Popcorn
July 27, 2010 in Appetizers/Snacks by Joyce Bunderson
I used to make a dietitian joke about movie going: “You don’t gain weight from food eaten during the movie, because it is part of the total entertainment experience”. Unfortunately, my body did not cooperate – it counted every single calorie that I mindlessly nibbled. The Nutrition Action Healthletter suggests that if you eat theater popcorn, have your cardiologist’s phone number on your speed dial before the lights go down.
It’s possible that you may be feeling a bit confused by this info, because I’ve told you in the past what a great whole grain snack popcorn is. I wasn’t, however, really talking about a whole bucket worth of 1,200 calories (before you add the 250 calories of buttery topping) and a huge load of saturated fat. I was talking about home popped popcorn; even if you put a little butter on a batch, it’s hard to get the calories and sat fat as high as the theaters do. Also, it’s much easier to go though a huge bucket when your eyes and emotions are glued to the screen, while your hands and mouth are on autopilot.
You can pop corn in canola oil and end up with a healthy snack, if you keep the saltshaker under control. Even if you pop 8 tablespoons of popcorn (yields about 13 cups popped corn) in 2 teaspoons of real butter (see picture below) it only has 4.7 grams of saturated fat.
If you want popcorn at home and don’t want to fuss with an air popper or other popping method, you could use the Orville Redenbacher’s 94% Fat Free microwave version. You can make seven and a half cups of popcorn for 240 calories, but the sodium (480 mg) is still high, especially if you’re trying to keep your sodium under a daily goal of 2200 mg. There’s only one gram of sat fat in the entire package; that part’s not too bad.
Popcorn
By Published: July 27, 2010
- Yield: 13 cups
- Prep: 2 mins
- Cook: 10 mins
- Ready In: 12 mins
I used to make a dietitian joke about movie going: “You don’t gain weight from food eaten during the movie, because it is part of …
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons popcorn kernals fresh
- 2 tablespoons butter real
Instructions
- Popcorn with the American Heart Assoc. statement.
- Enough for a long movie (about 13 cups).
- Melt butter and pour over popcorn then mix it
- Compare brands, if you choose microwave popcorn - some are loaded with fat and sodium.
