Oh, the Intertubes

I was doing one of those spaced-out Internet rambles the other day and came across one of the recent Snack Girl entries about Newman's Own microwave popcorn. There was a link to another popcorn entry for homemade microwave popcorn.  In general, I stay away from microwave popcorn bags because I've heard they have lots of nasty chemicals in them, not to mention they are loaded with oil and other fatty, butter-like substances most of the time. The problem is, I didn't know how else to make it. (Stove top? How?!? I'm too modern for that.)

Growing up, we had one of those big plastic things that you stuck in the microwave with the popcorn and oil, but who needs a big bulky thing like that...or all that oil? We would also occasionally get those packs in foil that you cooked on the stove, but I can't imagine (if they still make them) that those are any better for you than the microwave bag kind. So, basically I stopped eating popcorn, even though I know it's a whole-grain food that's pretty decent for you on its own.

But Snack Girl has rescued me from my popcorn drought! She taught me I can make microwave bagged popcorn in an all-natural, healthy way! All you need is a brown lunch bag, some tape and some popcorn! I tried it last night with 1/4 cup of popcorn. I cooked it for two minutes which is a little bit too long--some slight burning occurred. I'll try again tonight with a little less time. Once it was done, I decided to add some cajun seasoning, which I regretted because it made me sneeze. So tonight I'll just add some salt, maybe even some Brummel and Brown for buttery goodness. If you make 1/4 cup unpopped corn, it makes a nice big bowl full, and it's only 2 pts (plus whatever you add to it). That amount has 5 g of fiber in it, which is really good.

I highly recommend this as a cheap and easy alternative to the processed bags you buy at the store! Thank goodness for the Internet and its magical ability to make healthy eating possible.