Having been on a diet for what seems like most of my adult life, I completely under stand portion control. I know what a single serving of popcorn or chips are supposed to be, but like the old commercial used to say, “Nobody can eat just one.”
One of my favorite indulgences are flavored popcorn. Popcorn is one of those cheap snacks that are somewhat nutritious and totally satisfy those afternoon crunchy munchies. Fortunately for me, Pop Secret recently came out with a low cal Kettle Corn in single serving 100 calorie bags. Pop Secret is made by General Mills and is a premium microwave popcorn. There’s 18 different varieties of Pop Secret ranging from “Movie Theater” to kettle corn, cheese flavored and fat free.
Kettle corn was first enjoyed during colonial times. Early colonists used hog lard to pop kernels of corn in huge iron kettles, flavoring the kernels of corn with whatever available sweetener was on hand. Some used molasses, while others added honey or sugar cane.
Kettle corn was wildly popular until the 1800s when this treat fell by the wayside. In 1984, the art of making kettle corn was reintroduced in Missouri during Mule Days. By the early 2000s, kettle corn kiosks became the mainstay of state fairs and carnivals across the United States.
Pop Secret
The combination of both sweet and salty makes for a very satisfying treat, and Pop Secret’s version of kettle corn is remarkable tasty. It’s not overly saturated with sugar, but has just the right amount. From a nutritional level, it’s a pretty healthy snack as well.
Pop Secret 100 Calorie Pop Kettle Corn has 100 calories per serving size with 3 grams of fat, 0 grams of trans fat and 240 grams of sodium. Carbs come in at 20 grams with 3 grams of dietary fiber, making this a relatively good source of fiber as well.
The 100 calorie snack bags are a fairly recent addition to the Pop Secret line of popcorn, and one that our family really appreciates. It’s a perfect size to tuck pre-popped in school lunches, and has the benefit of being already pre measured for the correct portion size. For those of us who have ever tried to calculate a single 5 1/2 cup portion of popcorn, pre-measured single portions are definitely a convenience.
It also helps keep us dieters in line by limiting us to a single portion. One thing to watch for is that unlike those larger bags, Pop Secret single portion bags pop in less than half the time. We scorched a few bags until figuring out that the bag only needed about a minute and a half to fully pop.
Pop Secret 100 Calorie Pop is sold in quantities of 10 snack bags to a box. Prices seem to vary from 2 for $4 on sale to $3.99 a box. As a General Mills product, Pop Secret also participates in the Box Top for Education program, with 10¢ box top redemption coupons .
Pop Secret 100 Calorie Pop kettle corn is a permanent fixture in our kitchen cabinets. Not only is it a healthy and tasty alternative to chips for school lunches, it helps control those portions when the kids and I are fighting an Attack of the Crunchy Munchies.
