Popcorn is an excellent healthy snack assuming you do not cook it in lots of oil and then cover it with butter and salt. Three tablespoons of popcorn kernels cooked in half a tablespoon of vegetable oil yields about eight cups of popped popcorn for only 200 calories. One cup of popcorn has almost no sodium, 24 milligrams of potassium, and 1.2 grams of fiber. A study presented at the 2012 meeting of the American Chemical Society reported that popcorn contained more polyphenols, a type of antioxidant, than fruits and vegetables. So go ahead and sit down with that bowl of popcorn and feel guilt-free. Here are a few popcorn recipes if you want to try something a little different than popcorn with salt or salt-substitute.

Fiesta Popcorn

Popped popcorn
Lime wedges
Chili powder
Salt or salt-substitute

Put your popped popcorn in a bowl. Squeeze some lime juice over the popcorn. Do not use too much juice or your popcorn will end up soggy. Sprinkle on some chili powder. Toss the popcorn to distribute the lime juice and chili powder. Add salt or salt-substitute to taste.

Healthy Carmel Corn

1/2 cup dates
1 cup water
8 cups popped popcorn
Dash of salt

Bring the water and salt to a boil. Add the dates and boil the mixture for 10 to 15 minutes. Allow the mixture to cool. Place the date mixture in a blender and blend until smooth. Depending on how long you boiled the dates and the power of your blender, you may have a few small pieces of date left. You can leave the pieces in for a contrast to the crunchy popcorn, or you can strain the date syrup through a fine sieve or cheesecloth. Toss the date syrup with the popcorn to coat. Spread the popcorn on a cookie sheet and bake at 250 degrees. Stir the popcorn every 10 minutes. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until most of the moisture from the syrup has evaporated.

Healthy "Cheesy" Popcorn

This popcorn recipe is not going to taste like the neon orange cheese popcorn you buy in the store. Instead it uses nutritional yeast to add a cheesy and slightly nutty flavor to your popcorn while saving you from eating extra fat and unpronounceable chemicals. You can purchase nutritional yeast in natural grocery stores and health food stores.

8 cups popped popcorn
Oil for spraying
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
Salt or salt-substitute

Lightly spray the popcorn with an oil mister. Sprinkle the popcorn with the nutritional yeast and salt or salt-substitute. Toss to evenly coat and enjoy!


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