Healthy Tips Blog

If you are a popcorn lover, you must have heard of popping corn with the use of revolving hot air. But, you may not know, that this results in one of the healthiest, yet tastiest snacks ever! Popcorn popped with revolving hot air in an air popper will contain practically no saturated fats, cholestorol or sodium, and is a good source of dietary fibers. Air popped popcorn can be seasoned at the end, so your popcorn snack can be unique each time you pop a new batch.

So what is Air Popped Popcorn?

To make air popped popcorn, you will be needing an air popcorn maker. Its a small, 12 inch tall machine that comes in a number of shapes nowadays. All hot air popcorn poppers have a kettle, where you add the popping corn.

Once the air popper machine is turned on, it circullarly revolves hot air in the kettle, which sends the kernels on a wild ride around the side of the kettle. The revolving hot air heats every single kernel, which eventually pops as it would if you were using an oil popper. As more and more corn start to pop, they are literally shot through the spout of the air popper into a serving bowl you need to prepare beforehand.

And the best part is that once the popcorn has popped, you can choose the seasoning you want to add, meaning that your unique, seasoned to taste popcorn will satisfy any case of the munchies. The most popular, quick-prepare seasonings are:

- brewers yeast (adds cheese flavor, really!)

- onion powder

- garlic powder

- onion powder

- sugar and cinnamon (2 teaspoons cinnamon per 1/3 cup sugar)

Air popcorn makers are very efficient kitchen appliances, since they will leave almost no kernels unpopped. The popping cycle is around 3 minutes, which means that they are very quick and easy to use. If you are on the market shopping for an air popper machine, you will find that they are easy on your wlallet. A reliable Presto hot air popper’s pricetag will be around $20, while vintage style designer air poppers cost as low as $39.

You will see that natural popcorn kernels are much cheaper than microwave popcorn bags as well, so not only is it lighter on your wallet, it’ll be lighter on the calorie side as well. Natural popcorn kernels can be found at any grocery store, usually right next to the microwave popcorn bags, so have a look for yourself! This is one of the very few instances, where a food thats actually healthy will be cheaper than the “artificial” version.

Nutrition facts on air popped popcorn (1 serving = 1 cup or 8 g)

- 31 calories

- 0g saturated fat

- ZERO cholesterol

- just 1 mg sodium

How to use your air popper machine safely:

- Vertical space saving poppers propell the popcorn through a spout and sometimes hot unpopped kernels can fly out. It is advisable not to stand directly in front of the hot air popper during operation.

- The hot air used to pop the corn is emitted through the spout, which can burn your skin.

- The hot air emitted by the machine will heat up the serving bowl you place under the spout to catch the popcorn. Metal heats up very rapidly, so it is advisable not to use metal bowls.