Sometimes I am so utterly shocked when reading ingredients in packaged food that seem so harmless. I will never understand how the food industry takes something simple and turns it into a cocktail of dangerous chemicals and unhealthy fats. Microwaveable popcorn is no exception. The sad part is most people don’t read the ingredients because they think its obvious… corn and butter. Once I started recognizing harmful ingredients in packaged foods I stopped letting my children eat microwaveable popcorn. It wasn’t a staple in my pantry but unfortunately it is in many homes. This unsuspecting highly processed popcorn has got to go! Luckily for us it is so incredibly easy to make your own that tastes even better then some of the packaged stuff.
What’s in the Packaged Stuff and Why is it Dangerous?
Ingredients:
Popcorn Bag Contains: Orville Redenbacher’s Gourmet Popping Corn, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Less than 2% of: Cinnamon, Salt, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Butter, Color Added, Sucralose. Pouch Ingredients: Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Sugar, Less than 2% of: Natural and Artificial Flavor, Caramel Color, TBHQ and Citric Acid to Preserve Freshness.
- Hydrogenated Oils: Highly processed synthetic fats. Cheap to produce and extend shelf life. Raise levels of bad cholesterol (LDL). High levels of LDL can result in heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and heart disease. These scary fats are the 2nd ingredient and appear twice on the list!
- Artificial Flavor: This is a huge unknown and the reason I do not eat packaged products with this ingredient. It could be anything but it isn’t called artificial for no reason. Also appears twice on the list.
- Sucralose: Fake sugars that just wreak havoc on our bodies. This surprises me because nothing on this package makes claims of being “diet”. Just another reason to read every ingredient.
- Carmel Color: Controversial color additive. Commonly found in sodas, and may be linked to cancer.
- TBHQ: tertiary butylhydroquinone….. enough said!
How to Make Your Own
Making microwave popcorn is so simple. As with other products I have found, I can’t believe I have gone my whole life without knowing you don’t need their chemical laden bags to pop popcorn in the microwave. All you need is a brown paper bag! Yes… those brown paper lunch bags pop popcorn the same way the prepackaged ones do. Thank goodness for Pinterest on this one! When I started popping my own I realized it was fun to come up with new combinations of toppings and my children gobbled it up like it was something really special. This Cinnabun recipe was a favorite all around. I prefer a topping that is not completely overpowering so I went on the lighter side, however you can easily add more if you find you want more sweet goodness.
