09/03/2026
🎡 Going to the Minnesota State Fair? Let’s talk about how to enjoy it without the blood sugar roller coaster.
We are NOT going to tell you to eat a salad while everyone else enjoys cheese curds and Sweet Martha’s cookies. 😂
Food is part of the experience. But a few things can help you enjoy what you love AND feel better while you’re there.
Our #1 tip: Start with PROTEIN.
Before the mini donuts, cookies or other higher sugar foods, get some protein in first. Protein can slow digestion, increase satiety and reduce how quickly a carb heavy meal impacts your blood sugar.
Great protein options at the Fair this year:
🥩 Grilled pork chop or chicken on a stick from Peterson’s Pork Chops
🍗 Turkey leg or pulled turkey without the bun from Turkey To Go
🥙 Chicken, beef or lamb kebobs from Holy Land
🌮 Chicken or steak fajitas as a bowl from Juanita’s Fajitas
🍗 Chicken on a stick from Ragin Cajun
🥩 Bull Bites from LuLu’s Public House
🍳 Going early? Look for eggs, sausage or another protein forward breakfast before the sweets.
Then enjoy the thing you REALLY want. Cheese curds, cookies, mini donuts, go for it.
The goal isn’t perfection. It’s being intentional.
A few more ways to feel better during your Fair day:
💧 Hydrate before you arrive and keep drinking water all day
🥩 Eat protein before sugar
🥗 Add fiber when you can, veggies, beans or fruit alongside protein
🚶 Keep moving, walking after eating helps your muscles use circulating glucose
🥤 Watch the liquid sugar, lemonade, soda and slushies add up fast. Water or unsweetened iced tea between treats helps
👯 Share the fun foods, you don’t need a whole order of everything
And our favorite tip: choose what’s actually worth it.
Waited all year for those cheese curds? Enjoy them. But you don’t have to eat something just because you’re at the Fair.
Functional medicine isn’t about living in a bubble and never eating sugar. It’s about building a resilient body that can handle the occasional State Fair day, then getting right back to the habits that support you.
Protein first. Hydrate. Walk. Pick the foods you really love.
Enjoy the Great Minnesot