Fried Foods Are Fun, But They Can Go Too Far

COMMENTARY | The Texas State Fair holds a Big Tex Choice Award Contest annually. The competitors of the contest compete against each other with their unique fried food creations. Awards are given for best taste and most creative. Each Labor Day the judges gather for the final round of the fried food competition.

Star-Telegram reports on the winners for this year's fried food extravaganza. The winner for the most creative fried food is Justin Martinez for his Fried Bubblegum. Although the dish is called Fried Bubblegum, it is actually a bubblegum-flavored marshmallow dipped in batter and fried. For the grand finale, the Fried Bubblegum is topped with icing and powdered sugar. The best-tasting fried food award went to Allan Weiss for his Buffalo Chicken in a Flapjack.

The 2009 award for most creative fried food was Deep Fried Butter, while Fried Beer won the award in 2010.

Move over Fried Twinkies and Fried Kool-Aid, because you have new competition with Deep Fried Bubblegum. With all the talk of deep-fried inventions, let's take a look at some we may have missed, may want to try, or may not want to try.

Deep-Fried Mac and Cheese

Most kids love mac and cheese, including all three of mine. While Deep-Fried Mac and Cheese sounds like something kids may enjoy, I don't think I could bear feeding my children a dish with so many calories and fat. Leave it to Paula Deen -- the "Butter Queen" -- to have a recipe for Deep-Fried Mac and Cheese.

Deep-Fried Strawberries With Sauce Sabayon

I have to admit that Fried Strawberries do sound good. On the other hand, by deep-frying strawberries, one is taking a healthy and nutritious food and turning it into junk food.

Deep Fried Cheesecake

Paula Deen brings us another fried food with her Deep-Fried Cheesecake recipe. I love cheesecake and think it tastes like heaven just the way it is. Top cheesecake with delicious sauces of chocolate, strawberry, or blueberry instead of frying it.

Crispy Fried Frog Legs

I cannot imagine eating Fried Frog Legs. Frogs are for hopping, not for eating! At least in my opinion. You decide for yourself if you would like to eat Fried Frog Legs. If Fried Frog Legs don't suit your fancy, maybe you would like to try Barbecue Frog Legs instead.

Perhaps we should leave deep frying for foods such as french fries and onion rings as an occasional treat. I admit fried food can be fun but we would be wise to eat it in moderation. With the obesity trend as it is, we should opt for fewer fried foods than more. The CDC reports that one-third of U.S. adults are obese. The agency also reports that approximately 17 percent of children and adolescents between the ages of 2-19 are obese. That is 12.5 million of our youth, and 12.5 million too many. Moderation is key in everything, including fried foods.