It’s one of those wintry, post Thanksgiving but not quite into a holiday mood days when escaping to an afternoon movie seems like a perfect thing to do. Stop by the refreshment bar for a tub of warm, crisp popcorn drizzled with “buttery sauce” and an ice-cold soda. A tiny indulgence maybe, but you’re worth it, right? Besides, it’s only popcorn.

Whoa, stop right there. According to the Center For Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), if you are at a Regal theatre (the largest movie theatre chain in the U.S.) your popped indulgence may contain 1,610 calories, 60 grams of saturated fat and be nutritionally comparable to eating three McDonald’s Quarter Pounders with 12 pats of butter.  To add insult to your potential injury, the problem is not your beloved popcorn. No, it’s the coconut oil (90% saturated fat) it is cooked in, the “butter flavored” oil pumped all over it and the salt liberally shaken over it that are trying to fatten you up, clog your arteries and give you high blood pressure.

This and much more cheerful information was reported in the December ’09 issue of CSPI’s Nutrition Action Health Letter .  CSPI tested popcorn, soda drinks and candy sold at major U.S. movie theatre chains. Regal offers three sizes of popcorn and cold drink combinations. (The figures above represent its medium popcorn and soda combo.)

*“Who expects about 1,500 calories and three days’ worth of heart-stopping
fat in a popcorn and soda combo?” said CSPI senior nutritionist and co-author
Jayne Hurley. “ That’s the saturated fat of a stick of butter and the calories of
two sticks of butter. You might think you’re getting Bambi, but you’re really
getting Godzilla…”

“Regal says that its medium popcorn has 720 calories and that its large has
960. But CSPI’s lab tests found that those numbers were understated. Regal’s
medium and large sizes each had 1,200 calories and, thanks to being popped in
coconut oil, 60 grams of saturated fat…A “small” at Regal has 670 calories
and 34 grams of saturated fat. That’s about as many calories as a
Pizza Hut Personal Pan Pepperoni Pizza—except the popcorn has three
times the saturated fat. Even shared with another person, that size provides
nearly an entire day’s worth of the kind of fat that clogs arteries and promotes heart
disease. And every tablespoon of “buttery” oil topping adds another 130 calories. Asking
for topping is like asking for oil on French fries or potato chips.”

“AMC, the second largest theater chain, also pops in coconut oil but has smaller
serving sizes. Its large popcorn has 1,030 calories and 57 grams of saturated fat.
That’s like eating a pound of baby back ribs topped with a scoop of Häagen-Dazs ice
cream—except that the popcorn has an additional day’s worth of saturated fat.”

*From the December ’09 issue of CSPI’s Nutrition Action Health Letter.

The article continues, comparing similar combinations at different movie theatre chains. It then reports on candies tested, “Eating an 8-ounce bag of Reese’s Pieces is like eating a 16-ounce T-bone steak and a buttered baked potato.”

My immediate reaction to the article was revulsion, mental visions of oily fake butter dripping over hamburgers and ribs. It quickly became disgust at all the blatant, in-your face junk “food” everywhere. Then I calmed down and felt genuinely grateful for organizations like CSPI that carry out studies like this one, and for so much information readily available with a simple click of a computer key.

So, now that I know what comes with my movie theatre popcorn, soda and candy snack, what are my options?

1. I could join the ranks of the righteously indignant and blame those mean, money hungry movie theatre corporations that transformed a light snack opportunity into an outrageously over sized, salt and sugar filled, hideously expensive fat bomb. It’s all their fault. Crunch crunch, slurp.

OR

2. I could sign something objecting to the size, and the fat, salt and sugar contents of those “refreshments,” with the hope that enough protest might change the theatre company’s behavior. Wasn’t it about fifteen years ago that theatres were caught popping corn in palm oil? A 15 second national fracas ensued, so they replaced the palm oil with coconut oil. That sure helped.

OR

3. I could stop going to movie theatres and watch movies at home, weeks later than anyone else, eating plain, air popped popcorn with unsweetened ice tea. Goodie Two Shoes in solitary confinement.

Or, I could continue to enjoy movies in theatres and walk past the refreshment bar consciously choosing not to empty my wallet in order to fill my body with junk. My body, my decision. And, with a nod to getting a little bit even I could slip a homemade snack into my pocket and when the theatre lights go down, enjoy every delicious, crunchy bite. Bambi Rules!

Really Good Movie Snack
Makes 1.5 quarts

Ingredients:
2 cups raw pepitas (Mexican pumpkin seeds)
1 ½ tsp. olive oil
1/8 tsp. dehydrated red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup raisins or Craisins
2 cups toasted sesame sticks
1 cup whole, dry roasted almonds

Preparation:

1. Toss pepitas with olive oil, pepper flakes and salt until the oil is evenly dispersed. Spread on a flat pan and roast in 275º oven until seeds pop and begin to brown (about 10 minutes). Cool to room temperature.
2. Toss cool pepitas with remaining ingredients. Store in airtight container.

Nutrition Facts calibrated for quantities called for in the recipe

Pepitas:
Calories 1440    Calories From Fat 1120
Total Fat 120g
Sat. Fat 24g
Fiber 16g
Protein 64g
Olive Oil:
Calories 68        Calories From Fat 68
Total Fat 13.5g    Saturated Fat .7g
Sodium  .1mg
Craisins:
Calories 390        Calories From Fat 0
Total Fat 1.5g
Sodium    3mg
Dietary Fiber 24g
Sugars 78g
Toasted Sesame Sticks
Calories 1200      Calories From Fat 640
Total Fat 72
Saturated Fat 4.2g
Sodium 1760mg
Protein 24g
Whole Almonds:
Calories 824        Calories From Fat 610
Total Fat 73g        Saturated Fat 6g
Sodium 1mg
Dietary Fiber 16g
Sugars 7g
Protein 30g