Healthy Hack

Movie Snack

So what is this "healthy" movie snack?

Wait...before you close this window and go grab your popcorn...allow me to explain;)

Most of you know by now that I am a full-blown, self-proclaimed pleasure seeker. Which means when I indulge…I INDULGE. None of that gluten-free, low-fat, sugar-free, “healthy” tasteless cardboard crap for me. Gimme the real stuff:

• the giant gooey cookie from Levain Bakery (which I’ve been trying to recreate in my own kitchen...unsuccessfully;)
• the hot chocolate so thick you have to eat with a spoon
• the warm brownie fresh out of the oven…

Give it to me rich, dark, and handsome…I mean, delicious😉

But every once and a while…a girl has goals. Whether I’m cutting for a photo shoot, event, or just on a health kick, I need to take a break from all the excess treats I’ve been indulging in (Hello, quarantine life!). So, I enter the Clean Eating Phase of my FAT LOSS GAME PLAN for a week or two.

This is a great way to squash those sugar cravings and allow your health to reset while you focus on nourishing your body with the highest quality ingredients. After all, sugar is a drug…or at least it creates a drug-like addiction. The more you get of it, the more you crave. And when you cut it out of your diet, you can go through withdrawals. But once you get through those first few days sans sugar, you start to feel amazing. Without all that excess sugar coursing through your veins, your hormones get a chance to reset and your health sky-rockets as you absorb nutrients from quality food sources.

Everyone’s a little different in their needs and personalities when it comes to sugar. Some people can cut back on sugar and still enjoy a small square of dark chocolate every day and be perfectly satisfied & healthy. Others do better with the “all-or-nothing” approach where cutting out sugar completely for a time being helps avoid the temptation to over-indulge. This is where knowing yourself and what you need to feel healthy and sane comes into play (this is something I work with clients on during Elite Coaching).

Me, I’m an all-or-nothing kinda girl. So I developed this Clean Eating Phase to help me manage my sugar cravings while focusing on nourishment for fat loss. But even during this short time frame of a slightly stricter eating plan, I still want to have some fun in life. So I get creative with finding healthy treats to replace my normal ones.

That’s where this Healthy Hack Movie Snack comes into play.

Who doesn’t like to curl up on the couch in your pj’s at the end of a long week with Netflix while you snack away on a delicious treat, whether popcorn, chips, Ben & Jerry’s, or insert-favorite-snack-here? So instead of forgoing a treat altogether and feeling that lack…just swap it out for a healthy one.

Part of the appeal of eating popcorn at the movies is the activity of it. You get to constantly pop the kernels in your mouth & munch away. Well, this healthy hack mimics that activity level. In fact, it takes a little more work to eat, but it’s still very satisfying.

After the artichoke is cooked, then the real fun begins. Pull off a leaf and scrape the tender flesh off with your teeth. It’s delicious on its own but even better when dipped in garlic butter or aioli. My favorite dipping sauce is Primal Kitchen* Garlic Aioli or Chipotle Lime Mayo. (*Not an affiliate link - I get no money from this...I just like to share the companies that I trust to provide quality ingredients and healthy food products.)

Once you tear off all the leaves, you are left with the heart...the BEST part. First, you must scrape out the choke, or you will gag. Trust me. Not an experiment you should try. Simply use a spoon to scrape off the fuzzy looking stuff, and the base and stem you are left with is all edible and scrumptious.

If you really want to get fancy, be sure to serve this Healthy Hack Movie Snack with a nice cold glass of kombucha (in a wine glass, of course) for an added luxury effect. Enjoy your clean eatin'!