If you love popcorn, you must have heard of popping corn with the use of revolving hot air. But, you may not know, that this results in one of the healthiest, yet tastiest snacks ever! Popcorn popped with revolving hot air in an air popper will contain practically no fat, cholestorol or sodium, and is a good source of dietary fibers. Air popped popcorn can be seasoned at the end, so your popcorn snack can be unique each time you pop a new batch.

How do you make the snack you never have to feel guilty about?

First you’ll need a hot air popper, which is a small kitchen appliance approximately 30 centimeters long, and half that in width. It has an attachable spout, where the popcorn will pour out. Underneath the spout is the circular shaped kettle, usually made out of metal, where the popcorn is fed into the machine.

After adding the kernels, you place the air popper machine under power. Your children will have fun watching the next stage, as the unit circullarly revolves hot air in the kettle, which propels the kernels round and round the side wall of the kettle. All of this can be watched, as the spout of the popper is usually see-though. The kernels pop due to the intense hot air they are being circulated in, and as the kettle starts to fill, the popped pieces of corn pour out through the spout of the air popper machine into a bowl.

And there you have it, the healthiest snack ever, air popped popcorn. Of course, you can than flavor the popcorn to your liking, but be aware that all added ingredients change the nutritional value of your snack. Some famous quick seasoning fixes are:

- nutritional yeast for a cheese popcorn flavor

- garlic powder

- onion powder

- garlic powder

- sugar and cinnamon (1/3 cup sugar needs 2 teaspoons of cinnamon)

Hot air poppers generally pop almost every kernel in under 3 minutes, making the popping process very efficient. Air poppers are very inexpensive as well, a Presto hot air popper costs around $20. You can get great looking vintage style air poppers nowadays as well for as low as $40.

You can get popping corn at any grocery store, usually in the same aisle as microwave popcorn. It’s very inexpensive compared to microwave popcorn, so your initial “investment” into the air popcorn maker will be offset in a short while, not to mention the health advantages of air popped popcorn over microwave popcorn.

Nutrition facts on air popped popcorn (1 serving = 1 cup or 8 g)

- 31 calories

- ZERO saturated fat

- NO cholesterol

- less than 1 mg sodium

Hot air popcorn popper safety advice:

- Vertical space saving poppers push the popcorn through a spout and sometimes hot unpopped kernels can fly out. It is advisable not to stand directly in front of the hot air popper during operation.

- Hot air emitted by the popcorn popper can cause skin burn.

- Don’t use metal bowls to collect the popped popcorn in, as the hot air emitted during popping will heat up metal bowls rapidly.

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