I remember that when my brother and I would come home from school, we would turn on the TV to our favorite cartoon show and pop a bag of popcorn. Every single day, it was a ritual. Now instead of buying the microwaveable popcorn we make our own. It tastes better, is better for you (no chemicals!) and it’s cheap. Not only that but it has a lot of health benefits that people don’t know about, such as:
- It’s high fiber
- Contains antioxidants that helps protect body cells that can lead to disease (contain more than some fruits and vegetables!)
- Is a whole-grain
- Low calorie
- Naturally gluten free
Those are all true if you make it yourself. The microwavable popcorn you buy at the store does contain fiber and is whole grain, but you’re eating all the added fat and calories that they add to that buttery substance. Not to mention that that bag contains chemicals that get leaked into the popcorn when made. And also don’t go nuts over the movie theater stuff either. It has a ton of added sodium and oil, so just be careful and enjoy in once in a while. I have been known to bring carrots into a movie theater (like who does that?) but also dominate a bag of popcorn, with some pretzel M&M’s thrown in. That was dinner once and it was oh so delicious. I didn’t regret it and would happily do it again :). It’s moderation! Eat what you want and move on, anyways enough rambling and let’s get on to the recipe.
Stove Top Popcorn
Makes enough for 1 or 2 smaller portions
A small pot
1/4 cup popcorn
2 tsp – 1 tbsp oil of choice, coconut, canola, olive oil etc… (choose the measurement of oil depending on the size of the pot, you want enough oil to cover the bottom plus a little excess, too little and the popcorn won’t pop)
Salt to taste
Optional Toppings: Cinnamon, Melted Butter, Parmesan Cheese, Chocolate Chips, Nutritional Yeast, Dried Dill etc…
Directions: In a small pot pour the oil in and place two kernels in the bottom. Turn heat to high and place the lid on, wait until you hear the kernels pop. This signals that it’s hot enough. Pour in the kernels and place the lid on. Lift the pot off the burner (so that it’s not directly on the heat), for gas stoves the pot can cause sparks if shaken directly on the grills and the pot may scratch ceramic stove top. Shake the pot repeatedly and open the lid every 15 seconds or so. Keep shaking until the popping stops. Turn off heat, pour into bowls and season as desired.
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| Do you see that melting chocolate?! |
I’ve mentioned this before, but popcorn with chocolate is one of my all time favorite snacks. During the summer while I was training for my half-marathon, I would watch my favorite show at the time (Bunheads on ABCspark, sadly it got cancelled) and make popcorn with chocolate. I was running a lot and needed to carbo-load, or that’s what I told myself :). I even have a tradition that the night before every race I have popcorn with chocolate. Popcorn is a great whole-grain carb that fuels me up for the next day and the chocolate is there, because well it’s chocolate. And melted chocolate gets me every time.
kassidykooks 