Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Do It Yourself Kettle Corn

I met Lisa aka Snack Girl at the FoodBuzz Festival in November, and we had a fun time chatting a bit. Lisa writes about healthy snacks on www.snack-girl.com. Lisa is an avid snacker, foodie, published author, and mother of 2. An evolutionary biologist by training, she has become obsessed with how food contributes to our overall health. I follow her on Twitter and read her site, and I love her fun and informative posts.


Lisa asked me if I wanted to trade posts, and I happily agreed. The following post is a guest post by Lisa. Check out my celery salad guest post on her site.

Here is Lisa: 

Kettle corn has that perfect combination of crunchy, salty, and sweet that keeps you eating it long after you should stop.

I had been thinking of making my own kettle corn because I saw a PRETTY scary bucket of microwave kettle corn in the aisle at BlockBuster.

This brand, which shall remain nameless (Jolly Time), had 4 grams of Trans Fat stated in its Nutrition Facts.  Ummm, did you get the memo?

Also, it included sucralose AND sugar.  Why not just add enough sugar to make it sweet?  I guess they were trying to keep the calories low. 

So, I didn't come up with a way to make it completely in the microwave, but I did come up with a tasty version which is sweet, made with natural ingredients (no sucralose here!) and only 80 calories per serving.

I added peanut butter and maple syrup to the freshly popped popcorn AFTER it was popped.  The result is dreamy and my kids went bezerk.

It is a bit messy (you have to mix it with your hands), but the result is worth the work.  You can get it evenly distributed if you melt the maple syrup and peanut butter together - trust me.

I used a microwave popcorn bowl that a reader suggested.  You just dump 1/4 cup of unpopped corn in the bowl, turn the microwave on for 2.5 minutes, and you have freshly popped popcorn without using any oil. 
This is a bit easier than using the paper bags that I suggest in http://www.snack-girl.com/snack/homemade-microwave-popcorn/

Homemade kettle corn is a great party snack, watching football snack, or after school snack.

Give it a try and tell me how it goes!


Homemade Kettle Corn Recipe

(3 servings)
1/4 cup unpopped popcorn
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 tablespoon chunky peanut butter (can substitute smooth)
dash of salt

Pop popcorn in microwave, air popper or stove top (see  http://www.snack-girl.com/snack/homemade-microwave-popcorn/).  In a small bowl in the microwave, heat peanut butter and maple syrup for 30 seconds.  Pour over freshly popped popcorn, add a dash of salt, and mix with your hands.  Enjoy!

//80 calories, 3.0 g fat, 11.8 g carbohydrates, 2.3 g protein, 1.6 g fiber, 78 mg sodium

Thanks, Lisa! I know my family will love this! Find more healthy snacks on Snack-Girl.com.

Questions: Do you like popcorn? What’s your favorite way to eat it? I like adding finally chopped rosemary to mine, but I’m making Lisa’s kettle corn soon! Do you have any ideas for homemade kettle corn?

Be well,
Andrea