EZ Breezy Popcorn

You know that summer vacation has started when late at night, the whole house is filled with the aroma of freshly popped popcorn! Popcorn is the most popular midnight snack at our house during the summer when the kids are watching movies or just lazing around. For quite a few years, I used the usual microwaveable popcorn bags because they were so convenient. But it would always nag me that we had to resort to processed foods for such a simple snack. Then I started to read scientific studies about the harmful chemicals lining the microwavable popcorn bags and their horrible side effects. Furthermore, corn is the most common GMO (genetically modified organism) grown in the US. For me, that was it! I knew that there had to be a better way to make great popcorn.

I did not want to buy any expensive or elaborate equipment, and I also didn’t like the pan method, as it used a lot of oil and invariably my kids would burn some popcorn. They preferred the old microwavable method. But one time, we saw this brown bag technique on TV and everybody loved it. I also have an inexpensive air popper which works really well, but the brown bag microwave method works just as well. Simple homemade popcorn was just not enough, we wanted popcorn with some “oomph”. So we experimented with different seasonings. Here are a few combinations that work for us. Some are spicy, some are savory, and some are sweet and salty! Be creative, go with the mood and feel free to experiment 🙂

Ingredients:

Organic dry popcorn kernels: 1/4 cup (makes about 6 cups popped)

Grape seed oil/Canola oil: 1 ½ T

Brown paper bag/Air popcorn popper

1^st Seasonings combination for Spicy Popcorn:

Salt: ½ t

Red chilies: 1/8 t

Directions:

Pour the corn kernels in the paper bag, fold the top a couple of times and put a small piece of cello tape to seal it.
Lie the bag down in the microwave and press the cook popcorn button.
The other method to do this using an air popcorn popper.

Mix the dry seasonings in a small bowl.
Once the popcorn’s stop popping, pour them in a large bowl.

Drizzle half the oil and sprinkle half the seasonings over the popcorn. Mix well. Do taste test.

Then drizzle the rest of the oil and sprinkle the rest of the seasonings. Enjoy!

Nutritional Content:

Total Servings: 6 cups

Per serving (1 cup): 58 calories, Fat 3.8, Carbs 6.7 g, Fiber 1.7 g

Here are a few more combinations that you can try. Only the dry seasonings change. Follow the same basic procedure. First drizzle half the oil & half the seasonings on popped popcorn. Mix well, taste test and add rest of the oil & seasonings. Mix & enjoy!

2^nd Seasonings combination for Italian Flavor Popcorn:

Salt: ½ t

Red chilies: 1/8 t

Garlic powder: ¼ t

Parmesan cheese (finely grated): ½ t

Oregano (dried): ¼ t