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It's OK to have that funnel cake, sort of

Sure, it's fattening. But it's so good.

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HOW MANY CALORIES?
Roasted corn (hold the butter): 200 calories
Plain, regular-sized hot dog: 215 calories
Frozen chocolate-covered banana: 250 calories
16-ounce slushy: 250 to 260 calories
12-ounce soft frozen lemonade: 300 calories
7-ounce candied apple (a medium sized apple): 350 calories
Plain, foot-long hot dog: 550 calories
5.5-ounces cotton candy: 625 calories
7.5-inch gyro: 750 calories
Plain funnel cake: 750 calories
Funnel cake with a sprinkling of cinnamon and sugar: 780 calories
Funnel cake with apples or strawberries: 850 calories
Smoked turkey leg: 1,100 calories
Blooming onion with dressing: 2,200 calories
All calorie counts are estimates

By Ragan Robinson | Hickory Daily Record

Published: October 9, 2008

Hickory - You don't have to feel guilty about that funnel cake, at least not if you approach that and the other festival food the right way.

Holley Dagenhardt, a registered dietitian who works in Hickory, never tells her clients they can't have certain foods, even those with the most calories. You only need to be mindful of how many you're consuming.

And the trick to avoiding too many calories in the food court: Share, usually with more than one friend.
"The first few bites are always the most memorable," Dagenhardt says. "You can get the taste of that funnel cake, reminisce about the times you had one as a kid and then be done with it."

One thing Dagenhardt does warn against: liquid calories.

"They go down so easily and so fast," she says. If you are going to use a big portion of your calorie salary on that frozen lemonade, you ought to sit down and savor the taste instead of sipping while you wander around the festival.

Better yet, look for sugar-free options. Dagenhardt saw some at Oktoberfest last year.

And there should be plenty of calorie-free, equally refreshing bottled water.

Another tasty offering that satisfies the sweet tooth but won't lay waste to your waistline: The frozen chocolate covered banana. The Oktoberfest food vendor list provided by the Downtown Development Association doesn't include those but they have a way of popping up at most festivals and fairs.
A few of the high-calorie options at the festival don't have to be.

Remove the skin on that 1,100-calorie turkey leg.

If you get a gyro, ask for the sauce on the side and dip your sandwich.

Even the highest calorie fare at Oktoberfest won't mean major weight gain if you aren't eating it regularly.

"Look for things that you really enjoy and you maybe get once a year," Dagenhardt says. "That's OK, just as long as you're not indulging in something every week that you only get once a year."