Popcorn - healthy snack? YES!

Most of us think of popcorn being an unhealthy treat. We see it in the movie theaters coated in a golden syrup of butter and heavily doused with salt and flavorings. Or maybe we pop it up at home and pour over some caramel sauce as a fix for a sweet tooth craving! Either way, agreed, popcorn is an unhealthy treat.

But wait - isn't popcorn a whole grain? You bet it is. Popcorn is a whole grain food, high in fibre, low in fat, containing antioxidants and trace minerals. It's all about what you do with it once you've popped it that determines whether it is healthful or not!

My favorite way to eat popcorn (I admit...this is sometimes dinner...or lunch...often more than just a snack) and to feel good about eating it - is to air pop it, spray it with a half and half mix of olive oil and water (I fill my oil sprayer up with half water and half olive oil. Doing this means that you don't get as many plugged up pumps, and seriously decreases the amount of calories coming from fat. Olive oil is a healthy fat to be sure, but even healthy fats contain plenty of calories!), then sprinkle with a table spoon or two of grated parmesan, or nutritional yeast or (if you are like me), a mix of both. Sometimes, to add a bit of flavor beyond, I will take my favorite cube of organic soup stock and break off a corner to sprinkle over the top. Ta-da! Tasty popcorn with plenty of nutritional goodness to be had!