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Buy Me Some Peanuts and Yogurt?

TIMES HEALTH WRITER

Pea-NUTS! Getcha PEANUTS!

Or shall we say: Salad! Getcha salad!

According to a survey released today by the American Dietetic Assn., the 28 major league baseball stadiums are offering an array of healthy food choices--albeit limited--this year, including bottled water, frozen yogurt, teriyaki bowls and fresh fruit.

“You can get a healthy meal at the ballpark if you are conscientious about it,” says Bettye Nowlin, a spokeswoman for the ADA who inspected the fare at Dodger Stadium. “But when you’re going to the ballpark, you are going to have fun. Peanuts, hot dogs and Cracker Jack are part of the fun of the game.”

Not to mention nachos and cotton candy.

The survey showed that each stadium has lots of high-fat choices whereas healthy foods are more scarce. Nowlin suggests being realistic about the temptations. Think about cutting back on calories and fat during breakfast and lunch on days you’re going to the ballpark to create some room to splurge, she suggests.

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If you insist on healthy food, look for salads--which half of the stadiums offer. Dodger Stadium also sells a teriyaki bowl, which Nowlin rates as a good choice. The best bet for health-minded Angel fans is the sushi or a salad, she says.

Among the survey’s findings:

* Every stadium offers hot dogs, peanuts, nachos, ice cream and pretzels.

* Ten parks sell milk, but none sells low-fat.

* The delicious-but-deadly award should go to Toronto and Montreal, where they sell a Canadian treat called beaver tails--fried dough shaped like a beaver’s tail and dipped in cinnamon sugar or chocolate and hazelnuts.

* Ethnic choices are fun, but rarely healthy. For example, Florida Marlin fans can buy arepas, South American cornmeal crepes with cheese; media noche, a sandwich of sweet bread with roasted pork shank, ham, cheese, mustard, mayo and pickles; plantains, flan and Cuban ham croquettes.

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* Five parks offer vegetables.

* Eight parks sell fresh fruit, with the Seattle Kingdome offering apples and oranges.

* Marlin fans can get fruit smoothies blended on ice.

* Atlanta’s Turner Field has baked potatoes and grilled chicken.

* Chicago’s Wrigley Field offers sandwiches filled with low-fat, low-sodium meat.

* Chicago’s Comiskey Park sells corn on the cob, garden burgers and roast turkey sandwiches.

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