Health

Healthy eating at the Royal Show

**We usually resign ourselves to the idea that any carnival visit will involve eating junk food!

But Food Coach Judy Davie offers some suggestions for healthy eating at Sydney’s Royal Easter Show — many of which will also come in handy at other carnivals around Australia during the school holidays.**

There’s no excuse not to eat healthily at Sydney’s Royal Easter Show. Sure, you will still find dagwood dogs and cheese on a stick, but a few years ago these were the only kinds of choices available.

Today, it’s acknowledged that greasy, highly-processed, manufactured foods contribute to the kids turning feral at the end of a long day out, so if you’re sensible — you want to have a happy, tantrum-free carnival experience — you will steer the children (and yourself) away from the junk food and straight to the healthier choices available.

Inside the Woolworths Fresh Food Dome you can find:

  • Fresh sushi

  • Yoghurt with muesli and fruit

  • Fresh fruit smoothies

  • Organic juices

  • A range of nuts and seeds

  • Washed and ready to eat vegetable and fruit snack packs, such as chopped carrot sticks, baby tomatoes, apples and grapes

  • Organic coffee and herbal teas

  • Biodynamic chemical free natural ice cream

  • Vege chips

  • Fresh seafood

  • Freshly made pasta (just be sure to choose a tomato-based sauce instead of a creamy option)

But there are traps to avoid. While nuts are a healthy choice, their health attributes are negated when they are roasted in sugar and oil, so don’t kid yourself — even though they do smell tempting! A better option would be to buy from the stall that sells dried fruit and nuts. There is also lots of ice cream to sample, so if you must have some ask for the lower fat fruit-based gelato instead of the full fat ice-cream.

Also look out for:

  • Fresh strawberries and/or mixed berries

  • Sweet corn on the cob (avoid the chicken salt, and have plain salt and cracked pepper instead, and very little or no butter)

  • Fresh pressed apple juice

  • The Sydney Royal Deli — they have ready-made hampers which you can sit down and enjoy in the sunshine

  • Meals such as steak sandwiches and grilled barramundi at several cafes around the show

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