Why you need to make air popped popcorn today

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Save money and eat healthier by making your own delicious popcorn! To get our recipe and more visit Made in a Pinch and follow us on Pinterest!
Save money and eat healthier by making your own delicious popcorn! To get our recipe and more visit Made in a Pinch and follow us on Pinterest!1
Save money and eat healthier by making your own delicious popcorn! To get our recipe and more visit Made in a Pinch and follow us on Pinterest!2

My family loves eating popcorn! It’s a wonderful addition to our family movie nights on Friday nights. It has become a tradition, and the boys ask for it when we get ready to watch a movie together.

I grew up on microwave bags of popcorn – they are so easy to make. However, they have always grossed me out. And I can never time it just right, so they burn in the microwave and smell horrible.

And cost-wise…you definitely pay more for the convenience of microwave popcorn.

Dangers of Microwave Popcorn

But to me what’s worse than paying more is the chemicals you are ingesting (both inhaling and eating). According to the Environmental Protection Agency, there are nearly 4 dozen chemicals in the steam of that piping hot popcorn. Sources for these chemicals include the buttery flavoring, the ink and the glue on the microwave bags, and the lining of the bags.
Get a week of recipes for classic dinners with a healthy twist kids will love.

Diacetyl is the chemical in the buttery flavoring, and it’s the most concerning. Due to public oncern over the safety of this chemical, many major microwave popcorn companies have discontinued using it. However, there are many other unnecessary chemicals still in there.

Another issue for me, as we are making changes in our diet to be healthier, is the lack of organic options. I am selective of what I buy organic (to watch the budget), but I try to buy corn and wheat products organic to limit our pesticide exposure.

making homemade popcorn in an inexpensive air popper is fast and much healthier than microwave popcorn. Get our recipe and more helpful tips at Made in a Pinch and follow us on Pinterest!2

Several years ago I tried popping my own popcorn on the stove in oil. I wanted to get us away from the microwave bags, It wasn’t hard to pop it that way; however, it was usually a messy undertaking. But even then I significantly preferred that over using the microwave bags.

As time went on and life got busy, I tried buying the lightly salted popcorn at Costco. I definitely like that option better than microwaving popcorn or popping your own in oil on the stove. However, the downsides are that it’s not organic, and it’s a huge bag which takes up way too much kitchen space.

Air Popped Popcorn – the difference and benefits:

I kept thinking that there had to be a better way! On its own, popcorn is a great healthy snack, as it’s full of fiber and low in calories. So when prepared the right way, it’s an amazing (and delicious) food!

Then, about a year ago, a friend of mine introduced me to air poppers. I had heard of them before but never tried them and was skeptical of them. While I was at her house one day, she made some for me. It popped quickly, was super easy to make, easy to clean up, and tasted amazing when drizzled with a bit of avocado oil and salt!

I was in love! Finally…a way to make a healthy snack for my family in a super easy (and fast) way! Pair this amazing machine with your favorite reusable popcorn bags (I like these wider ones because I think they are easier with kids) for a classic family tradition. 🙂

Here’s what I love about air popping my own popcorn:

making homemade popcorn in an inexpensive air popper is fast and much healthier than microwave popcorn. Get our recipe and more helpful tips at Made in a Pinch and follow us on Pinterest!1

  • reduces the number of chemicals you and your family consume
  • ability to choose either standard or organic popcorn
  • versatile – you can flavor it any way that you prefer, and it will still be more healthy than microwave popcorn (even if you drench it in melted butter)
  • fast – it takes less than 5 minutes
  • healthy

We have been experimenting with air-popped popcorn for a while and have begun playing around with adding flavors. Here are a couple of our favorites:

Cheesy Popcorn:

Air Pop 1/2 cup popcorn kernels. Add 1-2 Tbsp cheese powder (available from Amazon or a local spice shop). Shake to mix.

 

Ranch Popcorn:

Air pop 1/2 cup popcorn kernels. Add 1- 1 1/2 Tbsp Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix. Shake to mix.

 

Simply Salted:

Air pop 1/2 cup popcorn kernels. Drizzle with approximately 1-2 tsp of your favorite Olive Oil or Avocado Oil. Sprinkle 1/2-1 tsp sea salt over popcorn. Shake to mix.

Try making your own popcorn today and take advantage of the health benefits of ditching processed and chemical-filled microwave bags! To help you out, check out our Popcorn Package giveaway below.

 
Get a week of recipes for classic dinners with a healthy twist kids will love.

Tell us in the comments: what is your favorite flavor of popcorn?

 

Check out these other healthy eating posts:

Weeknight dinner: Greek gyros with homemade Tzatziki sauce

Baked Oatmeal – hearty, delicious, and gluten-free

Weeknight dinner: Healthy Vietnamese-inspired noodle bowl

 

 

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149 Comments

    1. Hi Dyann! I’m sorry to hear that happened to you! I’m not sure what you mean…the element of what? With the air popper, the element is in the bottom and the popcorn is constantly blowing around and up into the top of the popper which directs the popcorn out of the popper (I put a bowl there to catch it). It does get hot very quickly and can burn a piece of popcorn if it somehow ends up floating in a “tornado” rather than coming up and out. That’s happened to me occasionally, but not even close to the point of setting off a fire alarm. I have popped MANY, MANY, MANY batches of popcorn with an air popper and have had ZERO issues with it doing that!

      Reply

  30. I like plain buttered popcorn with popcorn salt. I might try it with the garlic olive oil I have.
    Thanks for the contest.

    Reply

  32. Wait, what is the air popper? A machine? I am not seeing a picture of it. Oh well…

    We made huge batches of spicy salted caramel and bacon popcorn at work on the stove top and then oven (Long name, but this in one flavor). It’s yummy!!

    Reply

    1. Yes, an air popper is a popcorn popping machine! But you bring up a good point that I don’t have a picture of it in the post – I have corrected that and added a picture. 🙂

      Reply

  36. I bought microwave pop corn once and from the moment I saw the amount of butter in the bag. I said I will never buy it again. But I am doing it old school

    Reply

    1. Yes, I completely agree – the microwave stuff is disgusting on so many levels! I did it old school for a while, but now I LOVE air popping it. I love that you don’t need oil to pop it with the air popper, and it’s SO much easier and faster cleanup!

      Reply

  39. My favorite flavor… Butter Butter and more BUTTER (with a tad bit of pink salt!) My good friend also had me try eating bite size Snickers and then popcorn… Oh My! She did not in any way help my waistline ;o)

    Reply

  53. I just tried a jalapeno ranch flavored popcorn and it is now my favorite. It is so good and spicy. Thank you for an awesome giveaway!

    Reply

  57. I love real butter buttered popcorn, and with airpot I can be sure I get the real thing. It would be fun to try some of these flavors, too

    Reply

  96. Air popped popcorn is a good idea. It fits in perfectly with organic popcorn. I like different flavors but the standard salted is my favorite.

    Reply

  106. I like caramel corn, but that is too hard to make at home. It usually comes out rock hard or very chewy. There must be a secret to it.

    Reply

  114. Guess who’s going to go make a batch of popcorn right now!! Wow, thanks for the great recipes to change things up!

    Reply

    1. I’ve never tried salt and vinegar popcorn, but salt and vinegar chips are my favorite! I’ll have to play around with that and try it – thank for the idea, Diana!

      Reply

  129. we recently purchased an air popper. My husband is so happy too! He was the designated popcorn maker using a pot and the stove top. The air popper is sooo nice!

    Reply

  136. I don’t own an air popper but I’ve heard good things about them. I don’t buy microwave popcorn though. Homemade popcorn is the way to go. I pop it on the stove in a 5 qt pot with a clear lid. I add about 1 tbsp of either coconut oil or avocado oil, and just move it a little while it’s popping. My kids love popcorn and they really enjoy watching it pop. Great topping suggestions, Kerrygold butter is delicious too.

    Reply

  138. Great informations, i think i will stop microwave bags of popcorn. Thats awesome you can change flavors, i will try one these flavors soon :))!!

    Reply

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