Stephanie's Away...Time to Be Bad

Stephanie's out of town. She's up in Rhode Island visiting her dad and family for the 4th. So, it's time for me to be bad.

And how am I choosing to be bad? Consumtion of some of my favorite fair foods.

Start the drooling...




Let's start with the oh-so-good funnel cake. This sweet snack is essentially deep-fried dough, and it's hard to argue that there is anything nutritionally worthwhile in fried dough. It's a delicious combination of highly processed white flour, sugar, and saturated fat. Doesn't that sound good? It's 760 calories, 44 grams of fat, and 16 grams of sugar. That's why it's so good!



Next up, let's try the nachos. The cheesy, crunchy, spicy combination is a perfect taste. And I don't like to share any of my 861 calories, 59 grams of fat or whopping 1,811 milligrams of sodium. I like to eat it all by myself.



Moving on. I've got to have some chili cheese fries. Like the nachos, it's the delicous sodium that's the criminal element. 1,540 milligrams of tangy sodium to be exact. More than half my daily "recommendation" according to the surgeon general. Add the 745 calories and 45 grams of fat and it's a good meal. The potatoes are deep fried, the cheese is highly processed, and the chili is not made from the leanest meats.



Then, corn dogs. The hot dog is full of fat and more yummy sodium (and generally not made from the most choice cuts of meat). Coated in refined corn flour and deep fried. The combo is a tasty 375 calories, 21 grams of fat, and 1,170 milligrams of sodium. I'll have to remember not to eat the stick as I scarf it down!



The finale. The turkey leg. Weighing in at over a pound, the oversized drumstick packs more than a meal's worth of fat and calories. Not only is it massive, it's also the dark meat which is oiliest and highest in delicious fat. Plus the skin for additional fat and calories. One leg, 1,136 calories and 54 grams of fat. Yummy!

I got most of this information from Sally Wadkya of MSN Health & Fitness. For some reason, she decided to add some information on better-for-you alternatives for fair food, including cotton candy (no fat, few calories), pizza (high in unhealthy, but with bonus of nutritional value), candy apples (fiber and nutrient rich apple middle), corn on the cob (low calories and fat, high fiber), and kabobs (generally a healthier part of the chicken or cow).

Maybe I should look into those options. Just as soon as I clean up my keyboard from all the grease that oozed through the plate holding my chili cheese fries.