Once You Pop, You Can't Stop!

I don't know about you but when I get home at night I'm a snacker. When I’m prepping for dinner I snack. When I prep meals for the next day I snack. My choices aren't terrible but I'm eating when I shouldn't be. Often times I find I'm craving a salty, crunchy snack. Popcorn is my go to. Fresh popped with a little salt and melted butter and my craving is satisfied with out filling up on unwanted calories. 

Fun popcorn facts: 

Air popped popcorn has only 31calories/serving. 

Oil popped has 55 calories/serving. 

Popcorn is full of fiber without sugar or additives filling you up with out making you feel like a million pounds. 

Recently, I decided to give the old stovetop popping method a try. I was inspired by a sample of popcorn I tried from a local vendor at Fresh Acres. The gentleman was the actual corn farmer from Enfield, CT and he smartly made his with coconut oil. The taste was uniquely coconuty and I had to have more! How hard could it be? With coconut oil already at home and a package of locally grown popcorn I headed home to pop some up. The result was amazing and I've found myself making a batch almost every other night.

When your next salty crunchy craving strikes try popping your own popcorn in coconut oil. The instructions below will get you one of the best bowls of popcorn you’ve had. Be careful though, once you pop…you can’t stop. 

Ingredients:

2-3 TBPS of coconut oil (high smoke point)

1/3-1/2 cup of high quality popcorn kernels (I used Little Pops a local product from Enfield, CT)

3 QT Stock Pot

Butter & Salt to taste (optional)

1. Heat oil over medium high heat, with 3-4 test kernels in oil.

2. When test kernels pop, remove the popped kernels.

3. Remove pot from heat & pour unpopped kernels in a single layer into the bottom of the pan. Cover and let sit for 30s.

4. Return the covered pot to the heat providing a gentle shake once popping starts. Feel free to vent the steam a little bit to create crispier, drier popcorn.

5. When the popping starts to slow remove from the heat and transfer to a large bowl.

6. If using butter, melt in the same pan and pour over the popcorn with a sprinkle of salt to taste.

7. Eat & Enjoy!

For more popcorn recipe ideas use this link: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/perfect_popcorn/