This summer, 80-MILLION fans are expected to pack major-league ballparks across North America, and most fans will check their diets at the dugout! So let’s see which foods will “strike out” your diet this summer, and which will keep you “safe at home," according to Forbes magazine.

• First on the baseball menu: Super Nachos. Next to hot dogs, nachos have become the #1 appetizer at ballparks today. Beware: one 12-ounce serving of nachos, along with a small tub of cheese, weighs in around 1,500 calories! Strike One!
• Next up to bat, we’ve got: Deep-Fried Food. Teams have gotten creative with this category lately.  For example, the Philadelphia Phillies are famous for their panzarotti. That’s a deep fried pocket of dough, stuffed with cheese.  Unfortuantely, it also comes with lots of oil, fat and calories! So bottom line: if it says “fried,” it’s Strike Two.
• Okay, next on the baseball menu: Specialty burgers. Go see the Baltimore Orioles play this summer, and you can choose a half-pound burger topped with pulled pork and fried onion rings! Or check out a Gateway Grizzlies game, and stuff yourself with their now legendary burger. It’s a bacon cheeseburger stuffed between the halves of a Krispy Kreme glazed doughnut! Strike Three!

So now, let’s check out the healthy food line-up.

• Fruit Cups. You’ll find these on the menu at all Seattle Mariners or Colorado Rockies games and you really can’t go wrong with fruit. It’s the healthiest snack going – loaded with vitamins, minerals and fiber.
• Sushi. The Seattle Mariners and New York Mets offer sushi rolls with a slab of raw nigiri – which is fresh fish. These are fine, as long as you don’t overload on tuna – which contains high levels of mercury.
• A Baked Potato. Fans of the Houston Astros can now skip the fries, and grab a hot potato instead. Just make sure you don’t top it with barbecue brisket! A baked potato with sour cream won’t kill your diet, plus it’s loaded with antioxidants and B vitamins, which promote a healthy nervous system.