Another food holiday to celebrate – National Popcorn Day is January 19th.
When I think of popcorn, I tend towards the flavored popcorn. The popcorn that is chocolate drizzled or cheese popcorn. I received a gift basket once that had a small bag of gooseberry popcorn once that I’ve been searching for ever since. My childhood included plenty of boxes of Cracker Jack’s, but my grown up tastes prefers the gourmet versions of caramel popcorn. But what I didn’t realize is that popcorn, when it’s not so dressed up, is actually one of the healthier snack foods.
- Popcorn is low in calories and fat AND has zero of that nasty trans fat.
- Popcorn gets points as a healthy snack alternative from the American Dietetic Association, American Dental Association, and the USDA and may help ward off diabetes and some cancers.
- The Center for Human Nutrition wrote that people who snack on popcorn have an average of 22 percent more overall intake of fiber, which reduces their risk of cardiovascular disease.
- One cup of plain popcorn has only about 45 calories. And since it’s a high fiber food, you feel full sooner and maybe say no to that chocolate chip cookie.
- Popcorn is actually a whole grain, and a complex carbohydrate high in fiber. Americans eat an average of 68 quarts of popcorn per year! That’s a lot of crunching at the movies.
- Flavored popcorn began with the Indians who used to sprinkle the popped kernels with herbs and spices.
With the help of The Buffalo Wine and Dine Group, I’ve been trying a variety of gourmet popcorn over the last few months. We’ve ordered popcorn gift tins and a variety of favored popcorn. Some we liked, some we loved and some was just plain weird. Over the next few days, I’ll introduce them to you and would encourage you to order a few that sound good to you. After all, you can read that list again and convince yourself that you’re doing something good for your body!
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