Cinema Snacks

I had a fellow Clean Eater write into me asking about the best way to manage her bi-monthly trip to the movie theater with her husband. As a clean eater, she wanted to maintain her healthy diet, but still enjoy a snack. 

The movie theater has become a place to gorge on vats of popcorn, soda pop, candy, nachos and cheese, hot dogs, ice cream, pizza... etc etc. It is a veritable minefield of junk food! The best part being that you are in the dark. No one sees you reaching into the bag for another handful of popcorn and shovel every last piece into your mouth. Have I grossed you out yet? How about the fact that most popcorns from the theater are popped in coconut oil! Why not just have saturated fat served on a platter with your colossal-sized coke?

Here's my advice for a movie theater snack:

1. Make it your cheat meal. Make it as clean as possible. Order an unbuttered kid's-sized popcorn and a bottle of water. This is about 5 cups of popcorn (more than enough) and it has 300 calories and 20 grams of fat (14 g of these saturated from the coconut oil it was popped in), but it is a treat. Avoid diet drinks: chemical sugars are just as bad as their white counterparts.

2. Eat before you go. Plan your meals around the movie theater. You don't have to eat at the theater. In fact, it will save you money by avoiding the cost of popcorn - $10 at times!

3. Break the rules. I do not want to advocate sneaking, but I have heard that some people bring in their own snacks in their handbag. If you're gutsy enough to do this, bring in a baggy of unsalted nuts and an apple. Even your own air-popped popcorn would be a great treat and much better for you.