BYO Dye-Free Movie Snacks

Sensory Friendly Films is showing Frozen in 2-D today at 10am, local time zone. Check link for participating theaters! 

We love going to AMC Theatre's Sensory Friendly Film showings not only to support the whole idea of offering a real movie experience for those who may have a harder time processing the noise and darkness and expectations of a regular showing, but also because they're ideal for our family as well! Z's sensory issues had her scared of the dark the few times we went to a regular movie together, and we both had a hard time with the too-loud soundtracks. And it's nice not having to worry about a toddler ruining the film for everyone by moving around a lot and calling out the exciting things she sees on the screen!
But because there is virtually nothing we can eat at concessions at the movies, I pack the girls (and sometimes myself) safe movie snacks in our EasyLunchboxes!

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Saturday, 10/5/13 - I packed these snacks for the Sensory Friendly showing of Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs 2. Hubby had gone out and rented the first movie the night before, so we'd all know the story-line first, as we'd only read the book before.

Stonyfield Greek yogurt, organic sugar snap peas and carrots, organic popcorn w/tamari and yeast

Note to self: Never ever pack yogurt for the movies. Seriously. Don't do it.

The girls both liked the yogurt, and ate some. But EasyLunchboxes on wiggly little laps don't exactly stay level, so there was a lot of spillage. And big gobbets of yogurt on their shirts from bringing the spoons to their mouths while having all their attention on the big screen.


Friday, 10/11/13 - The public schools were out for a teacher work day or something, so we had the afternoon free.

Snack for the Big Girl

Organic popcorn with salt, pomegranate arils, organic kale chips

I packed spoons in case they wanted to use them for the pomegranate seeds, but both girls like to eat them with their fingers. One. By. One.

Snack for the Little One

Pomegranate arils; organic apples, tomatoes, and carrots; organic popcorn with salt

 

Please note that I don't pack these for the girls to save money by cheating the system. Movie theaters make the majority of their profits from concessions - unless the movie is popular enough to run a long time, most of the ticket revenue goes back to the movie studios. (It's a sliding scale, where the percentage that goes to the movie theater goes up each week that the movie plays.)

But I also have to put my children's health first. So we buy the theater's bottled water, and sometimes whatever lemon-lime fountain drink they have on tap, since those are just about the only gluten-free items that don't contain anything artificial. (Sprite, 7-Up and Sierra Mist are all dye-free and naturally flavored. Still full of HFCS though.) And Hubby buys himself an artificially flavored Coke Icee and  a bag of Yellow #5 popcorn. Because he isn't concerned about the long-term health of his stomach lining or internal organs. Mama usually steals some of his popcorn and sneaks in some dairy-free chocolates just goes without.

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