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Some Great Popcorn Ideas For Academy Award Watching

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PopcornOscarGraphic

When you think movie, do you also think popcorn? A good percentage of movie viewing people do.

And what’s the biggest movie night of the year? The Academy Awards, of course.

Oscar has been around for a long time – the first Academy Awards ceremony was in 1929 – but the main snack food that’s associated with movies has been around a lot longer.

The Evolution of Popcorn

The puffy goodness we know as popcorn is a strain of corn (from maize) cultivated in Central America about 8,000 years ago. North American whalers probably brought popcorn to New England from Chile in the early 19th century. Popping popcorn was fun and its appeal spread across the country.

By the mid 1800’s popcorn was widely available, especially at places like circuses and fairs. The invention of the steam-powered popcorn maker in 1885 meant popcorn could be made anywhere. Amazingly, the only place where it wasn’t available was in theaters, which typically had carpeted floors. Theater owners didn’t want popcorn “dirtying” up the place.

Popcorn and Movies

Because of its popularity, theater owners began to allow popcorn vendors to sell popcorn outside their theaters. During the Great Depression people looked for cheap diversions and movies were it.   Popcorn — at 5 to 10 cents a bag — was an affordable luxury.

Theater owners began to lease their lobbies to popcorn vendors, but figured out they could make more money by selling it themselves. Selling popcorn, candy, and soda from their own concession stands meant higher profits. Sugar shortages during World War II made sweet treats hard to come by, and popcorn became the main snack. By 1945 over half of the popcorn eaten in the US was consumed in movie theaters.

It’s still king. Americans eat, on average, about 13 gallons of popcorn a year. It’s cheap to make and allows for a huge price mark-up. You might pay $5 for a bag of popcorn, but it costs the theater about 50 cents. Plain popcorn doesn’t have all that much flavor, so yellow oil (it isn’t butter) and salt are added to make it tasty and make you thirsty. So, you buy a soda. No wonder movie theaters make an estimated 85 percent profit from concession sales.

Popcorn Recipes

This Sunday as you prop your feet up to watch the glamorous stars grab their golden statues, make sure you have a good supply of popcorn on hand. You don’t have to settle for the plain variety – unless you want to. There are some fantastic popcorn recipes with names like Bacon Bourbon Caramel, Cinnamon Candy (red, like the red carpet), Peanut Butter Popcorn, and Endless Caramel Corn.

For even more popcorn recipes to accompany your cheers, boos, oohs, and ahs on Oscar night, check out:

Food Network’s 50 Flavored Popcorn Recipes

19 Ways to Flavor Popcorn

30 Healthy Popcorn Recipes That Satisfy Every Snack Craving

Popcorn Recipes

What’s Your Favorite Movie Theater Food?

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Large popcornWhen you go to the movies what do you usually notice first?  After the cost of the ticket, it’s probably is the delicious smell of freshly popped (maybe) popcorn. It’s no accident that the concession stand with it’s popcorn popper and glass cases filled with the candy that reminds you that you were once a carefree kid — is right smack in the middle of the lobby.  It’s there to send your already conditioned eyes, nose, and salivary glands an urgent message:  “Buy some”!

I Don’t Care, I’m Going To Have It Anyway

Even if you make it through the lobby without buckets and boxes in hand, all you have to do is sit down in the theater with someone near you noisily munching away.  Up you go – back to the lobby and the concession stand.

It’s amazing what triggers us to eat. There’s a research study by the Cornell food lab that shows that people overeat when they have large portions — even when they don’t like the food. Moviegoers given stale popcorn in big buckets ate 34% more than people who were given the medium size of the same stale popcorn. People who had large buckets of fresh popcorn ate 45% more than people with the medium size.

If you’re going to eat it, do it mindfully.  Would a small size rather than jumbo do it for you?  How about a regular candy bar instead of a king size?  If the popcorn, pretzels, or nachos are  stale and nasty do you really want them?  Ditch the soda for plain old water or a sugar free drink. You could bring some healthy snacks with you — like a lower calorie protein bar or trail mix (a crunchy apple doesn’t lend itself to quiet eating).

FYI:  Some Popular Movie Theater Snacks – And Their Calorie Counts

(Note the serving sizes, movie theater boxes of candy are often huge and may be double or triple the size shown below and what’s a large popcorn in one theater chain might be a medium in another. The number of cups of popcorn sounds craze – but that’s how much is in the bucket or bag that’s commonly available.)

Popcorn, Nachos, Soft Pretzel

  • Buttered popcorn, small, 5 cups:  470 calories, 35g fat
  • Buttered popcorn, large, 20 cups:  1640 calories, 126g fat
  • Cheese nachos, large (4 oz):  1100 calories, 60g fat
  • Soft pretzel, large (5 oz):  480 calories, 5g fat

Soda and Lemonade

  • Coke, small (18 oz:218 calories, 0g fat
  • Coke, large (44 oz):  534 calories, 0g fat
  • Minute Maid Lemonade (18 oz):  248 calories, 0g fat
  • Minute Maid Lemonade (44 oz):  605 calories, 0g fat

Candy

  • Junior Mints, 3 oz box:  360 calories, 7g fat
  • Sno Caps, 3.1 oz box:  300 calories, 15g fat
  • Milk Duds, 3oz box:  370 calories, 12g fat
  • Raisinets, 3.5 oz bag:  400 calories, 16g fat
  • Goobers, 3.5 oz box:  500 calories, 35g fat
  • Twizzlers, 6 oz bag:  570 calories, 4g fat
  • M&Ms, 5.3 oz bag:  750 calories, 32g fat
  • Peanut M&Ms, 5.3 oz bag:  790 calories, 40g fat
  • Reese’s Pieces, 8oz bag:  1160 calories, 60g fat

What Do You Eat With Your Movie?

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I went to the movies Saturday night.  It was a long, long day and I was tired – so my guard was down.  As I walked into the theater the first thing that hit me was the wafting and delicious smell of freshly popped (and it was freshly popped in this theater) popcorn. I could have had a label plastered across my forehead:  sucker coming around the corner, start filling the popcorn bag!  Elbow in my husband’s ribs:  buy some!

It was the first time I’ve had movie theater popcorn in about two years.  Not that I don’t love it – I do.  I also know a little bit about it.  Thing is, after writing another post about popcorn I even asked the guy behind the concession stand several months ago what they pop their popcorn in.  “Oh, I think it’s some combination of coconut oil and other stuff.”  Fat gram numbers spiraled and multiplied in my head. Yet, the siren call of freshly popped popcorn was too strong to overcome.

I Don’t Care, I’m Going To Have It Anyway

I had set myself up for a “I don’t care, I’m going to have it anyway” caloric splurge.  Why?  I was hungry, tired,  and it was the tail end of a very busy week.  And, two other important factors:  our friends had already bought their popcorn (ever sit next to someone who is eating something you really like and that smells delicious?) and I really love popcorn.

SocialDieter Tip:

I’m not suggesting that you – or I – should never have movie theater popcorn. What I am suggesting is that If you are going to have popcorn it should be figured into your overall caloric balance.  Popcorn today – lots of fruit and veggies the next day – or maybe earlier in the day.  The same thing is true if your weakness is that box of Raisinets – or Goobers – or Milk Duds.

Not the greatest foods in the world, but if you are going to have them as an occasional splurge build the splurge into your day – or weekly – food plan. If you’re going to eat the stuff, at least do it mindfully.  Oh – you could also not eat anything during the movie, it is only about two hours – or, you could bring some healthy snacks like a lower calorie protein bar or trail mix with you (a crunchy apple doesn’t lend itself to quiet eating).  And ditch the soda for plain old water.

FYI: Some Popular Movie Theater Snacks – And Their Calorie Counts

(Note the serving sizes, movie theater boxes of candy are often huge and may be double or triple the size shown below.)

Popcorn, Nachos, Soft Pretzel

  • Buttered popcorn, small, 5 cups:  470 calories, 35g fat
  • Buttered popcorn, large, 20 cups:  1640 calories, 126g fat
  • Cheese nachos, large (4 oz):  1100 calories, 60g fat
  • Soft pretzel, large (5 oz):  480 calories, 5g fat

Soda and Lemonade

  • Coke, small (18 oz:218 calories, 0g fat
  • Coke, large (44 oz):  534 calories, 0g fat
  • Minute Maid Lemonade (18 oz):  248 calories, 0g fat
  • Minute Maid Lemonade (44 oz):  605 calories, 0g fat

Candy

  • Junior Mints, 3 0z box:  360 calories, 7g fat
  • Sno Caps, 3.1 oz box:  300 calories, 15g fat
  • Milk Duds, 3oz box:  370 calories, 12g fat
  • Raisinets, 3.5 oz bag:  400 calories, 16g fat
  • Goobers, 3.5 oz box:  500 calories, 35g fat
  • Twizzlers, 6oz bag:  570 calories, 4g fat
  • M&Ms, 5.3oz bag:  750 calories, 32g fat
  • Peanut M&Ms, 5.3 oz bag:  790 calories, 40g fat
  • Reese’s Pieces, 8oz bag:  1160 calories, 60g fat

Theater Popcorn

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Is moving your hand from bucket to mouth, fingers clenched around salty, buttery popped kernels, scrounging for the napkins you forgot to grab at the concession stand, your movie theater habit?

images_clip_image001If it is, just know what you’re chowing down on.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a public advocacy group, bought multiple servings of popcorn from the three largest movie chains:  Regal Entertainment Group, AMC, and Cinemark, and had them analyzed in an independent lab.  

The results: you can get more than half a day’s calories and three days’ worth of saturated fat in one large popcorn bucket. 

A large-sized popcorn at Regal holds 20 cups of popcorn with 1,200 calories and 60 grams of saturated fat.  If you drizzle — or pump — on the buttery topping you can add on another 200 calories and 3 grams of saturated fat (in 1.5 tablespoons).  

Other stats:  a large popcorn at AMC has 16 cups, 1,030 calories and 57 grams of saturated fat.  A large from Cinemark: 17 cups and 910 calories, 4 grams of saturated fat (in both cases, before adding the buttery topping). 

Another concern: Regal and AMC pop their popcorn in coconut oil, which is about 90% saturated fat. Cinemark  pops in canola oil, which accounts for the lower saturated fat levels. 

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-11-19-popcorncalories19_ST_N.htm, http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-sci-movie-popcorn19-2009nov19,0,4003634.story

There’s no denying that movie popcorn tastes great.  Now that you know the nutritional content you can decide if the occasional bucket of popcorn fits into your overall diet.  Think about strategies – buy a small size, share with a friend.  If you’re going to indulge, what other fatty food can you cut back on?

Or:  do you really want the popcorn?  Is it the sight of the concession stand, the smell and sound of the popcorn popping, and your habit of associating movies and popcorn that makes you buy it?  Now that you know the facts you can make the choice that’s best for you.

You could also consider bringing your own.  Compare:

Calories, saturated fat, and sodium in movie theater popcorn:

Regal: 
      Small, 11 cups
Calories 670
Saturated fat 34 g
Sodium 550 mg

AMC: 
        Small, 6 cups 
Calories 370 
Saturated fat 20 g 
Sodium 210 mg

Cinemark: 
Small, 8 cups
Calories 420 
Saturated fat 2 g {canola oil}
Sodium 690 mg

Source: Center for Science in the Public Interest

Calories and fat in bagged popcorn:

Average of all brands (plain/ready-to-eat):  3oz. bag (9×5”)  Calories 480  Fat 24g

Cracker Jack:  3&3/8 oz. bag  Calories  410  Fat 7g

Calories and fat in microwave popcorn:

Average of all brands (popped): 

Regular:  1 cup  Calories 35  Fat 2g

Light:       1 cup  Calories 25 Fat  1g

Source:  The CalorieKing Fat & Carbohydrate Counter