Popcorn in a Healthy Way

I have tried over the years to find healthy treats that will actually help my health but fill a craving at the same time.

Microwave popcorn is quick and easy but it isn't healthy. There have been many deaths linked to microwave popcorn so I don't like to use it. I was going to post a link here to link you to some articles about it but figure if you want more information on that you can do a search on "popcorn microwave death" and 223,000 articles come up.

With that said, I have a hot air popper that I use when I make certain Christmas treats. I figure hot air is probably the healthiest way to pop corn. I do have a whirly pop but that has to have heated grease to pop. Not always the healthiest but very tasty.

So, I use my hot air popper to be healthier. I melt some grade A coconut oil which has a coconut taste instead of butter. It is similar to butter that it hardens as it gets cold and depending on the temperature of your house, it will melt and harden accordingly. Coconut oil is one of the healthiest oils. Most animal oils are bad. Rape seed or Canola oil is horrible for animals and humans. (You may want to check your peanut butter for rape/rapeseed/canola oil and switch brands if it has it listed)

When they gave cows coconut oil mixed in with their grain feed, they became too healthy and lean and the ranchers were upset that they didn't have enough fat on them to make more money so they stopped using it for cattle.

Our bodies need good fats. 30% of our diet should be fats. Most people don't get 30% fats and the fats that they do eat aren't healthy.

I have used two types of coconut oil. Both are shown above. I now just buy it bulk in the gallon. If you want to use coconut oil in all of your cooking or baking, you can get a lower grade coconut oil that doesn't have a coconut flavor and has a shelf life of about 30 years which is amazing compared to most other healthy oils that have about a year shelf life. I use olive oil in much of my cooking and baking but bought coconut oil for long term storage. During the last world war, the thing that was the most sought after and that had universal value was cooking oil. You can buy it online or at a health food store.

I then use "Real Salt" for flavor. It is salt that comes from a mine in Redmond, Utah. It is from the sea that once covered that area. It has natural minerals that other salts don't have. Many people are mineral deficient with today's diets so it is a nice way to get flavor and get minerals. It has a reddish color.

I pour the melted coconut oil and stir as I salt the popped corn. I used to use bowls for serving but with so many of us, we have collected a few different containers. I have two glass bowls and four small container so we can each enjoy our own container while watching the movie without having to pass or spill the popcorn.

I hope this has been informative and will give you a healthy alternative to microwave popcorn!

Happy Popping!