Make Your Own Microwave Popcorn for $0.25!

I'm 18 weeks pregnant and my stomach has not been my friend for the past 14 weeks.  I learned with my first pregnancy, however, that the more often I eat, the less nauseous I am, so I graze all day long until I finally go to bed.  Some of the baking posts that I have posted on here were the result of an after-dinner munchy craving - and to be honest, eating muffins, cookies, custard pies, pudding cakes, or mug brownies every night is probably not the healthiest habit.  Fruits cause too much acid reflux right now, and veggies never really satisfy the munchies for me.

Additive-free home made popcorn for $0.25/large bowl!

Then.  Yesterday, I read this article:  "The Health Benefits of Popcorn," which suggests that popcorn might just be the perfect snack.  It's the only snack that is truly wholegrain, and contains more of an antioxidant called "polyphenols" than most fruits and vegetables.  Add in the fibre content, and as long as there's not too many additives (butter, salt, oil, etc.), this can be a pretty guilt free snack!  According to the back of my bag of popping corn, one serving is 1/4 c of kernels, which translates into 5 1/2 c of popped corn - so no need to limit yourself too much, either!

Store-bought microwave popcorn overdoes it on the butter and salt and oils, as usual.  Not only that, but it's expensive!  I paid $6.99 for a box of 5 packages at the local corner store (for my babysitter)!   That's $1.40 per bag - not super cheap. 

Whole-grain, yes, but also full of other things to avoid!

I came across this site which has very helpful instructions on how to make microwave popcorn without having to spend a fortune.  All it takes is 2 ingredients:  a brown paper lunch bag, and popping corn. I picked up a 1kg bag of No Name Popping Corn at the store for $2.99, and I already had a stack of paper bags at home.  Kerry recommends using 1/2 c of kernels per bag, but I found that to be a little too much and the pop corn started exploding out the bottom of my bag - I would do 1/3 c next time.  I'll be able to get 13 servings from my bag of kernels, which is just less than $0.25 per bag!  And, you can put as much or as little salt or pepper on top of your popcorn as you wish!

Here's the deal:

1.  open your paper bag and stand it up on the counter
2.  pour 1/3 c into the bag
3.  fold the top of the bag over twice so your popcorn doesn't start jumping out (don't staple the bag, as that will cause a fire in your microwave!)
4.  place bag in the microwave (standing up) 
5.  set the microwave for up to 3 minutes.  Different microwaves have different strengths, I started at 2:30 and found that it wasn't quite enough time - but careful you don't burn your snack!  Open the door when there are only 1-2 pops a second.
6.  pour into a bowl, and sprinkle with your topping of choice.

1/2 cup is too much!  Just use 1/3 cup.

 Topping ideas:

•  I like the stand-by of butter and salt. 
•  My sister has suggested substituting Coconut Oil for the butter.  Apparently that's what movie theatres used to do!
• I also sprinkled a small bowl with some Epicure Selections Caesar Dressing mix that I have in the cupboard.  Delicious.  
• I also have some Epicure Popcorn Seasonings that I'm sure would taste lovely on it (Don't worry, I'm not an Epicure sales person - although I used to be (which is why I have so much of it in my home!), and trust me, their products are highly tasty and healthy!!)
• Mixing some Parmesan with the salt before adding to the popcorn would be cheesy and delicious.
• Salt and vinegar - in order to avoid soaking your popcorn (or over-doing it!), put some vinegar (I think that a cooking vinegar like Malt vinegar would taste best) into a small spray bottle and lightly spritz the popped corn with it before adding the salt.
• Any other ideas?  Does anyone like or have any recipes for a sweet popcorn?

 Indulge yourself!