 

By Jean Ince
County Extension Agent - Staff Chair
The Cooperative Extension Service
U of A System Division of Agriculture

Media Contact: Jean Ince
County Extension Agent - Staff Chair
U of A Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
421 N. Main St, Nashville AR 71852
(870) 845-7517
jince@uada.edu

 

The Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service is an equal opportunity/equal access/affirmative action institution. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate or need materials in another format, please contact your County Extension office (or other appropriate office) as soon as possible. Dial 711 for Arkansas Relay.

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

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