A friend brought some Popcorn to a recent BBQ at our house for nibbles and since then we've got a bit of a taste for it. Obviously many brands come already coated in oil so can cost 8.5 syns per 28g. As we have a regular movie night together, my hubby-to-be thought it would be good to make some to munch on whilst we watch. Everyone has there preferences on this. Some like the sweet Butterkist popcorn, others like it salted. Our friend had brought us butter (non-sweet) popcorn and it certainly converted me from plain salt. The trouble with developing this new taste was the likely impact to my waistline.

By chance, after the demise of one batch of butter popcorn after being left in the microwave too long, my hubby-to-be made a plain non-oil popcorn batch (5.5 syns per 28g - a saving of 3 syns) but sprayed it with Buttery Frylight after cooking and a little salt. It made all the difference and tastes lovely. Buttery Frylight can be an acquired taste..sometimes tasting a little artificial but in this context it works well in my opinion. For Sweet popcorn you could try spraying with plain Frylight then sprinkling with Splenda. I would be interested to know of any tricks you have found to tackle that.

I'm not sure how much of the need to nibble during films is a natural impulse and how much has just become habit for a lot of people these days. My choices at the local multiplex would be the nachos with salsa or cheese dip. As it turned out these are totally impractical and have resulted in me finding myself covered in dollops of dip once the house lights have come up. A healthier yet controversial option for replacing these is the so called 'Syn-free lasagne sheet tortilla chip' recipe. The debate continues on their syn value - read this debate on minimins and decide for yourself. You can serve this with a genuinely syn-free dip such as salsa,  or a Total Zero yoghurt based dip - raitha, tzatziki, herbs and spices (experiment a bit) - there are many combinations that work well with yoghurt. Its best to make them and leave them in the fridge for as long as you can to let the flavours develop.

What do you munch on in front of the TV? What have you changed about your snack habits since joining Slimming World? Let me know in the comments!




Note: I follow Extra Easy and for simplicity don't reference Green and Red days a great deal here!