Out of healthy snacks? Make popcorn!
Popcorn is actually a whole grain. Without all the movie theater butter and who-knows-what-else, it is actually very healthy. When I was working with a dietician a few years back and cooking healthy meals for clients, she always recommended I meal prep 3 cups of popcorn and some grapes as a healthy snack for them.
The key is to not douse in it in oil and salt.
In this easy stovetop method, I only use 1 Tbsp. olive oil for ¼ cup popcorn which yields about 3 cups popped popcorn. I top it with a sprinkle of salt and that’s my healthy snack!
It’s not too hard to do, but there are a few key steps in making great popcorn.
- Don’t turn your heat ALL the way up, you want a medium heat.
- Use the right size of pot. For ¼ cup I used a small saucepan.
- Once it starts popping, keep the lid a little ajar to prevent popcorn from steaming too much. Too much steam won’t allow the popcorn to stay crispy.
- Add just a pinch of salt to salt, right after its all popped. You can always add salt, but not take it away.
Some toppings I like:
Lime with not hot chile powder like ancho.
Some nutritional yeast on top.
Some fresh parsley or cilantro.
I’ve even used them like nacho and put pico de gallo on top. Messy, but tasty!
Perfect Stovetop Popcorn (for one or two)
¼ cup popcorn kernels
1 Tbsp. olive oil or other oil
pinch of salt
In a small pot, place the oil and 2 kernels in the pot. Place the lid on and wait for those two kernels to pop. When they do, pour the rest of your ¼ cup kernels in and close with lid.
Shake with lid on so oil can coat all the kernels. Wait till more popping happens, then open the lid just a little to let some steam escape. It will take a minute or two for it all to pop.
If it is filling your pot, pour some out into a bowl and place the pot back on the heat until all kernels are popped. If a few kernels remain at the end, just let them be, you don’t want your pot to burn and have to clean it later.
Once all you popped corn is in the bowl, toss with a little pinch of salt or whatever you like on your corn. Eat and enjoy.
See my 1-min Tiktoc video for timelapse video and some laughs.
@chefjoanna Perfect Stovetop Popcorn in under 5 minutes ##popcorn ##fyp ##tiktokchef ##tiktokchefs ##chefs ##cheflife ##boredathome ##quarantine ##quickrecipes
