How to Eat Healthy at a Ballpark

Although healthy eating and going to a baseball game may not be the first things you put together, more and more ballparks are introducing healthier food choices at concession stands. Here's a sampling of what's offered at concession stands at various ballparks around the country and some tips on how to make healthier food choices at the ballpark before, during and after the Seventh Inning Stretch.

Instructions

1

Find out what the concession options are at the ballpark before you go to a game. Ballparks have detailed websites with information about concessions and where to find them so check those out before you go to the ballpark.

2

Recognize that many ballparks are offering healthier choices at concession stands, like Jacobs Field in Cleveland. They offer grilled salmon and chicken breast, among other healthy choices while Petco Park in San Diego offers fish tacos, tuna steak sandwiches and low-fat hot dogs.

3

Educate yourself about not only where to get healthier concessions but also what's in them. At Dodger Stadium the ballpark now offers many healthy food choices including a veggie wrap, a spinach and strawberry salad, hummus with veggie dippers, fruit salad, a turkey wrap, a turkey hot dog and a veggie dog.

4

Choose the healthier option. Although it's tempting to go for the cheeseburger topped with your favorites at the Baltimore Orioles Camden Yards, you may want to reach for the crab cake sandwich instead. The cheeseburger meal at Camden Yards has almost double the calories and has double the fat of the crab cake sandwich sold there. The difference in saturated fat between the two meals is 3.5 grams of saturated fat in the crab cake sandwich versus 21 grams saturated fat in the cheeseburger meal.

5

Calculate those options. Men's Health magazine has reported that a hot dog with sauerkraut, a light beer and a soft pretzel meal at a ballpark is a better choice than a chilidog, a regular beer and nachos. The first meal has 680 calories, 19 g fat and 20 grams of protein compared to 904 calories, 37 g fat and 28 g protein in the chilidog meal.

6

Remember that it is possible to eat healthier at many ballparks these days. Although you want to have fun going out to the ballpark and it's a regular pastime for you, consider your heart and eat healthier at least sometimes when you're at a game.