Popular popcorn with high calories Homemade low-calorie popcorn

Garett Popcorn, a well-known popcorn from Chicago, USA, recently entered Taipei 101 and has become a super popular food with long queues. Even the daughter of Ting Hsin Chairman Wei Ying-chiu could not resist its charm and was reported to have used her privileges to buy more. However, these sweet and delicious popcorns are hidden health landmines such as trans fats, high sugar and high calories. Nutritionists suggest that you can use homemade popcorn instead, which can satisfy your cravings and avoid waiting in line, while also allowing you to eat healthily and with less burden.

Popcorn comes in a variety of flavors, including sweet and salty. It is the best companion for people to watch movies and has also been a popular snack in recent years. (Photo/File Photo)

Popcorn comes in a variety of flavors, including sweet and salty. It is not only the best companion for people to watch movies, but in recent years it has also become a popular snack because of its mushroom shape. However, these popcorns that seem to taste better and better the more you eat them actually contain health risks. Eating them in large quantities may make you fat and increase the risk of disease.

Oil and sugar! Eating too much flavored popcorn may harm your health

Nutritionist Liu Wenzhang said that popcorn is made by applying high temperature and pressure to dry corn kernels, and eating it in its original flavor has little impact on health. Generally speaking, 20 grams of dry corn kernels have only 70 calories, which is equivalent to 1/4 bowl of rice. Without adding additional oil, sugar or other seasonings, the volume after drying increases by about 60 times, which is about 50% to 80% full of a single-portion popcorn container in a movie theater, but the calories remain unchanged. Eating a small amount will not cause obesity.

However, in order to stimulate consumption, businesses have developed a variety of flavors such as caramel, cream, cheese, seaweed, and chocolate. Various seasonings are used in the process. People consume large amounts of these seasonings, which can easily put a burden on the body. Generally speaking, caramel and chocolate flavored popcorns have too high a sugar content. Cream flavored popcorns not only have the problem of high calories, but also have the hidden concern of trans fats. Cheese itself is a high-sodium food, and eating too much of this type of popcorn is equivalent to eating a lot of salt, which can easily lead to excessive sodium intake.

Popcorn, which seems to be more delicious the more you eat it, actually contains health risks. Eating it in large quantities may make you fat. (Photo/File Photo)

One serving of caramel popcorn has at least as many calories as one bowl of rice!

Especially the caramel popcorn, which is the most popular among consumers, is a "fattening food"! Nutritionist Liu Wenzhang pointed out that when making popcorn with the same 20 grams of dry corn kernels, the business will add a large amount of butter and at least 20 grams of caramel. If each gram of sugar has 4 calories and each gram of oil has 9 calories, the calories accounted for by the seasonings are at least more than 200 calories. The total calories in one serving of caramel popcorn are close to a bowl of rice. However, this is only a conservative estimate. The calories people actually eat may be higher!

Just love popcorn! Make it at home, eat simply and enjoy healthier

If you love popcorn but don't want to gain weight, nutritionist Liu Wenzhang recommends choosing seasonings that are as simple as possible; or you can make it yourself at home, spend a little money to buy some dried corn kernels, put them in a pot, heat and pressurize them to make popcorn, and don't pour caramel on them after taking them out of the pot. Just eat them plain or sprinkle a little pepper and salt on them. These are both healthy ways to satisfy your cravings.

【Homemade healthy low-oil popcorn】

• Ingredients: popcorn kernels, a little butter.

• practice:

  1. Turn on the gas to medium-high heat, let the pot be evenly heated, add a little butter, pour in the corn kernels, continue to stir-fry with a spoon or chopsticks to allow the butter to evenly cover the corn kernels, then turn to low heat.

  2. Continue to stir-fry the corn kernels until they are heated to a certain degree and their color slowly changes from orange to yellow and they begin to pop slightly. Cover the pot and the heat from the pot will continue to enter the corn kernels to create pressure, which will form fragrant popcorn.

• remind:

  1. The pot must be heated evenly to avoid the popcorn becoming of different sizes or even some kernels not popping.

  2. Butter is used in the process of making popcorn to increase the aroma, but it is not a necessary ingredient. Dried corn kernels can also be turned into popcorn by drying and heating.

  3. Corn is a starchy food. If popcorn that is made under high temperature and pressure appears burnt, it indicates the formation of acrylamide, which is carcinogenic and should not be consumed in large quantities.