Fitness Files: ‘Fun’ fair foods OK once a year

First, I cut off a forkful of the deep-fried Pickled Cheese on a Stick. Enjoyed every chew.

Next mouthful was the Pepsi Doughnut Dog: smoked sausage, onions, peppers on a glazed doughnut. Yum!

I put a corner of fried butter ball in my mouth. Nothing. Needs to be eaten hot.

The Bacon Wrapped Chicken Leg was good but not the flavor blast of the Pepsi Doughnut Dog.

The Reuben, with a pile of pastrami, hamburger patty, sauerkraut, batter-fried pickles, tomato and iceberg lettuce was good.

Chicken in a Waffle on a Stick — better hot off the griddle.

Being invited as “press” to a tasting party at the OC Fair obligated me to try everything. It’s my job as the conscientious Fitness Files writer. I hope they invite me next year.

Pigging out can be fun.

Trudy, a three-hour marathoner, came along as consultant. Together we weigh a bit over 100 pounds. Besides running fast, Trudy is a licensed dietitian. She counsels patients at a respected Orange County hospital.

Perched on the edge of a folding chair, under a sun umbrella, Trudy watched me eat and write notes.

“Did you get the tomato slice?” she asked as I munched the Reuben. Turns out she never eats any meat. “Potato chips are the healthiest thing here,” she said, sampling a tempting basket of homemade chips. After a bite of the S’more Texas Doughnut, Judy added, “Sure glad I had my oat bran this morning.”

“I hate to waste this food,” I said, after sampling. But with the Reuben alone, I left enough meat to feed a family for a week. In line to get my samples, I’d had begged the generous food party exhibitors to cut off a small portion, but they said no can do.

“Will somebody eat the rest of this?” I asked a fair hostess. “No germs. I just cut off a piece.”

Trudy, in her professional dietitian tone, said, “Carrie, better left behind than on your behind.”

At that point, Robin Wachner, director of communications for the fair, whisked us away from the tasting party to walk the fair, pinpointing healthy fair food options.

She turned us over to her communications associate, Bill, a confirmed foodie from a restaurant family. In his other job, Bill runs a busy office with 10 employees who cover social media for 30 restaurants.

“Why are you working here?” I asked.

“I love the fair,” Bill said. “I worked 20 hours the first day. We’re all friends here, there’s camaraderie. We’ll serve 1.5 million people before this is over.”

Bill walked us past an acre of monster turkey legs, glistening on the grill. If the smells don’t get ya, the sights will.

His first stop was Mexi Chix, with its grilled pineapple chicken and shrimp, $13.75 to $14.75.

“One of my go-to places,” he said. “We want people to stay with us all day, so we have a healthy alternative at every stand — 100% heavy food sends people home for a nap.”

Bill turned a corner to Backyard BBQ Village — barbecued chicken, kabobs and coleslaw, $13.95 to $16.95. Trudy and I took note of the slaw. It looked crunchy and refreshing.

“Hey, you can get hummus here,” I showed her.

Fresh Mex sold seafood tacos among other selections: $9 to $15. “That could be my favorite,” Trudy said, “but I wonder about sodium content.”

Chicken Charlies with chicken and steak kabobs came next.

“I eat here a couple times a week,” said Bill. “It’s light but filling on a frantic day.”

Terrie’s Berries fruit stands offered chocolate-covered strawberries and fruit smoothies, but Trudy’s choices were the plain banana ($2) and the basket of cherries and berries for $7.50.

Before Bill bade us bye-bye, he said, “You know, people can pack their own food and water and picnic here. Just no cans or glass bottles.”

Trudy and I thanked Bill, walked over to the piglets and then sat down in the shade.

“What are your overall thoughts about fair food?” I asked Trudy.

She said: “You know, I wouldn’t touch any of the deep-fried stuff, but people come here for the fun foods. It’s OK once a year, but I see too much sickness caused by lifestyle choices: heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer. Most people have the potential for a long, active, healthy life, so go with it. Eat healthy 95% of the time.”

Yeah, I agreed. I had fun sampling forbidden foods, but I wouldn’t eat a whole sausage on a doughnut, a 2-pound Reuben or anything deep-fried.

“So, Trudy, what do you think of the healthy foods available here?

“You could eat here all day and not kill yourself,” Trudy concluded.

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Newport Beach resident CARRIE LUGER SLAYBACK is a marathoner in her 70s who brought home first places in LA Marathons 2013 and 2014 and the Carlsbad Marathon 2015. She lives in Newport Beach.