Eating healthy and cheap at a ballpark near you

There is no reason why organic strawberries, such as the ones found in the Ferry Building Farmers Market in San Francisco, couldn't be a a nice snack at the ballpark.

When the song you sing in the middle of the 7th inning involves peanuts and Cracker Jack, and a saying associates the sport with hot dogs and apple pie, you know that going to baseball games can lead to bad food decisions.

There isn't any reason to think baseball games lead to worse food management than football, hockey, or basketball games. But the pace of baseball games lend themselves to munching. Strategy, contemplating, stepping in and out of the batters box — this are snacking moments.

So how do you manage your stomach better than the manager runs the bullpen?

Day games are harder to manage since they usually happen around lunchtime. You can usually eat dinner before the night games, though that usually means in a restaurant.

On a recent trip to the Bay Area, I tried out two new ballparks on my list: Oakland Coliseum in Oakland and AT&T Park in San Francisco. In Oakland, I went with the value section and got a $12 ticket where I could save $6 off the food purchases.

Unfortunately, I were therefore limited in what to buy. I went with a pulled pork sandwich and nachos, not the healthiest choices. Interestingly, I picked off the pork from my sandwich and ate that along with the nachos, hoping I didn't need the bread to survive the night. I later ate the bread, nullifying the strategy, but by postponing the bread, I likely held off a later eating trip.

In a conversation with an Oakland usher, I was told to try the crab sandwich and garlic fries in San Francisco. I knew the garlic fries would be on my list, and so I made adjustments in my eating earlier that day.

I thought the sandwich was grilled crab — it was more of a crab salad, and the sandwich had a tomato slice contained within garlic sourdough bread. The crab salad dripped a bit, would have better off with actual grilled crab. But a sandwich that isn't fried or filled with processed meats is a good sign. The sourdough bread seems to last longer in my stomach and is much tastier. And there were decent tomato slices.

One drawback: the sandwich is $15, more than I would normally pay for any ballpark fare.

The garlic fries were wonderful, and for a day game, this might have been enough to keep me going. And you do get healthy garlic and parsley.

Closer to home, I took in two ballgames at parks I am more familiar with: Chicago's Wrigley Field and U.S. Cellular Field (Comiskey Park).

For the Cubs game, I did eat before and after the game. This is much easier to do when you're home. Wrigley Field, like most parks, is friendly to people bringing in food. And Wrigley Field has plenty of nearby places to get food — not every park has that luxury. Oakland sure didn't.

The White Sox affair was also a day game, this past Sunday. I ate a early lunch, but I knew the amount wouldn't be enough, especially since White Sox games often go past the 3 hour mark, and it takes around an hour to get there and an another hour to come back.

So I wanted to pack strategically. Snack bags come in more useful, even if they seem more wasteful than plastic containers. Ballparks frown upon things they see as potential weapons, no matter how harmless they might appear.

I went with a 3-prong attack: sesame honey almonds, cut up apples, and thin pretzels. I realize after I left the house that I could have gone with a 4-prong setup and included cut up green pepper strips.

I wanted munching things that proved reasonably healthy — people around you are munching and you want to be in a similar step while eating better than your seatmates.

On the way to the park, I made one potential concession. I thought about getting a "cheese" cup for dipping the pretzels. Sometimes, you can get an extra cup of nacho "cheese" for about $1. I could easily have eaten the pretzels plain, but thought it might be worth the money.

Once I was there, I looked for an opportunity to get the extra "cheese" but I didn't see a convenient way to get it. But as I strolled the concourse, the solution hit me: mustard. When you buy your hot dogs, you get a variety of condiment choices. Every ballpark has good ol' yellow mustard: not bad for you and, in this case, "free."*

_{* -- I paid $31 for a seat way far up. I paid extra because it was a prime game, as defined as a weekend game in May. In that sense, I paid for the mustard and more.}

The most extreme variety of condiments I saw was in San Francisco, where you could get — all from Heinz — ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, honey mustard, barbecue sauce, and ranch dressing. The best is the Secret Stadium Sauce and a good brown mustard, both in Milwaukee.

Going to the ballpark can be an occasional treat. Given the huge price for tickets, parking, souvenirs, you don't always want to add to the cost with tons of food. Most parks will let you bring a sealed bottle of water, a better value for your stomach and your wallet than what you would get inside the ballpark.

If you have to indulge in a hot dog or nachos, so be it. But bring along healthy snacks to supplement. Give you the good and the bad, instead of just the bad.

At the end of the game, the most important totals are usually who won and who lost, not what you ate or how much you ate. Three months later, you might recall details of the game you saw, but you likely aren't going to remember what you ate. Well, unless it was a crab sandwich. Seriously, if you aren't going to remember what you ate, why eat it in the first place?

Comments

[v online]

breakfast truly is the best. It may be crazy, but as much as I adore all things bready and eggy, I also really love leftover pahd thai for breakfast!

[Free Diet]

Great Blog! Keep up the good work. I always bring fruits and veggie snacks along to ball games when I go with my husband. I can't always stop him from going out and buying a hot dog but at least I can still get him to snack on some healthy snacks as well.