Healthy Popcorn: Easy And Delicious!

Okay, come on now, who doesn't love a nice big tub of popcorn when watching a good movie, or at the state fair, or even the amusement park?  Those crunchy, buttery kernels just seem to hit the spot, and boy is it fun to dig right in.  Now I hate to say it, but unfortunately that over-buttered heaven in a cardboard container isn't the healthiest option when it comes to eating out, and one small container can have over 600 calories!  Not to mention you're getting a heaping load of trans fats and saturated fats.  It's too bad really, because that stuff is so tasty!  If only there was a way to get some delicious popcorn without all the blatant violations of health code.

Well, there's good news.  Popcorn can EASILY be turned into an extremely healthy snack.  Yes, that's right, it's a very easy task to convert that buttery, artery clogging corn dripping with butter into a delicious, nutritious snack for movie night, game night, or even a mid-day snack.  In fact, popcorn is actually a whole grain, and therefore in its natural form is already quite good for you.  Let's figure out how we'd go about optimizing this!

First off, you need to take a step away from the microwave.  Yes, I know it's hard, but listen for a second.  That microwave popcorn, while not horrible, still has all sorts of oils and strange chemical butters sprayed all over the kernels to make them tasty and addictive, hence why the stuff sells so well.  In general, microwave popcorn isn't too good for you.  

There ARE a few "healthier" options when it comes to microwave popcorn, and many companies now sell 100 calorie popcorn bags.  If nothing else, you can at least get a well portioned movie snack that won't push you over your caloric limits for the day.  

But there's a better way, and no I promise you I'm not just full of hot air.  However, this method sure is!  Remember air popped popcorn?  It was all the rage a while ago, when popcorn was still being widely introduced to the masses.  You buy the kernels, stick them in an air popper, but a bowl under the output spout, and watch as the little fluffy puffs come flowing out of the noisy little machine.  Surprisingly, this is still the healthiest way to cook popcorn, because you can buy popcorn kernels with NO ADDITIVES.  That's right, they're raw popcorn kernels, no butter, no salt, no trans fat, just little pieces of white heaven in the making.  

How does it compare to the buttered up stuff calorie-wise?  In one cup of air popped popcorn there are only 31 calories!  Not bad, not bad at all.  There's also no sugar, and no fat.  Just gets better and better, doesn't it?

Now I know what you're thinking:  "I couldn't eat that, that stuff is wayyy too bland!" 

This is where a little bit of creativity goes a long way.  Air popped popcorn is in essence a blank canvas.  It's easy to make your own healthy recipes filled with all the nutrients you desire and within your calorie requirements.  And you can make the stuff to YOUR taste!  Awesome!

And what would this article be without some recipe suggestions?  Here are some of the better air-popped popcorn recipe ideas I've run across:

Cinnamon and Splenda:  It's as simple as it sounds, sprinkle cinnamon on your freshly popped popcorn, add a little Splenda, Truvia, or other zero calorie sweetener, and mix it all up.  It'll taste fantastic and keep you slim and trim.

Sea Salt:  Though I'm not one for huge sodium consumption, if YOU'RE in control of how much salt you're adding it's much easier to keep the doses lower.  Add a little sea salt to your popcorn, and enjoy!

Flavored sprays:  There are many low/zero calorie sprays sold out there in grocery stores now, including butter, olive oil, and garlic.  These can add a lot of taste with extremely little effect on overall calories, and are much better than the nasty oils used in many popcorns.  Remember though, moderation!

Spice it up:  I LOVE SPICY THINGS.  Adding chili pepper to popcorn is an awesome idea, especially if you want a little kick in your snack.  You can add other spices like curry powder as well if you really want to bring some flavor into those kernels.

Grated Cheese:  This one's easy! Just grate a little cheese over top of your warm popcorn and you'll get a better, more wholesome cheesy flavor than that nasty oiled up microwave stuff.  It'll provide you with a lot more nutrients as well!

Popcorn doesn't have to be loaded with nasty stuff, and it doesn't have to be unhealthy.  It can be quite good for you, and still taste better than you can imagine.  Try it out!  Get creative!  Air poppers are cheap and bulk bags of kernels won't break the bank either.  Have some fun on your next movie night, and show the family what popcorn should REALLY taste like.

Be imaginative, think healthy, and as always, GOOD LUCK!

Sodium, Potassium, And Your Body

We all think we know a little something about salt (sodium chloride), and how it tastes darn good on that dinner of ours.  It can enhance the flavors of otherwise bland food, and can save some people from the dreaded plate of veggies.  And our body NEEDs salt to survive, because it cannot manufacture the nutrients in salt on its own.  You need sodium to maintain blood pressure, water levels, and to prevent dehydration.

However what we don't realize is that the average person these days takes in wayyy too much salt.  In fact, the recommended daily sodium intake is around 2000-2500mg, and many people can eat this number within two meals if they're big on processed food.  While you may not have realized this, and haven't ever really felt the effects of an overly large sodium consumption,  all that salt isn't doing your body any good, and in fact can be hurting you in some ways you might not initially see or feel.  However these little behind the scenes acts of mutiny can really come back to haunt you if you're desperate to lose a few pounds, or just get healthier in general.  Here's what excess an sodium intake can do to you:

Heart Health:  Excess sodium will most certainly raise blood pressure, because sodium has the job of regulating water levels in your blood.  The more sodium in your bloodstream, the more water is drawn into your veins, causing a higher blood pressure, and forcing your heart to work harder than it already has to.  And eating high sodium foods day in and day out will definitely take a toll on that oh so important chest muscle of yours.

Excess sodium can also wear down your kidneys, as it's their primary job to regulate the sodium in your bloodstream.  Too much salt can cause kidney stones, and in extreme cases, kidney failure.

A salty diet will also be very detrimental to any weight loss goals.  It will cause you to retain water, become bloated, and therefore you'll be unable to shed those last few pounds.  And because excess water appears like fat over your midsection, causing a soft, flabby look, I guarantee you won't be too happy with your appearance either. This water retention can be easily cured with a diet adjustment, but if you don't know what's happening, it may be very confusing and disheartening to wonder why that scale isn't budging, and those abs are still hidden.

Foods to watch out for:

Canned anything:  The general rule of thumb is to watch out for the canned stuff.  Yes, canned soup, canned vegetable, canned meat, fish, etc.  If it's in a can, it usually has a LOT of sodium in it, just to help preserve it for extended periods of time.  I'm guilty of the canned food craze, because being in college, I can't really keep a ton of perishable food and expect it to last long enough to eat it all.  I also happen to LOVE canned tuna, salmon, herring, etc (GREAT LEAN PROTEIN.)  But I never go crazy on the stuff, and the reason for that is the sodium.  One cup of canned soup can have as much as 940mg (or more) per serving, and there's usually two servings per can!  That's incredible, more than half your days sodium for lunch.

Chicken Breast:  Many chicken breasts and other frozen meats, though lean and fresh, tend to be injected with a saline solution to preserve them for a little while longer.  This excess sodium can add up if eaten many days each week, and before you know it you could be consuming much more sodium than you thought.  Wash your food before cooking to remove a lot of that salty mixture.


Fast Food:  I'll start this one off with a quote:

How do you know if you are getting too much sodium?
"If you eat fast food even once a week, you are probably eating 2 to 3 times as much salt as you need," says Jill Minette, R.D., assistant director of clinical nutrition at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

That's incredible.  Fast food is absolutely riddled with salt.  Just plain PACKED with it.  Salt adds a lot of flavor to very bland, processed food, so it's easy to see why fast food chains use so much of it.  One footlong sub from subway can have over 2700mg of sodium.  One Big Mac has 1040mg of sodium.  A Whopper has 1355mg of sodium.  A medium side of fries has around 300mg of sodium, however how often do you eat those without adding a packet of salt or two.  If you're looking to decrease sodium intake, fast food is definitely not the place to start.

Sauces:  A lot of sauces, like tomato sauces, salsa, hot sauce, mustard, chipotle, etc. have a large amount of sodium per serving.  I am a fan of salsa because of it's high flavor to low calorie ratio, but I know it's definitely not a good idea to go crazy on the servings I consume, just because of the large amounts of sodium per serving.  I still suggest sauces as a great way to add flavor to your food (certain healthier sauces of course, I'll give a list in a later article), but watch out for that salt.  Read the nutrition labels!

Any processed food:  Another reason why processed food is bad.  Salt is used for preservation and flavoring, and like I said before, the crappy processed food is what needs the most flavor to keep it selling.  Read the nutrition facts on that lunchable, that ramen (1500mg per block), or that lean cuisine.  Grab a banana or an apple instead and cut that sodium intake a little.


But excess sodium isn't the only problem.  Like I said before, our body needs sodium to survive, and without enough of it, we can easily become fatigued, dehydrated, and overall very inefficient.  Some people may not be consuming an overly huge amount of sodium, but are instead completely messing up the balance of sodium to water in their body.  I've now discussed the desirable amount of each (8-15 glasses a day of water, and 2000-2500mg of sodium), therefore this is the ratio your looking for.  If either one gets out of whack, you'll feel it.  You may feel dizzy, or even slightly sick if suddenly your sodium intake changes drastically.  Try to watch this ratio, keep it in check, and I bet you'll feel a lot better.

Unfortunately the water-salt ratio isn't the only ratio you have to watch in your body.  In fact, yet another problem with a great percentage of diets these days is that people aren't taking in enough of the other electrolyte, potassium.  In fact, some people take in very close the daily recommended dosage of sodium, but because they don't get enough potassium they still see the detrimental effects that a salty diet can bring on.   Potassium works side by side with sodium in your blood to regulate the acid-alkaline balance in your cells.  Basically, sodium works outside the cells, potassium works inside.  Without enough potassium in your diet there can be serious bodily effects such as poor brain function and an irregular heartbeat.  This is because without the correct amount of potassium in your diet, electrical signals to your brain and muscles are very inefficient.

Banana's are a food rich in potassium, try one today!

So here's my final advice.  Firstly, try to cut back a little on sodium.  Replace a few processed snacks with healthier, fresher alternatives, such as fruits and vegetables.  This will not only decrease your sodium intake, but will increase your potassium intake, and will better maintain that critical balance.  Also, drink more water, and while I suggest cutting your sodium, don't go ultra-low salt, because your body does need a regular intake of the stuff.  Keep your ratios in mind, and adjust your diet accordingly.

Keep balanced, stay healthy, and good luck!