The Pros of Popcorn

This may sound like a very silly, very simple tip, but one of the most significant changes to my eating habits in recent years has been the purchase of a popcorn maker. I really like to snack, and while I have very little in the way of a “sweet tooth”, I love salty, fatty foods like chips and pretzels. Most of those, however, are not only extremely unhealthy, they can get pretty expensive when you’re on a very limited food budget. Air-popped popcorn has essentially all of the benefits of what I need in a snack, while reducing nearly all of the drawbacks of the alternatives.

In addition to being extremely cheap and reasonably healthy, popping your own corn gives you a sense of portion control that bagged options don’t. Mentally, it’s very easy to slip into the tendency to define how much you eat based on how much is in front of you, rather than how much you actually want. You also get to modify the butter, salt and flavoring as much or as little as you like – if you’re finding it hard to cut out some of that stuff completely, you can benefit either from cutting back just a little or reducing it gradually. Popcorn is also high in fiber but low in fat, which will help avoid that heavy, sick feeling that comes from eating too much fatty food (especially late in the evening), and makes the feeling of being satisfied last longer.

Air poppers aren’t as easy to find these days as they once were, but they make a surprisingly good investment (and also, they’re kind of fun).

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Posted in Easy Food, Frugal on March 21, 2008