Let's go to the MOVIES!

I am going to the movies tonight with my girlfriends, and it got me to thinking about all those delicious treats offered at the concession stand. I don't know about you, but I love the salty sweet combination. SO I don't only want to order just a bowl of popcorn, but a sweet treat on the side, as well! But did you know that the average movie popcorn/candy treat/ and soda combo can have you racking in upwards of 2,000 calories!! WOW! That's a whole day of food! Can you say, "calorie-bomb!"

And do I even need to mention, that these calorie-laden treats are also full of saturated fat and sodium? Often 1 to 3 days worth of all that bad stuff!! So what's a person to do when it's a night out with friends and you want to indulge in some of your favorite movie fare? Here are some quick tricks to keep you munching and satisifed throughout the movie!

Let's Get Healthy at the Movies:
1. pack your snacks and drinks-this is truly the only way to know exactly what your putting into your body!
2. water bottle- save those calories for your treats and drink water with your salty/sweet snacks. and NO, diet soda is not an alternative, it is full of fake sugar which only signals to your brain that you want more sugar! so you could end up overdoing it on your sweet snack.
3. pop your own popcorn-100 calorie bags are a great alternative to that 700 calorie bag of popcorn covered in fake butter at the movies. so POP before you go!
4.byos-bring your own snacks- you don't need to limit yourself to popcorn, things like portioned out nuts, granola or energy bars, cheese and crackers, trail mix, whatever tickles your fancy, drop it into your bag and your good to go!
5. candy-need that candy fix? pack yourself options like tootsie rolls, lollipops (blow-pops, tootsie roll pops, dum dums) sweet tarts, lemonheads, starbursts. all of these are wonderfully satisfying to your sweet tooth, fat free and under 100 calories for a serving.
6. chocolate-mini bags of m&ms or your favorite (portioned out to a serving) dark chocolate is a great treat to savor during the movie.
7. be mindful-when you're mindful of your treats at the movies, you can go more often, see more movies and indulge in those new pair of jeans, instead of the empty calories in a greasy popcorn bag!