Healthy Options: Home-Popped Popcorn vs. Store Bought Popcorn Bags

Every once in a while, you’d like to chill out and watch a movie with friends or your family. A big bowl of popcorn and your drink of choice would be a great way to enjoy home movie watching even more! Naturally, it is understandable if you would like to just purchase store-bought popcorn bags you can easily pop in the microwave. However, you can have more budget-friendly and healthier options when you decide to pop your own corn kernels.

A bag of corn kernels for popping can save you money and you’ll be more certain of the quality of the popcorn you have when you purchase organic kernels. Here are two options you have for healthier popcorn at home:

• You can choose to pop your corn the regular way: in a pan and with some oil. The key is to remember using only a small amount of oil, and controlling your fire. Brush on some olive oil or vegetable oil evenly on the base and sides of the pan, and pour in about ¼ cup of corn kernels. Cover the pan and shake it back and forth. Lift it away from the fire every once in a while if you see too much smoke. Just keep shaking until you hear popping, and when the popping stops to just a few pops per second, you can open your pan and season your popcorn with salt or spices.
• If you want a no-oil method, you can still use the microwave and devise your own popcorn bag. Take a snack bag or a paper bag similar to the size of usual popcorn bags. Pour in some corn kernels. Fold the top firmly several times. Microwave as you normally would your usual popcorn bags, and stop when you reach the point where the popping has a few seconds of intervals. The bag will pop up as well, and you need not use any oil for this preparation method.

Season your popcorn with a dash of salt, cheese, or maybe even some garlic powder and you can enjoy your bowl of freshly made popcorn!