We went out to a show last night, and no matter how often I go, I am always surprised that almost everyone has popcorn, and/or a drink, and/or other candy. I know we see it as a treat, so again as I always say: MODERATION, VARIETY, and BALANCE. If this is an occasional thing for you it can likely fit into your eating pattern. The thing that concerns me is that people may be choosing the popcorn as a 'healthy' option.
I love popcorn, but the way I love it is at home from my airpopper with a little dash (like 1 tsp) of melted margarine. In this situation, it can be considered a healthy snack - Canada's Food Guide counts 2 cups of plain popcorn as a whole grain choice! It's when we go out and have it covered in fat and salt that the nutritional value goes way down.
I found a great video from ctv from Feb. 2011 with some research results on 3 different theartre's popcorn. They show the calories, fat, and sodium for a size large with and without topping. In comparison, that 2 cups of airpopped popcorn at home has about 62 Calories, 0.7g of fat, and 1mg sodium (caloriecount.about.com). Again, I'm not saying you can never have it, but not too often, or get the small, or share with your partner. When we sit in front of the big screen our attention is on the movie, not how much we're eating, so help yourself out with portion control by getting a smaller size!
Steph Wheler
www.nutrishus.com
