With summer imminently approaching, and in some places already in full-swing, now seems like a great time to get the skinny on just how fattening food served at carnivals and street fairs can be.

Before I even read the article posted on eDiets I had a sneaking suspicion that elephant ears, which are basically fried dough, were perhaps not the most nutritious of snacks. In fact, I pondered if a low-fat, low-cal option even existed at fairs. Water, perhaps. Maybe cotton candy, although that's made of sugar.

It turns out, according to this article, anyway, that many foods I suspected were not so good for me aren't. I also learned that there are a few options for those of us out there trying to make the most of our carnival experience without all the fat.

For starters, cotton candy is basically sugar and food coloring. While you should be concerned about the amount of sugar you consume (some experts estimate it's over --- pounds per year per American) you needn't worry about fat, trans or otherwise, when eating cotton candy. What makes me more nervous about cotton candy than the sugar is the dye used to color it. Remember that rule about not eating blue food???

I also noted happily that my old standby the giant pretzel isn't so bad. Sure it's carb-o-licious, but it has relatively little fat compared to other fair foods and virtually no sugar.

Other items covered in the article were treats made with apples, which were at least made with real fruit, and the ever-present elephant ears. Those racked up an impressive 719 calories and 32 grams of fat. Whoa. Saturated fat content was not listed but I can only imagine it was high. My guess is elephant ears aren't exactly brimming with poly-unsaturated fats or other good fats like those found in avocados.

A new fair foodstuff was brought to my attention that nearly made me laugh: the fried candy bar. As if candy bars weren't enemy number one to those of us counting calories and watching our waistlines, the food industry has taken things one step further by deep frying Snickers and other candy bars, including my beloved Butterfingers. All I can say to that is: gross.

Well, actually I'm sure these are quite tasty or they wouldn't be selling them now, would they? I need not mention the high calorie and fat content here, but be sure to read about it yourself before you chow down on one of these delicacies (compliments of the the Scottish, by the way).

Don't see your favorite carnival food listed here? Check out the article on eDiets, which also includes how many miles you'd have to walk to burn off your favorite treat. That's right--I said miles.

Many of you may be saying to yourselves, 'what's the point?' Don't we go to fairs, festivals and carnivals mainly for the food? And don't we expect that food to be BAD, bad, bad? My guess is we'd all be a little less inclined to go if they were serving salads and fresh fruit. Hopefully we're eating plenty of that every day, which warrants a treat from the fair now and then. After all, it's not like we're eating fried candy bars every day.

Whether you plan to indulge in one or all the tasty treats found at fairs, be sure to know what's in what you eat, and be prepared to work it off! But, if you're going to eat it, please ENJOY it.