But frequent visits to the movies means extra boxes of popcorn, hot dogs, nachos and soda. Come August, I probably gain more than just weight.

Purchasing popcorn and soda are sacred rituals before entering the studios. Even better, these days, the soda glass and popcorn buckets come in collectible themes. #TeamCap or #TeamIronMan? You can easily show your support through the soda cup topper.

But for us, the fight isn’t between superheroes. It’s about which popcorn makes it into the cinema. So, are you #TeamSalted or #TeamCaramel?

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According to research done in the US, movie theater popcorn can contain 400 to 1200 calories depending on the serving and how you have it. But that’s not all; there are also 210 – 1500 milligrams of sodium, an amount of saturated fat equal to three days’ consumption of regular meals.

We all know sodium and saturated fats are dangerous to our health. The reason? Most movie theater popcorn is popped with coconut oil and seasoned with salt. Adding extra butter? Well, just keep counting up. Then all the salt will make you thirsty and suddenly the combo offered by cashier sounds so good. Before you know it, a cup of soda and up to extra 300 empty calories arrives in your other hand.

It’s just not fair to cast popcorn as just a bad guy. These tasty movie munchies do have good nutrients in them, such as fiber, vitamin A and iron, even though only in small amounts. And if we’re talking about the air-popping, homemade one, the number mentioned above drops significantly. So, it’s not the popcorn’s fault, but rather the finger-licking good salt and butter that is added afterward.

So how do we make healthier choices of popcorn? Sharing is key. Instead of each holding a bucket, we can share the bucket. Unless, like me and Andrew, we are on different sides of flavor divide. I’m with the caramel, while he always opts for the salted one. Skip the “butter”, which might be butter-flavored oil anyway, and replace soda with water.

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It’s no secret that movie theaters make their profits from food sold at the concession stand. At least in America, big movie theaters have reported increasing revenues from the concession stand and decreasing revenues from movie tickets.

Of course, despite those scary facts, we know nothing can beat movie theater popcorn. I have tried making it at home, with a popcorn package (with “movie theater popcorn” written on it) and a microwave. Or at a friend’s house with a popcorn machine. I even tried my mom’s own scientific experiment of butter popcorn, popping it raw from the corn kernel. I even add butter, just like some theaters. None of them taste the same.

So, there you go. I think the reason why the one from concession stand taste so good is the extra calories.

I have tried booking an after-lunch movie time to skip the snack. But it didn’t feel right. My son Andrew asked why we didn’t buy popcorn. And the next time we’re inside studio, we always have popcorn no matter how small the bucket size.

Because when the movie is bad, as long as we’re holding a bucket of our favorite popcorn flavor, we’ll be satiated until the credits roll.

***

Mom blogger who enjoys everyday adventure with her son, Andrew. You're invited to join their dates at andrewandme.blogspot.co.id

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