Trick the Food Trap at the Movie Theater

Photo Credit: Digitalart

A standard Friday night might include hitting up the movie theater to see the new romantic comedy or action film starring your favorite actors.  While this is a great form of entertainment, your food experience can be less than fantastic.  Movie theaters are typically full of unhealthy, overpriced options that are packed with calories, fat, and sugar.  Why not put a little thought and preparation into what you want to snack on during your movie, and bring healthy options with you?  This will save you unwanted calories and keep your wallet happy.  It may be frowned upon to sneak food into theaters, but your body and health are worth it!  Try bringing these simple finger foods and munchies next time you visit the cinema.

Before you pay $6 for a small sized popcorn that is loaded with butter and salt, try popping your own popcorn and bringing in little baggies.  A healthy brand to choose is Smart Pop popcorn, which has less salt and no butter.  To kick up the flavor, try sprinkling on Old Bay seasoning for a different take on a somewhat bland popcorn taste.

Instead of always reaching for a box of candy or a bag of gummies, why not cut up veggies or fruits into bite size pieces or slices?  Some easy, non-messy ideas are sliced up cucumbers, apple slices, pre-peeled clementines, carrots, blueberries, or even celery with peanut butter.  These fruits and veggies are perfect to snack on just like candy, but won’t have the sugar or calories.

If you need more of a crunchy dry snack that will last a while, try bagging up one of your favorite healthy, whole grain cereals to munch on dry.  Good choices include Kashi, Special K, Honey Bunches of Oats, Raisin Brain, Wheat Chex, and Cheerios.

If you are still needing something salty and also missing your chocolate, try a trail mix that incorporates nuts, chocolate, pretzels, granola, and dried fruits.  While this is a healthy choice, it does have more fat than the other options so make this your least filled baggy!

Finally, don’t throw away all your hard work and healthy food choices with a fountain soda.  If you still want a carbonated drink, but without the sugar, try flavored seltzer, which is like soda, but won’t rot your teeth or make you gain weight.

All in all, don’t cheat your body out of healthy food and snacks when it comes to the movie theater.  Instead, cheat the concession stand a little and take care of your health.  With these different options, you will be the envy of healthy moviegoers everywhere!