calories in ballpark food

Stadium Food: What Do You Eat?

April 15, 2015 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

It is the beginning of baseball season, but more importantly – at least in my family – it’s the beginning of hockey playoffs. To call us True Blue New York Rangers fans might be an understatement.

So what do you eat when you go to a game? Many stadiums now offer “gourmet” and “specialty” food – at Madison Square Garden you can buy both sushi and gluten free sandwiches – but from my observation, most fans at sporting events still opt for burgers and dogs, popcorn and peanuts, soda and beer. Every year, especially at ballparks, there seem to be some new “upscale” additions, but from those I’ve heard advertised this year, the size, calories, and price are almost guaranteed to make your clothing a bit more snug and your wallet a bit lighter.

So what do you choose when there are food vendors about every 20 feet hawking dogs, hot pretzels, fried everything, and mega-sized desserts?

Classic Stadium Food – Make Good Choices

If you’ve got a will of iron you could ignore the food and drinks. But, if you don’t — or don’t want to — you can try to minimize the caloric damage without taking away the fun. If you know you’re going to be having a stadium meal, do some thinking and planning. The best choices aren’t always the obvious ones.

Must you have both peanuts and popcorn? Can you make do with a regular hot dog instead of a foot-long? Can you keep it to one or two beers instead of three? Can you choose the small popcorn instead of the jumbo tub? Can you ditch the soda — or maybe the second one — and replace it with water?

It’s all about choices. Here’s some info about 10 foods that most likely will call your name at one time or another:

Hamburger: A plain 6-ounce burger made of food stand beef (they’re not using extra lean – the more fat, the juicier it is) on a bun has about 490 calories. Cheese and other toppings can significantly up the ante.

6-ounce grilled chicken sandwich: 280 calories – not a bad choice. 6 ounces of chicken tenders clock in at 446 calories. Barbecue dipping sauce adds 30 calories a tablespoon.

Hot Dogs: Most sold-out baseball stadiums can sell 16,000 hot dogs a day. A regular hot dog with mustard has about 290 calories — that’s 180 for the 2-ounce dog, 110 for the bun, zilch for regular yellow mustard. Two tablespoons of sauerkraut adds another 5-10 calories and a punch of flavor, 2 tablespoons of ketchup adds 30, and 2 tablespoons of relish another 40. A Nathan’s hot dog racks up 320 calories; a foot-long Hebrew National 510 calories.

Pizza: Stadium pizza is generally larger than a usual slice, about 1/6 of a 16-inch pie (instead of 1/8) making it about 435 calories a slice – don’t forget that toppings add calories.

French Fries and Nachos: A large serving of French fries has about 500 calories. A serving of Hardee’s chili cheese fries has 700 calories and 350 of them come from fat. A 12-ounce serving of super nachos with cheese: (40 chips, 4 ounces of cheese) has about 1,500 calories! Plain French fries look like a caloric bargain by comparison.

Cracker Jack (officially cracker jack, not jacks): candy coated popcorn with some peanuts. A 3.5-ounce stadium size box has 420 calories but also has 7g of protein and 3.5g of fiber.

Cotton Candy: nothing but heated and artificially colored sugar that’s spun into threads with added air. Cotton candy on a stick or wrapped around a paper cone (about an ounce) has around 105 calories; a 2-ounce bag (common size) has 210. A lot of sugar, but not a lot of calories – albeit empty ones.

Peanuts in the Shell: What would a baseball game be without a bag of peanuts? Stadiums can sell as many as 6,000 bags on game days. An 8-ounce bag has 840 calories; a 12-ounce bag has 1,260. Yes, they have some protein and fiber. But wow on the calories.

Soft Pretzel: One large soft pretzel has 483 calories – giant soft pretzels (7-8 ounces) have about 700 calories.

Ice Cream: Your team’s mini-helmet filled with swirly Carvel, 550-590 calories. A Good Humor Chocolate Éclair has 160 calories, 8g fat, 11g sugar; a Fudgsicle Fudge Bar has 100 calories, 2.5g fat, 13g sugars; a Klondike sandwich, 81g has 250 calories, 17g fat, 18g sugars.

Popcorn: At Yankee Stadium a jumbo-sized souvenir bag has 1,484 calories and a souvenir bucket has 2,473 calories. On average, a 3-ounce bag of all brands (plain/ready-to-eat) has 480 calories and 24g fat.

Candy:

Junior Mints, 3-ounce box: 360 calories, 7g fat
Sno Caps, 3.1-ounce box: 300 calories, 15g fat
Milk Duds, 3-ounce box: 370 calories, 12g fat
Raisinets, 3.5-ounce bag: 400 calories, 16g fat
Goobers, 3.5-ounce box: 500 calories, 35g fat
Twizzlers, 6-ounce bag: 570 calories, 4g fat
M&Ms, 5.3-ounce bag: 750 calories, 32g fat
Peanut M&Ms, 5.3-ounce bag: 790 calories, 40g fat
Reese’s Pieces, 8-ounce bag: 1160 calories, 60g fat

Boardwalks and Ballparks: What’s To Eat?

July 2, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Sports stadiums, amusement parks, state fairs and street fairs. What do you usually do at these places – other than watch games and have a blast on the rides? EAT, of course!

Oh, the food! Oh the calories! So how can you be calorie aware when there are food vendors about every 20 feet hawking dogs, ice cream, and fried everything?

There Are Ways And Then There Are Ways

If you’ve got a will of iron you could ignore the food and drinks. But if you’re tempted at every turn, you can try to minimize the damage without taking away the fun. If you know you’re going to be having a stadium or boardwalk meal, do some thinking, planning, and sleuthing. The best choices are not always the obvious ones.

Do you need both peanuts and popcorn? Can you make do with a regular hot dog instead of a foot-long? Can you keep it to one or two beers instead of three? Can you choose the small popcorn instead of the jumbo tub? Can you ditch the soda — or maybe the second one — and replace it with water?

Make Your Best Choice To Save A Few Calories

It’s all about choices. You can enjoy your day and make the best caloric choice (we’re not necessarily talking best nutritional choice) and still enjoy traditional ballpark and amusement park food. Weigh your options – what’s your best choice?

Cotton Candy: Nothing but heated and colored sugar that’s spun into threads with added air. Cotton candy on a stick or wrapped around a paper cone (about an ounce) has around 105 calories; a 2oz. bag (common size) has 210. A lot of sugar, but not a lot of calories – albeit empty ones.

Funnel cake: The fried dough wonder and staple of fairs, boardwalks, and amusement parks, funnel cake is made by pouring dough through a funnel into cooking oil and deep frying the “funnels” of dough until they’re golden-brown and crispy – then topping the pieces with powdered sugar, syrup, or honey. Different cultures have varying versions of fried dough – sometimes it’s long strips and sometimes just round fried balls of dough. The calories vary enormously depending on the quantity and toppings. Just remember, regardless of the shape, they’re all dough fried in oil topped with a sweetener. That means high calories and low nutrition. You probably have to figure a minimum of around 300 calories for a 6 inch funnel cake (do they ever come that small?). Onward and upward from there!

Good Humor Ice Cream: Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bar (83g): 230 calories; Toasted Almond (113g): 240 calories; Candy Center Crunch: 310 calories; Low Fat Ice Cream Sandwich, vanilla: 130 calories

Cracker Jack (officially cracker jack, not jacks): candy-coated popcorn with some peanuts. A 3.5oz stadium size box has 420 calories but it does have 7g of protein and 3.5g of fiber.

Hamburger: 6oz. of food stand beef (they’re not using extra lean – the more fat, the juicier it is) on a bun has about 490 calories — without cheese or other toppings — which up the ante.

Grilled Chicken Sandwich, 6oz.: 280 calories – not a bad choice. 6oz. of chicken tenders clock in at 446 calories. Barbecue dipping sauce adds 30 calories a tablespoon.

Hot Dog: Most sold-out baseball stadiums can sell 16,000 hot dogs a day. A regular hot dog with mustard has about 290 calories: that’s 180 for the 2oz. dog, 110 for the bun, zilch for regular yellow mustard. Two tbs. sauerkraut adds another 5-10 calories and a punch of flavor, 2 tbs. ketchup adds 30, and 2 tbs. relish another 40. A Nathan’s hot dog racks up 320 calories; a foot-long Hebrew National 510 calories. A regular size corn dog has around 280 calories.

Fried Battered Clams: A boardwalk staple. 1 cup (5 large clams or 8 medium clams or 10 small clams) has around 222 calories.

Pizza: Stadium pizza is larger than a usual slice, about 1/6 of a 16-inch pie (instead of 1/8) making it about 435 calories a slice – add calories if you add toppings.

Super Nachos with Cheese: A 12oz. serving (40 chips, 4oz. cheese) has about 1,500 calories!!! Plain French fries look like a caloric bargain by comparison.

French Fries: A large serving has about 500 calories. A serving of Hardee’s chili cheese fries has 700 calories and 350 of them come from fat.

Potato Chips: One single serving bag has 153 calories (94 of them from fat).

Peanuts in the Shell: What would a baseball game be without a bag of peanuts? Stadiums can sell as many as 6,000 bags on game days. An 8oz. bag has 840 calories; a 12oz. bag has 1,260. Yes, they have some protein and fiber. But wow on the calories.

Soft Pretzel: One large soft pretzel has 483 calories – giant soft pretzels (7-8oz.) have about 700 calories.

Draft Beer: A stadium draft beer — 20oz. cup, the usual size –has about 240 calories. A light draft saves you 60 calories.

Coca Cola: A 12oz can has 140 calories –- and close to 10 tsp. of sugar.

Helmet Ice Cream: Your team’s mini-helmet filled with swirly Carvel, 550-590 calories.

Souvenir Popcorn: At Yankee Stadium a jumbo size has 1,484 calories and a souvenir bucket has 2,473 calories.

For more “Fun in the Sun” ideas, check out my new book: 30 Ways to Have Low-Calorie Fun in the Sun: Your Guide to Guilt-Free Eating at Picnics, Amusement Parks, Barbecues & Parties available through Amazon.

Do Ballparks And Amusement Parks Mean Hotdogs, Peanuts, And Cotton Candy?

May 21, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Seriously – you’re not going to a game or to go on rides without having something to eat and drink. That’s part of the fun.

So what do you do with food vendors about every 20 feet hawking dogs, ice cream, and fried everything?

There Are Ways And Then There Are Ways

If you’ve got a will of iron you could ignore the food and drinks. But, if you don’t (and who does all of the time?) you can try to minimize the damage without taking away the fun. If you know you’re going to be having a stadium or boardwalk meal, do some thinking, planning, and sleuthing. The best choices are not always the obvious ones.

Make Your Best Choice To Save A Few Calories

It’s all about choices. Here’s some info to help you make good ones.

Cracker Jack (officially cracker jack, not jacks): candy-coated popcorn with some peanuts. A 3.5oz stadium size box has 420 calories but does have 7g of protein and 3.5g of fiber.

Hamburger: 6oz. of food stand beef (they’re not using extra lean – the more fat, the juicier it is) on a bun has about 490 calories — without cheese or other toppings — which up the ante.

Grilled Chicken Sandwich, 6oz.: 280 calories – not a bad choice. 6oz. of chicken tenders clock in at 446 calories. Barbecue dipping sauce adds 30 calories a tablespoon.

Hot Dog: Most sold-out baseball stadiums can sell 16,000 hot dogs a day. A regular hot dog with mustard has about 290 calories: that’s 180 for the 2oz. dog, 110 for the bun, zilch for regular yellow mustard. Two tbs. sauerkraut adds another 5-10 calories and a punch of flavor, 2 tbs. ketchup adds 30, and 2 tbs. relish another 40. A Nathan’s hot dog racks up 320 calories; a foot-long Hebrew National 510 calories.
Pizza: Stadium pizza is larger than a usual slice, about 1/6 of a 16-inch pie (instead of 1/8) making it about 435 calories a slice – add calories if you add toppings.

Super Nachos with Cheese: A 12oz. serving (40 chips, 4oz. cheese) has about 1,500 calories! Plain French fries look like a caloric bargain by comparison.

French Fries: A large serving has about 500 calories. A serving of Hardee’s chili cheese fries has 700 calories and 350 of them come from fat.

Potato Chips: One single serving bag has 153 calories (94 of them from fat).

Cotton Candy: Nothing but heated and colored sugar that’s spun into threads with added air. Cotton candy on a stick or wrapped around a paper cone (about an ounce) has around 105 calories; a 2oz. bag (common size) has 210. A lot of sugar, but not a lot of calories – albeit empty ones.

Peanuts in the Shell: What would a baseball game be without a bag of peanuts? Stadiums can sell as many as 6,000 bags on game days. An 8oz. bag has 840 calories; a 12oz. bag has 1,260. Yes, they have some protein and fiber. But wow on the calories.

Soft Pretzel: One large soft pretzel has 483 calories – giant soft pretzels (7-8oz.) have about 700 calories.

Draft Beer: A stadium draft beer — 20oz. cup, the usual size –has about 240 calories. A light draft saves you 60 calories.

Coca Cola: A 12oz can has 140 calories –- and close to 10 tsp. of sugar.

Helmet Ice Cream: Your team’s mini-helmet filled with swirly Carvel, 550-590 calories.

Souvenir Popcorn: At Yankee Stadium a jumbo size has 1,484 calories and a souvenir bucket has 2,473 calories.

Peanuts, Cracker Jacks, and Cotton Candy

June 29, 2012 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

It’s summertime. Baseball season is in full swing and so are visits to amusement parks. What do you usually do at these places – other than watch the game and ride the roller coaster? EAT, of course!

Oh, the food! Oh the calories! Trust me — this post isn’t about ignoring the good time food. There are always healthy food options: you can bring your own or be scrupulous in making healthy choices. But honestly, do you think that most people really want to eat low calorie foods when they’re at a ballgame or amusement park? No way.

So what do you do when you’re at these places with food vendors about every 20 feet hawking dogs, ice cream, and beer?

There Are Ways And Then There Are Ways

If you’ve got a will of iron, I guess you could ignore the food and drinks. But if you’re like most people and you’re tempted at every turn, you can try to minimize the damage without taking away the fun. If you know you’re going to be having a stadium or food court meal, do some thinking, planning, and sleuthing. The best choices are not always the obvious ones.

Make Your Best Choice

Here’s some info to help you make your best choice. Just a heads up – we’re not talking about the most nutritious choice because given these foods, quality nutrition is not front and center. You can, however, enjoy your day and make the best caloric choice (with a nod to fat and sugar content) and still enjoy traditional ballpark and amusement park food.

Cotton Candy: Nothing but heated and colored sugar that’s spun into threads with added air. Cotton candy on a stick or wrapped around a paper cone (about an ounce) has around 105 calories; a 2oz. bag (common size) has 210. A lot of sugar, but not a lot of calories – albeit empty ones.

Cracker Jack (officially cracker jack, not jacks): candy-coated popcorn with some peanuts. A 3.5oz stadium size box has 420 calories but does have 7g protein and 3.5g fiber.

Hamburger: 6oz. of beef on a bun has about 490 calories — without cheese or other toppings — which up the ante.

Grilled Chicken Sandwich, 6oz.: 280 calories – not a bad choice. 6oz. of chicken tenders clock in at 446 calories. Barbecue dipping sauce adds 30 calories a tablespoon.

Hot Dog: Most sold-out baseball stadiums can sell 16,000 hot dogs a day. A regular hot dog with mustard has about 290 calories: that’s 180 for the 2oz. dog, 110 for the bun, zilch for regular yellow mustard. Two tbs. sauerkraut adds another 5-10 calories, 2 tbs. ketchup adds 30, and 2 tbs. relish another 40. A Nathan’s hot dog racks up 320 calories; a foot-long Hebrew National 510 calories. Hot dogs are usually loaded with sodium.

Pizza: Stadium pizza is larger than a usual slice, about 1/6 of a 16-inch pie (instead of 1/8) making it about 435 calories a slice.

Super Nachos with Cheese: A 12oz. serving (40 chips, 4oz. cheese) has about 1,500 calories!!! Plain French fries look like a caloric bargain by comparison.

French Fries: A large serving has about 500 calories. A serving of Hardee’s chili cheese fries has 700 calories and 350 of them come from fat.

Potato Chips: One single serving bag has 153 calories (94 of them from fat).

Peanuts in the Shell: What would a baseball game be without a bag of peanuts? Stadiums can sell as many as 6,000 bags on game days. An 8oz. bag has 840 calories; a 12oz. bag has 1,260. Yes, they have some protein and fiber. But wow on the calories.

Soft Pretzel: One large soft pretzel has 483 calories – giant soft pretzels (7-8oz.) have about 700 calories.

Draft Beer: A stadium draft beer, 20oz. cup, the usual size, has about 240 calories. A light draft saves you 60 calories.

Coca Cola: A 12oz can: 140 calories –- and close to 10 tsp. of sugar.

Helmet Ice Cream: Your team’s mini-helmet filled with swirly Carvel, 550-590 calories.

Souvenir Popcorn: At Yankee Stadium a jumbo size has 1,484 calories and a souvenir bucket has 2,473 calories.