Shannon Center Weekly Nutrition Tip – Popcorn Month

Date:10/07/2016

Happy Popcorn Month

Did you know corn/popcorn is a whole grain? Popcorn can be a great way to boost your intake of whole grains and fiber.

Some Corny Facts:

Americans consume some 13 billion quarts of this whole grain, good-for-you treat. That’s 41 quarts per man, woman, and child.
Compared to most snack foods, popcorn is low in calories. Air-popped popcorn has only 30 calories per cup. Oil-popped is only 35 per cup.
Most U.S. popcorn is grown in the Midwest, primarily in Indiana, Nebraska, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky and Missouri. Courtesy of www.popcorn.org.
The healthiest way to eat popcorn is by popping it yourself. (I do NOT recommend microwave popcorn, even the fat free variety due to the chemicals and palm oils that are used.)

Here are three ways to make homemade popcorn, which truthfully, does not take extra time at all:

Use air popper, just throw those kernels in;
On the stove in a pot, add kernels with a few tablespoons of canola oil;
Put desired amount of kernels in a brown paper lunch bag, spray with olive or canola oil and fold down bag a few times. Pop on your microwave setting in microwave.

Now time for the toppings!

Here are some butter/oil suggestions for you along with a list of yummy toppings to sprinkle on:

Now time to get creative! You can mix and match any of these depending on your mood:

Happy Popping!