Healthy food choices available at fair; not all take part

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Article Launched: 07/03/2008 04:38:18 PM PDT

 

 

 

 

Click photo to enlarge

 

 

A vegan tamale plate, held at left by Karen Culver of Novato, is among the... (IJ photo/Alan Dep)

 

 

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Low-carb teriyaki chicken bowls. Low-sugar strawberry lemonade. Fresh fruit cup and low-fat mozzarella cheese plates. Broiled chicken with seasoned, saltless green beans. They're a far cry from cotton candy, corn dogs and deep-fried funnel cakes, but fat-free, healthy choices are on the menu at the 2008 Marin County Fair, billed as the "The Greenest County Fair on Earth.Last year we encouraged our food concessionaires to offer healthy choices; this year we required it," said fair chief Jim Farley. "Our goal is to give fair guests choices. We're the only fair in the U.S. to do this." Whether it's a full-time fair circuit vendor such as San Francisco-based Pon's Chinese Food, or Pepe's Mariscos of Fresno serving low-fat tilapia tacos for $3 each, or the snack stands and food booths, all 33 fair food vendors must offer at least one healthy choice. White signs outside each food kiosk indicate the healthy dish or dishes, depending on how enthusiastically each concessionaire adopted the new mandate. "It's a good idea," said Jimmy Pon, an owner of Pon's Chinese. Their chicken teriyaki recipe was adjusted this year to be lower in calories. Egg roll on a stick is also listed as a healthy choice because it's stuffed with vegetables and fried in a trans-fat-free oil. "Fair guests are going with it. We're seeing more sales of these dishes," Pon said. "We're also doing a lot of recycling this year. We're recycling the oil. We have separate bins for vegetable waste for composting, bottles and cans."

In addition, vendors are being required to serve their foods with biodegradable plates, utensils, even dissolvable straws based on sugar cane. Some are finding this a greater challenge than providing a healthy food choice. "We've been working toward a completely sustainable booth for years, but this is the first year we've been biodegradable," says Michelle Conkle, one of three owners of Coral Reef Waikiki that sells organic fruit smoothies, fair trade coffee drinks, natural ice creams and more. "At this point in time it's not that readily available to get the biodegradable plates and straws. It took us six months to get sources." Marin Artists International Network has operated a vegan-oriented booth at the fair for 20 years, with at least six healthy, organic choices as well as natural sodas and healthy beverages. "We were ahead of our time when we started," says the booth's volunteer coordinator, Jonah Nickolds. "There wasn't any healthy fair initiative at that time." Karen Culver of Novato ordered Marin Artists' vegan tamale plate with an organic salad and chips for $7. It was the first vegan tamale she'd ever had. She was inspired to order it after reading about the fair's new food program. "I'm excited to see this. It's really nice to have this option," she said. For Kathleen McDonough of San Francisco, whose sons Michael and Colman McDonough insisted on butter-flavored oil for their otherwise fat-free grilled ears of bi-colored corn at $3.50 each from Corn Roasters West, the new program opened up options. "I normally don't eat at the fair," she said. "With all the choices this year, maybe I finally will." Not everyone wants to give up traditional fair indulgences such as funnel cakes. Though the Pennsylvania Dutch Funnel Cake booth was planning to offer three-inch versions of its eight-inch-round inch-thick fried-to-order hot pastries, owners Albert Valadez and Steven Avila gave that idea up right away. "The new mandate to be healthy is excellent," said Valadez. "But people come to the fair to enjoy rich, fatty foods. We've done 27 shows in the last seven months and people they tell us they want the big ones, not the little ones," he said. Big ones sell for $6.50 a pop. "We're offering a fruit and low-fat mozzarella plate this year. On Wednesday we sold one of them. We sold 800 funnel cakes." Leslie Harlib can be reached at lharlib

 

Peter vv

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i'll hold a room open for yuo peter when you want to move to the Bay Area

heh heh

Peter VV Jul 5, 2008 8:45 AM Re: Healthy food choices available at fair; not all take part

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Article Launched: 07/03/2008 04:38:18 PM PDT

 

 

 

Click photo to enlarge

 

 

A vegan tamale plate, held at left by Karen Culver of Novato, is among the... (IJ photo/Alan Dep)

 

 

« 1 2 3 »Low-carb teriyaki chicken bowls. Low-sugar strawberry lemonade. Fresh fruit cup and low-fat mozzarella cheese plates. Broiled chicken with seasoned, saltless green beans. They're a far cry from cotton candy, corn dogs and deep-fried funnel cakes, but fat-free, healthy choices are on the menu at the 2008 Marin County Fair, billed as the "The Greenest County Fair on Earth.Last year we encouraged our food concessionaires to offer healthy choices; this year we required it," said fair chief Jim Farley. "Our goal is to give fair guests choices. We're the only fair in the U.S. to do this." Whether it's a full-time fair circuit vendor such as San Francisco-based Pon's Chinese Food, or Pepe's Mariscos of Fresno serving low-fat tilapia tacos for $3 each, or the snack stands and food booths, all 33 fair food vendors must offer at least one healthy choice. White signs outside each food kiosk indicate the healthy dish or dishes, depending on how enthusiastically each concessionaire adopted the new mandate. "It's a good idea," said Jimmy Pon, an owner of Pon's Chinese. Their chicken teriyaki recipe was adjusted this year to be lower in calories. Egg roll on a stick is also listed as a healthy choice because it's stuffed with vegetables and fried in a trans-fat-free oil. "Fair guests are going with it. We're seeing more sales of these dishes," Pon said. "We're also doing a lot of recycling this year. We're recycling the oil. We have separate bins for vegetable waste for composting, bottles and cans."

In addition, vendors are being required to serve their foods with biodegradable plates, utensils, even dissolvable straws based on sugar cane. Some are finding this a greater challenge than providing a healthy food choice. "We've been working toward a completely sustainable booth for years, but this is the first year we've been biodegradable," says Michelle Conkle, one of three owners of Coral Reef Waikiki that sells organic fruit smoothies, fair trade coffee drinks, natural ice creams and more. "At this point in time it's not that readily available to get the biodegradable plates and straws. It took us six months to get sources." Marin Artists International Network has operated a vegan-oriented booth at the fair for 20 years, with at least six healthy, organic choices as well as natural sodas and healthy beverages. "We were ahead of our time when we started," says the booth's volunteer coordinator, Jonah Nickolds. "There wasn't any healthy fair initiative at that time." Karen Culver of Novato ordered Marin Artists' vegan tamale plate with an organic salad and chips for $7. It was the first vegan tamale she'd ever had. She was inspired to order it after reading about the fair's new food program. "I'm excited to see this. It's really nice to have this option," she said. For Kathleen McDonough of San Francisco, whose sons Michael and Colman McDonough insisted on butter-flavored oil for their otherwise fat-free grilled ears of bi-colored corn at $3.50 each from Corn Roasters West, the new program opened up options. "I normally don't eat at the fair," she said. "With all the choices this year, maybe I finally will." Not everyone wants to give up traditional fair indulgences such as funnel cakes. Though the Pennsylvania Dutch Funnel Cake booth was planning to offer three-inch versions of its eight-inch-round inch-thick fried-to-order hot pastries, owners Albert Valadez and Steven Avila gave that idea up right away. "The new mandate to be healthy is excellent," said Valadez. "But people come to the fair to enjoy rich, fatty foods. We've done 27 shows in the last seven months and people they tell us they want the big ones, not the little ones," he said. Big ones sell for $6.50 a pop. "We're offering a fruit and low-fat mozzarella plate this year. On Wednesday we sold one of them. We sold 800 funnel cakes." Leslie Harlib can be reached at lharlib (AT) marinij (DOT) com

 

Peter vv

 

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on my way, just make sure you have a brew on the go...........

 

 

 

Peter vv

 

fraggle <EBbrewpunx Sent: Saturday, 5 July, 2008 4:48:18 PMRe: Healthy food choices available at fair; not all take part

 

 

i'll hold a room open for yuo peter when you want to move to the Bay Area

heh heh

Peter VV Jul 5, 2008 8:45 AM @gro ups.com Re: Healthy food choices available at fair; not all take part

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Article Launched: 07/03/2008 04:38:18 PM PDT

 

 

 

Click photo to enlarge

 

 

A vegan tamale plate, held at left by Karen Culver of Novato, is among the... (IJ photo/Alan Dep)

 

 

« 1 2 3 »Low-carb teriyaki chicken bowls. Low-sugar strawberry lemonade. Fresh fruit cup and low-fat mozzarella cheese plates. Broiled chicken with seasoned, saltless green beans. They're a far cry from cotton candy, corn dogs and deep-fried funnel cakes, but fat-free, healthy choices are on the menu at the 2008 Marin County Fair, billed as the "The Greenest County Fair on Earth.Last year we encouraged our food concessionaires to offer healthy choices; this year we required it," said fair chief Jim Farley. "Our goal is to give fair guests choices. We're the only fair in the U.S. to do this." Whether it's a full-time fair circuit vendor such as San Francisco-based Pon's Chinese Food, or Pepe's Mariscos of Fresno serving low-fat tilapia tacos for $3 each, or the snack stands and food booths, all 33 fair food vendors must offer at least one healthy choice. White signs outside each food kiosk indicate the healthy dish or dishes, depending on how enthusiastically each concessionaire adopted the new mandate. "It's a good idea," said Jimmy Pon, an owner of Pon's Chinese. Their chicken teriyaki recipe was adjusted this year to be lower in calories. Egg roll on a stick is also listed as a healthy choice because it's stuffed with vegetables and fried in a trans-fat-free oil. "Fair guests are going with it. We're seeing more sales of these dishes," Pon said. "We're also doing a lot of recycling this year. We're recycling the oil. We have separate bins for vegetable waste for composting, bottles and cans."

In addition, vendors are being required to serve their foods with biodegradable plates, utensils, even dissolvable straws based on sugar cane. Some are finding this a greater challenge than providing a healthy food choice. "We've been working toward a completely sustainable booth for years, but this is the first year we've been biodegradable, " says Michelle Conkle, one of three owners of Coral Reef Waikiki that sells organic fruit smoothies, fair trade coffee drinks, natural ice creams and more. "At this point in time it's not that readily available to get the biodegradable plates and straws. It took us six months to get sources." Marin Artists International Network has operated a vegan-oriented booth at the fair for 20 years, with at least six healthy, organic choices as well as natural sodas and healthy beverages. "We were ahead of our time when we started," says the booth's volunteer coordinator, Jonah Nickolds. "There wasn't any healthy fair initiative at that time." Karen Culver of Novato ordered Marin Artists' vegan tamale plate with an organic salad and chips for $7. It was the first vegan tamale she'd ever had. She was inspired to order it after reading about the fair's new food program. "I'm excited to see this. It's really nice to have this option," she said. For Kathleen McDonough of San Francisco, whose sons Michael and Colman McDonough insisted on butter-flavored oil for their otherwise fat-free grilled ears of bi-colored corn at $3.50 each from Corn Roasters West, the new program opened up options. "I normally don't eat at the fair," she said. "With all the choices this year, maybe I finally will." Not everyone wants to give up traditional fair indulgences such as funnel cakes. Though the Pennsylvania Dutch Funnel Cake booth was planning to offer three-inch versions of its eight-inch-round inch-thick fried-to-order hot pastries, owners Albert Valadez and Steven Avila gave that idea up right away. "The new mandate to be healthy is excellent," said Valadez. "But people come to the fair to enjoy rich, fatty foods. We've done 27 shows in the last seven months and people they tell us they want the big ones, not the little ones," he said. Big ones sell for $6.50 a pop. "We're offering a fruit and low-fat mozzarella plate this year. On Wednesday we sold one of them. We sold 800 funnel cakes." Leslie Harlib can be reached at lharlib (AT) marinij (DOT) com

 

Peter vv

 

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[Guest guest]

i'll make sure i tap my Huckleberry Belgian ale when you get here

speaking of marin, after hiking around yesterday, went to Marin brewing and had a yummy dopple weizen and a belgian ale...

nuthin like hiking around all day, then sitting down fer a nice beer or two..or three..or four..or...

then had a few ppl over the house...BBQed mushrooms, and a bunch of vegan sausages, pineapple, asparagus, etc.

then watched oakland explode for a couple hours...

Peter VV Jul 5, 2008 8:51 AM Re: Healthy food choices available at fair; not all take part

 

 

 

 

on my way, just make sure you have a brew on the go...........

 

 

Peter vv

 

fraggle <EBbrewpunx (AT) earthlink (DOT) net> Sent: Saturday, 5 July, 2008 4:48:18 PMRe: Healthy food choices available at fair; not all take part

 

 

i'll hold a room open for yuo peter when you want to move to the Bay Area

heh heh

Peter VV Jul 5, 2008 8:45 AM @gro ups.com Re: Healthy food choices available at fair; not all take part

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Article Launched: 07/03/2008 04:38:18 PM PDT

 

 

 

Click photo to enlarge

 

 

A vegan tamale plate, held at left by Karen Culver of Novato, is among the... (IJ photo/Alan Dep)

 

 

« 1 2 3 »Low-carb teriyaki chicken bowls. Low-sugar strawberry lemonade. Fresh fruit cup and low-fat mozzarella cheese plates. Broiled chicken with seasoned, saltless green beans. They're a far cry from cotton candy, corn dogs and deep-fried funnel cakes, but fat-free, healthy choices are on the menu at the 2008 Marin County Fair, billed as the "The Greenest County Fair on Earth.Last year we encouraged our food concessionaires to offer healthy choices; this year we required it," said fair chief Jim Farley. "Our goal is to give fair guests choices. We're the only fair in the U.S. to do this." Whether it's a full-time fair circuit vendor such as San Francisco-based Pon's Chinese Food, or Pepe's Mariscos of Fresno serving low-fat tilapia tacos for $3 each, or the snack stands and food booths, all 33 fair food vendors must offer at least one healthy choice. White signs outside each food kiosk indicate the healthy dish or dishes, depending on how enthusiastically each concessionaire adopted the new mandate. "It's a good idea," said Jimmy Pon, an owner of Pon's Chinese. Their chicken teriyaki recipe was adjusted this year to be lower in calories. Egg roll on a stick is also listed as a healthy choice because it's stuffed with vegetables and fried in a trans-fat-free oil. "Fair guests are going with it. We're seeing more sales of these dishes," Pon said. "We're also doing a lot of recycling this year. We're recycling the oil. We have separate bins for vegetable waste for composting, bottles and cans."

In addition, vendors are being required to serve their foods with biodegradable plates, utensils, even dissolvable straws based on sugar cane. Some are finding this a greater challenge than providing a healthy food choice. "We've been working toward a completely sustainable booth for years, but this is the first year we've been biodegradable, " says Michelle Conkle, one of three owners of Coral Reef Waikiki that sells organic fruit smoothies, fair trade coffee drinks, natural ice creams and more. "At this point in time it's not that readily available to get the biodegradable plates and straws. It took us six months to get sources." Marin Artists International Network has operated a vegan-oriented booth at the fair for 20 years, with at least six healthy, organic choices as well as natural sodas and healthy beverages. "We were ahead of our time when we started," says the booth's volunteer coordinator, Jonah Nickolds. "There wasn't any healthy fair initiative at that time." Karen Culver of Novato ordered Marin Artists' vegan tamale plate with an organic salad and chips for $7. It was the first vegan tamale she'd ever had. She was inspired to order it after reading about the fair's new food program. "I'm excited to see this. It's really nice to have this option," she said. For Kathleen McDonough of San Francisco, whose sons Michael and Colman McDonough insisted on butter-flavored oil for their otherwise fat-free grilled ears of bi-colored corn at $3.50 each from Corn Roasters West, the new program opened up options. "I normally don't eat at the fair," she said. "With all the choices this year, maybe I finally will." Not everyone wants to give up traditional fair indulgences such as funnel cakes. Though the Pennsylvania Dutch Funnel Cake booth was planning to offer three-inch versions of its eight-inch-round inch-thick fried-to-order hot pastries, owners Albert Valadez and Steven Avila gave that idea up right away. "The new mandate to be healthy is excellent," said Valadez. "But people come to the fair to enjoy rich, fatty foods. We've done 27 shows in the last seven months and people they tell us they want the big ones, not the little ones," he said. Big ones sell for $6.50 a pop. "We're offering a fruit and low-fat mozzarella plate this year. On Wednesday we sold one of them. We sold 800 funnel cakes." Leslie Harlib can be reached at lharlib (AT) marinij (DOT) com

 

Peter vv

 

Not happy with your email address? Get the one you really want - millions of new email addresses available now at With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably.

 

 

Not happy with your email address? Get the one you really want - millions of new email addresses available now at

 

 

 

 

 

With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably.