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snack food

What Do You Eat With Your Movie?

February 18, 2016 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Movie Calories

When you enter a movie theater lobby what do you usually notice first?  After the cost of the ticket, it’s probably the delicious smell of freshly popped (maybe or maybe not) 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, eat some”!

There’s No Escaping the Movie Theater Munching

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, at least give some thought to what you’re doing.  Would a small size bag of popcorn rather than jumbo bucket 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?  Can you ditch the soda for plain old water or a sugar free drink (most 12 ounce sodas have between 9 and 10 teaspoons of sugar)? 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 considered a large popcorn in one theater chain might be a medium in another. The number of cups of popcorn sounds crazy – 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 ounces):  1100 calories, 60g fat
  • Soft pretzel, large (5 ounces):  480 calories, 5g fat

Soda and Lemonade

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

Candy

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

Filed Under: Food for Fun and Thought, Snacking, Noshing, Tasting Tagged With: concession stand food, movie theater food, popcorn, snack food

Dashboard Diner: What Is It And Are You One?

August 27, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Dashboard-diner-graphic

How many ketchup drips, chocolate smears, coffee stains, and random crumbs do you have in your car (or on your clothes)?

Is your road trip to the shore or mountains or the big game an endless fest of fast food, junk food, and all kinds of snacks with your dashboard or vacant passenger seat as your table?

If you’re nodding your head, you’re a dashboard diner.

It’s way too easy to indulge your dashboard dining gremlin when doughnut shops and fast food restaurants have drive-thruus and gas stations come equipped with mini-marts that serve that comes regular,, decaf, dark velvet and hazelnut coffee and baked goods so your coffee doesn’t get lonely.

Mini-Mart And Rest-Stop “Gotchas”

Candy:

Candy is an impulse purchase; 49 percent of shoppers admit to unplanned purchases of candy. We want to treat ourselves and candy is an affordable luxury. Chocolate bars are the main choice — followed by gum; bagged, repacked peg candy; candy rolls; mints and drops; non-chocolate bars; seasonal candy and novelties.

Check out the placement of candy the next time you’re in a mini-mart or convenience store. It’s positioned to grab your attention. Its vividly colored wrappers reach out to you from high-traffic areas of the store: the checkout area, the aisle that leads to the check out, and on the way to the restrooms. Know that your senses are going to be assaulted and have a plan for what you will and will not buy. If you’ve decided you want M&Ms go straight to them and don’t get sidetracked by a new kind of chips, or seasonal displays, or the latest and greatest deal on a king– sized package of some kind of candy.

Coffee:

Unlike candy, coffee isn’t an impulse purchase. Nearly 96% of customers intend to buy a cup of coffee before they walk in. That’s why the stores put impulse-buy merchandise —candy, baked goods, and chips — near the coffee to entice you to buy them. As a man standing in line at a popular gas station mini-mart muttered, “I stop here for coffee every morning and I’ve gained 20 pounds since they put in the Krispy Kreme donut display between the door and the cash register.”

Some Helpful Tips:

  • Go for the nuts got protein and crunch, won’t cause swings in your blood sugar and are almost always stocked. Tread a little gently — nuts are not low in fat or calories.
  • Some mini-marts have fruit (oranges and bananas come in their own natural wrapper and don’t have to be washed) and almost all have dried fruit — but balance the higher sugar content of the dried fruit with the fat and protein in the nuts.
  • Sometimes you can find individual bowls of Cheerios or whole grain cereals. Grab a small container of non or low-fat milk or a container of yogurt.
  • Popcorn is a great choice and some stations stock fat-free soy crisps or pop chips. Be aware of portion sizes. Sometimes a bag has more than one serving.
  • Protein bars can be good, better, and best. Check the labels for higher protein and lower sugar. Some can be the equivalent of a candy bar and are so large (with so many calories) that they are made to be meal replacements.
  • If you’re really hungry choose a sandwich or burrito over donuts, pastry, and cookies. Check out how fresh it is, though. What’s appealing early in the morning when the shelves are first stocked might not be so appealing at 10PM if it has sat around all day and lots of people have picked up the sandwich, squeezed it, and put it back again.
  •  Beef jerky or beef sticks (or nuggets) are good, portable protein snacks. A  1-ounce serving can have around 80 calories and 3 grams of fat or less. A hard– boiled egg is a good choice, too. Just make sure they’re refrigerated and haven’t been sitting around for a couple of days!
  • If you must go with crunchy stuff, stick with pretzels or look for baked or popped chips. Look for single-serve bags to keep portions in check. Remember that the salty stuff will make you thirsty so stock up on water. There’s something to be said for snacks that take time to eat one by one when you’re driving.
  • It may take away some of the road trip spontaneity, but when you pack up your car you can pack some food, too. Fill a cooler with water, fruit, yogurt, sandwiches — hatever you think you will eat and that will keep you alert and energized (aim for some complex carbs and protein). Why not throw in someportion bags of nuts and popcorn, too? Planning ahead means you’re not at the mercy of the vending machines and racks and racks of candy, chips, and baked goods.
  • Use an app or your GPS to find nearby restaurants as you drive through various communities. A little searching can help you find places with healthier options than you might find at a rest stop. This can be really helpful for anyone with allergies or special dietary requirements.
  • If you just want to leave your rest stop purchases to chance at least have your own mental list of some good, better, and best choices of food to buy. The danger is that the candy, chips, fries, and doughnuts call your name the minute you walk in the door. If you know that you’re going to head straight for the nuts, or popcorn, or even a burger, that’s great, as long as the giant chocolate chip cookie and the bargain 32–ounce soda for 99 cents doesn’t grab you first. Try to decide what you’re going to buy before you go in and then stick to your decision.
  • Remember that too much sugar causes a spike and then nose dive of your blood sugar levels.  The consequence is that you’re initially energized and then can get very drowsy and unfocused as your blood sugar plummets.  Not exactly what you want when you’re driving.

 

Filed Under: Calorie Tips, Healthy Eating, Food Facts, Restaurants, Diners, Fast Food, Snacking, Noshing, Tasting, Takeout, Prepared Food, Junk Food, Travel, On Vacation, In the Car Tagged With: dashboard diner, dashboard dining, eating in the car, mini-mart food, rest stop food, snack food

Vending Machines: What Are Your Favorite Letter/Number Combinations?

May 22, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

vending-machine-graphicSooner or later you’ll have your next sharing moment with a vending machine – you share your money and the machine shares its calories.

Vending machines are everywhere – down the hall from your office or around the corner from your hotel room, in hospital waiting rooms, in train stations, and calling your name on road trips. They call your name when you’re especially vulnerable – when you’re stressed, tired, bored, anxious, and your blood sugar is traveling south – all of which means the sugar, fat, and salt junk food allure is really hard to overcome.

When a vending machine calls your name, choose wisely.  There are good, better, and best choices to be made.  You can almost always find packages of nuts, popcorn, pretzels, or dried fruit along with the packaged sweet or crunchy calories.

Be careful of choices with too much sugar, especially if you’re driving.  A big time sugar hit may give you quick energy but more than likely it will be followed by a drop in your blood sugar levels that could possibly make you sleepy, grouchy, unfocused, and hungry for more sweet and fatty food.

No Choice Is Perfect; Make The Best Choice For You

Your choice depends on what you want:  protein or sweet satisfaction; fill-you-up fiber or salty crunch.  Here are some common choices so you can compare calories, fat, carbs, and protein:

Crunchy

  • Baked! Lays Potato Chips (original), 1 package, 130 calories, 2g fat, 26g carbs, 2g Protein
  • Baked Doritos, Nacho Cheese, 1 bag (38.9g):
170 calories, 5g fat, 29g carbs, 3g protein
  • Cheez-It Baked Snack Crackers (Snack Pak):
180 calories, 9g fat, 20g carbs, 4g protein
  • Ruffles Potato Chips, 1 package (1.5 oz):
240 calories, 15g fat, 23g carbs, 3g protein
  • Cheetos, Crunchy, snack size bag (1 oz): 
150 calories, 10g fat, 13g carbs, 2g protein
  • Sun Chips Original, 1 package:
210 calories, 10g fat, 28g carbs, 3g protein
  • Snyder’s of Hanover Mini Pretzels, snack size: 160 calories, 0g fat, 35g carbs, 4g protein
  • White Cheddar Cheese Popcorn, Smartfood, 1 package: 120 calories, 8g fat, 11g carbs, 2g protein

Nuts/Seeds

  • Planters Sunflower Kernels, 1 package (1.75 oz): 290 calories, 25g fat, 9g carbs, 11g protein
  • Planters Salted Peanuts, 49g (1.75oz): 290 calories, 25g fat, 8g carbs, 13g protein

Cookies/Pastry/Bars

  • Mini Chips Ahoy!, snack pack (56g): 270 calories, 13g fat, 38g carbs, 3g protein
  • Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tarts (2 pastries): 
410 calories, 10g fat, 75g carbs, 4g protein
  • Hostess Fruit Pie, apple: 470 calories, 20g fat, 70g carbs, 4g protein
  • Fig Newtons, 1 package: 200 calories, 4g fat, 40g carbs, 2g protein
  • Quaker Chewy Low-Fat Granola Bar, Chocolate Chunk, 1 bar: 
90 calories, 2g fat, 19g carbs, 1g protein
  • Nature Valley Granola Bar, Crunchy Oats and Honey, 2 bars: 190 calories, 6g fat, 29g carbs, 4g protein

Candy


  • Skittles (original), 2.17 oz:
240 calories, 2.5g fat, 56g carbs, 0g protein
  • Twix, 2 cookies:
250 calories, 12g fat, 34g carbs, 2g protein
  • 3 Musketeers, king size:
200 calories, 6g fat, 36g carbs, 1g protein
  • Peanut M&Ms, 1 pack:
250 calories, 13g fat, 30g carbs, 5g protein
  • Snickers, regular size: 250 calories, 12g fat, 33g carbs, 4g protein

Filed Under: Calorie Tips, Healthy Eating, Food Facts, Eating with Family and Friends, Food for Fun and Thought, Lose 5 Pounds in 5 Weeks, Manage Your Weight, Snacking, Noshing, Tasting, Travel, On Vacation, In the Car Tagged With: calories in vending machine snacks, road trip food, snack food, snacks, vending machine candy, vending machine food, vending machines

Oreo — The Interactive Cookie That Says Something About You – Turns 100

March 6, 2012 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN 2 Comments

What happened the same year that the Titanic sank and the South Pole was discovered?  The cookie that millions have twisted apart and dunked was born!

The Oreo  — sweet sugary creme sandwiched between two decoratively embossed chocolate flavored wafers – celebates its 100th birthday on March 6, 2012.

Some Oreo Trivia

Oh, Oreos!  We must love them because we eat 20.5 million of them a day.

Over 491 billion Oreo cookies have been sold since they were first introduced in 1912, making them the world’s favorite cookie and the best-selling cookie brand of the 21st century.

They were first baked at the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco) factory in an 1890’s building — now called Chelsea Market — that runs from 15th to 16th Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenue in New York City. Just to show how popular Oreos are, West 15th Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenue is now known as Oreo Way.

You can buy Oreos in more than 100 countries.  The most sales ( 2010 data) are in the US followed by China, Venezuela, Canada, Indonesia, Mexico, Spain, Central America and the Caribbean, the UK, and Argentina.

The Original Oreo

One hundred years ago Nabisco’s new idea for a cookie was two chocolate disks with a creme filling in between. Early Oreos looked a lot like today’s Oreo with just a slight difference in the design on the chocolate disks.

Originally they came with either a lemon or vanilla creme filling, cost 25 cents a pound, and were sold in cans with glass tops so customers could see the cookies. The vanilla creme filling turned out to be more popular so the lemon was discontinued in the 1920s.

Today there are a whole bunch of different fillings like mint, chocolate, caramel; double stuffs; chocolate coatings; and colored holiday fillings.

Remember Hydrox, the other sandwich cookie?  Oreos weren’t the first sandwich type cookies on the market. Sunshine introduced Hydrox in 1910 two full years before Oreo’s debut but Hydrox never became as popular as Oreo and production stopped in the mid 1990s.

Oreos: Interactive

An interactive cookie?  Think about it — Oreo’s interactivity is one of the keys to its success. You don’t just eat it — you can dunk it, bite it, or twist it apart.  Oreos hold such fascination that food lovers, psychologists, and food writers have all speculated about whether the way someone eats their Oreo indicates a personality type.

Using the iconic Oreo “twist, lick, dunk” ritual, 50% of all Oreo eaters pull apart their cookies before eating them, with women twisting them open more often than men.

According to a History.com video, in 2004 Kraft (Nabisco is now a Kraft brand) surveyed over 2000 Oreo eaters and found that they are divided into three categories:

  • Dunkers tend to be energetic, adventurous, and extremely social. 87% of dunkers say milk is their liquid of choice for dunking.
  • Twisters — and who hasn’t twisted an Oreo – (I personally think it makes the Oreo last longer ‘cause you get two cookies) – tend to be emotional, sensitive, artistic, and trendy.
  • Biters are easy going, self-confident, and optimistic.

The survey also discovered that more women tend to be dunkers while men tend to be biters.  And, Democrats tend to twist, Republicans tend to dunk!

Some Stats

One 2pack of Oreos (two regular cookies, not double stuffs) has 140 calories, 4g of fat (3g saturated), 14g carbs, and 1g protein.

 

Filed Under: Food for Fun and Thought, Snacking, Noshing, Tasting, Takeout, Prepared Food, Junk Food Tagged With: calorie tips, cookie, food facts, food for fun and thought, oreo cookie, snack food

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