I have a dirty little secret. I try to eat healthy and avoid empty calories as much as possible, but I have a weakness for chips. Crunchy, salty, seasoned kettle cooked chips. While perusing the chip aisle at my local Kroger the other day, another crunchy snack caught my eye- pre-popped popcorn!
It seems to be a growing “health food” trend; Bags of pre-popped popcorn advertised as containing healthier ingredients such as chia seeds and more favorable oils. The packaging suggests that you can indulge guilt-free in this airy snack due to lower calorie content than its other salty counterparts. And it’s true; an average between brands comes out to between 30-60 calories per cup of popcorn. So if you were to treat yourself to a sizable 4 cups of this snack, you’d still come out ahead versus eating 10-15 chips. Anyone who’s met me knows that I’m a big fan of practicing "volumetrics" when eating. So are these new-styled classic movie snacks a good choice?
I say so! Popcorn itself is a whole grain and a good source of fiber. Most of these popcorn brands are popped with sunflower oil (a good source of omega 6) and have a limited amount of ingredients (dietitian thumbs up). I've been munching on this popcorn as a crunchy substitute for chips. There are quite a few brands to choose from. Here is a review of the options that I’ve seen.
-Chia Pop by Lesser Evil, 38 calories for 1 cup
Lesser Evil boasts using chia seeds in their popcorn (and other snacks). This increases the fiber content to 5 grams per serving! Also comes in Aged Cheddar and Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper.
-Fit by Indiana Popcorn, 30-40 calories for 1 cup
Sea Salt Fit only contains 3 ingredients: popcorn, canola oil, and sea salt! Other flavors include Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Parmesan and Herb, and Onion Dijon.
-Boom Chicka Pop by Angie’s, 35-60 calories for 1 cup
Another short ingredient list! Comes in Sea Salt, Lightly Sweet, and White Cheddar
It seems to be a growing “health food” trend; Bags of pre-popped popcorn advertised as containing healthier ingredients such as chia seeds and more favorable oils. The packaging suggests that you can indulge guilt-free in this airy snack due to lower calorie content than its other salty counterparts. And it’s true; an average between brands comes out to between 30-60 calories per cup of popcorn. So if you were to treat yourself to a sizable 4 cups of this snack, you’d still come out ahead versus eating 10-15 chips. Anyone who’s met me knows that I’m a big fan of practicing "volumetrics" when eating. So are these new-styled classic movie snacks a good choice?
I say so! Popcorn itself is a whole grain and a good source of fiber. Most of these popcorn brands are popped with sunflower oil (a good source of omega 6) and have a limited amount of ingredients (dietitian thumbs up). I've been munching on this popcorn as a crunchy substitute for chips. There are quite a few brands to choose from. Here is a review of the options that I’ve seen.
-Chia Pop by Lesser Evil, 38 calories for 1 cup
Lesser Evil boasts using chia seeds in their popcorn (and other snacks). This increases the fiber content to 5 grams per serving! Also comes in Aged Cheddar and Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper.
-Fit by Indiana Popcorn, 30-40 calories for 1 cup
Sea Salt Fit only contains 3 ingredients: popcorn, canola oil, and sea salt! Other flavors include Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Parmesan and Herb, and Onion Dijon.
-Boom Chicka Pop by Angie’s, 35-60 calories for 1 cup
Another short ingredient list! Comes in Sea Salt, Lightly Sweet, and White Cheddar