It's movie season, and that means lots of popcorn. Here are the healthiest ways to eat it
If you're glued to all the television shows and movies during this awards season, you may be inclined to reach for the perfect TV-watching snack: popcorn.
Can we call that a healthy snack? The answer is yes and no.
Cleveland Clinic Registered Dietitian Ariana Fiorita says it all depends on what popcorn you're talking about.
"You can buy the organic kernels from the store and you can air pop it on your stove, or you can buy an air-popper. And the benefits are that it's a whole grain, has lots of good fiber, which most Americans don't get enough fiber every day, and it also actually has some antioxidants," she said.
Fiorita says most times we think of getting antioxidants from fruits and vegetables, but you can also get a few from popcorn.
Popcorn can be an inexpensive snack and a good alternative to items like potato chips. But she cautions that not all popcorn is good for your health.
Movie theater popcorn is usually not a healthy choice. One tub of movie theater popcorn can easily rack-up about a thousand calories.
Fiorita says it's okay to share a tub with the whole family once in a while, but it's not something you want to eat every week.
Likewise, popcorn with caramel, chocolate, and cheese-coatings is high in calories and low in nutritional content.
Instead, make your popcorn at home.
"You can top it with whatever you like; a little bit of sea salts, different herbs, and spices, things like paprika or other super-foods are great on popcorn," Fiorita says.
Fiorita says you might want to skip the microwave popcorn because in some cases that comes with extra chemicals that you don't want. Although recently, many microwave popcorn manufacturers have removed many chemicals.
Air popping popcorn or cooking it the old fashioned way on the stovetop is probably your best bet.