I LOVE MY AIR POPPED POPCORN MAKER! Here's why...

A couple of years ago my kids and I stopped at a garage sale and low and behold, on the folding table was this old Black & Decker popcorn popper that was reminiscent of my childhood days gone by!  I thought it would be a fun gadget to have around so my kids could see the popcorn pop as they stood on chairs pulled up to our kitchen counter...just as I did. 

Little did I know how much I REALLY have grown to love my $1 popcorn maker!!!

DID YOU KNOW?  3 CUPS OF AIR POPPED POPCORN IS ONLY 93 CALORIES! (btw...orville redenbacher's butter LIGHT has 110 calories in just 2 tbsp)

I can't even remember the last time we MICROWAVED popcorn in this house.  If you are a "snacker" by nature, then you need to go shopping TODAY for your AIR popper.

AIR.  AIR.  AIR.  If you have to pop your popcorn any other way you're going to be adding on fat and calories that are unnecessary.  AIR AIR AIR.

Let's take a moment to compare ingredients of microwave vs air popcorn, shall we?

Orville's Premium Popcorn:

	Pop Secret, Premium Popcorn, Variety Pack, Snack Size
	INGREDIENTS: Movie Theater Butter Popcorn, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Salt, Natural Flavor and Artificial Flavor, Color Added, Nonfat Milk. Freshness Preserved by Propyl Gallate. Butter Popcorn, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Salt, Butter (Cream, Milk, Salt), Natural Flavor & Artificial Flavor, Color Added. Freshness Preserved by Propyl Gallate.

Air Popped Popcorn:  yellow popcorn.  (and whatever toppings you choose)


So...how do I season my popcorn?

The sky is the limit.  First of all, goodbye butter.  Olive Oil will be your new choice.  Wanna know the best thing EVER?  There is this store in Lees Summit (close to where I live) called HEAVENLY OLIVE OILS AND VINEGARS.  This is my version of a candy store.  They have all different flavors of EVOO's and Balsamic Vinegars and you can taste test anything you want before buying it.  My favorite is their BUTTER OLIVE OIL.  People...its infused w/ herbs and aged over many years and the result is...IT TASTES JUST LIKE BUTTER!!!!  I have cooked my eggs in it, make wheat cinnamon rolls with it, put it on my Ezekiel bread toast...and drizzle it on my popcorn!

After drizzling on the EVOO, the fun begins.  Of course you'll want salt, but don't use table salt which has been stripped of all the important nutrients...use sea salt or kosher salt.  My favorite is what we call "Cowboy Popcorn".  It has a little "kick" to it as the seasoning is a chili and lime spice blend.  (I purchased at TJ Maxx)  I also love to add fresh or dried herbs...basil, cilantro, etc.

I pop a HUGE amount and it stores for a long time in an air-tight container.  I think the last batch lasted up to 3 weeks.  (I'm sure it depends on humidity, too)  Quite honestly, we usually eat it up so fast I've never had it go stale.

Where can you buy an air popper?  I'm sure anywhere...but it sure is fun to bargain shop!  Start looking at garage sales and/or craigslist.  Amazon.com has some.

AND NEVER, EVER, NEVER microwave your popcorn again.

(sorry it's blurry)

This is how it works:  Measure out 1/4 cup of popcorn kernals, dump it in, flip switch to "ON", wait 4 mintues, popcorn done.  Ummm...I think this actually popped FASTER than microwave popcorn!  I have absolutely no clue if Black & Decker still makes this, but I DID happen to peek on Ebay and saw them listed for around $12.

But...how to make my popcorn NOT get SOGGY?  Easy.

Place popped corn in large bowl.  measure out 1/4 cup of Olive Oil.  Pour half of it on top, toss, then pour the rest, toss.  POPCORN DOES NOT SOAK UP THE OIL.  The oil COATS the popcorn.

We like good ol' fashioned butter popcorn, so I cranked out some sea salt and then sprinkled on Butter Buds, found by the popcorn in the grocery store.  Butter Buds has all-natural ingredients w/ the exception of 1: maltodextrin.  If you ever see "Annato" listed as an ingredient, it is an orange-red dye obtained from the pulp of a tropical fruit, used for coloring foods and fabric.  (like cheddar cheese)

This popcorn, in my opinion, tasted WAY better than microwave and I can eat it knowing I'm not going to completely clog every artery in my body or my entire intestinal tract.  I think it would taste fabulous to experiment w/ some fresh herbs, but for now, we'll just enjoy our yummy homemade butter popcorn.  By the way, both my kids LOVED it!

So next time you're at Grandma's and she still has that old popcorn popper, maybe she'll let you take it home with you. :)