Every year one of my dear friends throws an Opening Day party for the Rockies home opener at Coors Field. He invites lots of friends, and we all have a terrific time. I’m not a big sports fan, and I still have a lot of fun. There’s something about being a part of a huge group of people all cheering for the athletes to do well that feels exciting. And doing this with a large group of friends makes it even more fun.

Given our family’s food allergies, there are very few things available at the ballpark that we can eat. Since we’ll be there for many hours (over the course of two meals, if you include travel time needed to take the bus there and back), we always come prepared with a backpack full of our own snacks. With a little bit of preparation, it’s fairly simple to have a healthy day at the ballgame.

For the big game we’re bringing the following:

• A large bag of turkey jerky. It’s light weight, easy to transport, and everyone likes it.
• 1 bag of pistachios and 1 bag of peanuts, both in their shells. Peanuts are a ballgame tradition, but we’re bringing our own for two reasons: a) it’s cheaper, and b) we’re bringing higher quality peanuts than you can buy at the ballgame. This way, there’s less risk of aflatoxin. Pistachios taste great and are also fun to shell.
• Sliced goat cheese. Both of my boys love goat cheese. It’s healthy, easy to eat in slices, and it will likely be the first thing gone.
• 1 bag of sweetened, roasted coconut chips. Everyone will want a treat at the ballpark, so this will be ours (I don’t think there are any ballpark sweets that don’t contain corn syrup).
• A bag of mixed sliced vegetables. We try to eat some vegetables with every meal, so we’ll bring those along.
• Bottled water. While we don’t usually buy bottled water, we’re not allowed to bring our reusable bottles into the stadium (they have to be plastic, and the seal must be unbroken). This is purely an economic choice to bring. Water in the stadium, which also comes in plastic bottles, costs almost 10 times as much.

We’ll also bring jackets, sunblock, and hats. And, of course, we’ll bring big smiles. Last year, my older son led the entire bus, driver included, in singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” I look forward to seeing what fun surprises this trip will hold.