If you are looking to save money while providing your family with nutritious foods, consider making homemade popcorn. Homemade popcorn from raw popcorn kernels is substantially cheaper than microwave popcorn. This simple product bypasses all the chemicals and oils found in some microwave popcorn, and it's healthier than other snack foods like chips, cookies and other junk food.
Calories and Fat
One hundred grams, or 3.5 ounces, of unpopped popcorn kernels have 106 calories and 1.22 g of fat. With only a scant 0.18 g of saturated fat, popcorn might be one of the best snack foods around, excluding fresh fruit and vegetables. Given that 8 grams of kernels produces 1 cup of popped popcorn, 100 g of unpopped kernels produces 12.5 cups of popcorn. While air popping is the best option for dieters, even popping the kernels in 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil won't derail your efforts to maintain a healthy weight.
Fiber
A diet high in fiber lowers the risk of colon cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other disorders. The Harvard School of Public Health recommends that adults and children consume 14 g of fiber for every 1,000 calories they eat. One hundred grams unpopped kernels supply 12.7 g of fiber, while 3 cups of air-popped popcorn contain about 3.5 g of fiber. This far exceeds the recommended fiber-to-calories ratio. If you don't boost the calories of the popcorn by slathering it with butter, you'll be able to enjoy other low fiber foods like cheese and yogurt.
Protein
You don't normally look to snack food to provide protein, but 100 g of unpopped kernels supplies 10.87 g of protein, while 3 cups of air-popped popcorn supply about 3.12 g. The USDA recommends consuming 0.8 g of protein per kg body weight. This means that a 130 lb. person needs approximately 47 g of protein daily. While you shouldn't depend on snack food for protein, a serving of popcorn satisfies 6.5 percent of a 130 lb. person's protein requirement.
Sodium
One hundred grams of unpopped popcorn have only 7 mg of sodium and 3 cups of air-popped popcorn have only 3 mg, making popcorn one of the very few foods that are naturally low in sodium. Since you can control how much salt you put on this food, you have options that are unavailable with pre-salted microwave popcorn and pre-popped movie popcorn. You may want to consider using flavored salts, such as garlic salt, to add a novel taste to the popcorn while minimizing the total sodium.
Special Circumstances
Persons with advanced kidney disease who must restrict their potassium and phosphorus intakes are often able to eat large quantities of unbuttered air-popped popcorn because it is one of the very few foods that is naturally low in these minerals. Three cups of air popped popcorn has only 87 mg phosphorus and 78 mg of potassium. If you are a kidney patient, you should always check with your nephrologist or renal dietitian first, to see how foods like this fit into your renal diet.
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