Who Wants Popcorn?

Popcorn. Photo taken by Ayelie, Flickr.com

Popcorn has been a staple snack in my family for as long as I can remember. As kids, we’d snack on it while we played board games, watched movies, or just hung out. My grandparents always munched on it while they watched the evening news, and it was a standard treat at sleepovers.

Back in the day, my parents made it using their West Bend hot air popper, but eventually, they bought a microwave, and we were introduced to the wonderful world of microwave popcorn. It was convenient to pop, we could make it ourselves, and it tasted fantastic.

The only problem was that it was terrible for us.

If you have a box of microwave popcorn, check the ingredients. Odds are, your popcorn is filled with artificial coloring and damaged oils, just like ours was. This meant that when our family cut damaged fats this year, we could no longer enjoy our favorite snack.

It’s just not the same watching a movie with a bowl full of…fruit. I don’t know about you, but movies and board games are just more fun when I’ve got a giant bowl of fluffy kernels sitting in front of me.

I kept checking the ingredients of the different brands of popcorn at the grocery store, somehow hoping one of them would magically change and become something we could have. None of their labels ever changed, but I did discover a plain microwave popcorn. Newman’s Own Pop’s Corn has a variety with no added salt or butter. (I found it in the health food section of my grocery store.) To make it, pop the bag in the microwave just like you would pop any other bag of microwave popcorn. When it comes out, you can either eat it plain, or add your own toppings. We like it with a little bit of organic butter and sea salt.

This worked for a little while for our family, but Pop’s Corn was expensive. A dollar a bag, to be exact, and with a family of five who could easily consume 2-3 bags in a sitting, it didn’t always fit into our budget.

I hadn’t bought plain popcorn kernels in years, but I picked some up at the store and brought it to my parents’ house when we visited. We pulled out the good ol’ West Bend hot air popper, and we popped…and popped…and popped. That 28 ounce bag, which had cost me $2.00, popped countless bowls of popcorn. We added our favored toppings of organic butter and sea salt and enjoyed tasty popcorn to our heart’s content.

Although we still find ourselves coming down with a case of the snackies from time to time, no one misses their chips and salsa, cookies, or ice cream sundaes when we bring out the freshly popped corn.

What if you don’t have a hot air popper? No problem! Just pop the corn on the stove in a healthy oil, like olive or grapeseed, or try popping it in the microwave using a brown paper bag. Yes, it really does work!

Next time you find yourself craving a salty snack, pop up some popcorn! Just remember, although popcorn is a whole grain, it’s still a grain and should be consumed in moderation. Even whole grains turn to sugar once we consume them.

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