Recipe: Heavenly Popcorn

You can file this one under “Things Everyone on the Planet Knows Except Sandy.”  Or the condensed and more efficient title: “Duh”

It’s a little food secret I just discovered.  Ready for this? 

You can microwave popcorn in a paper bag with no oil. 

And everybody said????  “DUH”

No, seriously.  This was news to me.  See, we are a popcorn loving family.  I have sweet childhood memories of Saturday nights, popping a giant bowl of popcorn with my mom and whichever (whomever?) of my six siblings was (were?) too young to be dating.  Then we’d all gather in the family room–I, in a tiny wooden rocking chair–with our popcorn.  And watch Mary Tyler Moore.  And Rhoda, when she got her spin-off series.

Fast forward 38 years.  I can still sing the entire Mary Tyler Moore theme song. But I need to set my phone alarm to remember to pick up my children from school.

And I still love to fill the house with the aroma of freshly popped corn when our family sits down to watch television. 

Which is why we used to buy popcorn in the little microwaveable bags.  I loved the convenience of them, really.  Until I decided I no longer wanted to feed my family this:

Whole Grain Popcorn, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Salt, Butter (Cream, Milk, Salt), Natural & Artificial Flavor, Color Added. Freshness Preserved By Propyl Gallate.

So then, I started popping my corn on the stove with a little bit of olive oil or coconut oil.  It was yummy that way.  Made me feel like a kid again. The problem?  It took about 10 minutes to make that way.  Who has 10 minutes, when there’s television to be watched????

So, I decided to try popping the corn in a lunch bag.  With no oil.  Just to see what happened.  And it worked.  Beautifully.

The Directions:

1.  Take an ordinary brown paper lunch bag and fill with about 1/4 cup unpopped popcorn.  (I tried placing more than this in the bag, but it burned before it all popped.  Not good.)

2.  Fold the bag twice to prevent spillage, and place upright in the microwave.  It will probably fall over if you have a rotating base in your microwave.  No worries.  That’s why we folded it.

3.  Set timer for 4 minutes on full power and LISTEN.  When you hear the popping slow down to one pop every few seconds, it’s done.  Just like it tells you on the store-bought package.  I’m stealing their terminology.  Getting them back for all the Propyl Gallate I’ve consumed over the years.  Which probably affected my memory in such a way that I need to set an alarm to remember to pick up my children from school.

My microwave pops the popcorn in about 2 1/2 to 3 minutes.

4.  Notice how white and fluffy and amazing this popcorn is.  My daughter calls it, “Heavenly Popcorn.” 

5.  I like to sprinkle mine with Celtic Sea Salt.  And if you are not about to attend your 25-year high school reunion (which I am), you can also melt some organic butter and drizzle–excessively. 

The Benefits:

1.  You still get the convenience of microwave popcorn, without all of this nonsense:

Whole Grain Popcorn, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Salt, Butter (Cream, Milk, Salt), Natural & Artificial Flavor, Color Added. Freshness Preserved By Propyl Gallate.

2. The little brown bags are perfect for on-the-go snacking.  Like when you head out the door to pick up you children from school because the alarm told you it was time to do so.

2.  You will save yourself a chunk of change.  At Kroger, Pop Secret Homestyle sells for $7.59 for 35 oz.  I can buy 64 oz of Kroger brand popcorn for $2.99.  That’s almost double the corn for less than half the price.  Add the cost of paper bags, butter and salt and I’m still ahead.  I didn’t figure that much out.  Math isn’t my strength. 

3.  You don’t have to add oil, which is high in fat and calories (*cough* 25th reunion). 

You can still add Proyl Gallate, if you’d like.  But I have no idea how much that costs or what affect it might have on your memory and/or the quality of your parenting. I don’t recommend it.

Q4U:  Did you know you could microwave popcorn this way?  Can you sing the Mary Tyler Moore theme song?

Linking up with Sorta Crunchy and Your Green Resource.  Head over there for tons of natural, healthy tips and recipes!