Fresh and Fluffy Honey-Cinnamon Popcorn

Popcorn is my biggest weakness. Put a bowl of the fresh-fluffy kind in front of me and I'm not likely to stop! This popcorn is a combination of both sweet and salty, with the Cinnamon giving just a little something extra! What's more it's super cheap,  only takes 5-10 minutes to make fresh and is a relatively healthy way to snack!

REALLY?! Popcorn?! A healthy snack? 

Popcorn, before we add all of our toppings, is high in dietary fibre, low in fat and free from both sodium and sugar! It also contains antioxident substances called polyphenols, which are linked with the reduction of heart disease and certain cancers! In terms of calorie, fat and sodium intake.... It all depends on our toppings, but varieties doused in butter, oil, sugar or salt will counteract all the health perks mentioned above!! 

Cinema sold popcorn is some of the worst culprits for 'naughty' popcorn with a large box of salty popcorn (Odeon UK) containing approximately 812 calories, 29.7g fat, 137.4g carbohydrates and goodness knows how much sodium; that's the equivalent of two MacDonald's Quarter Pounders! That's not even looking at the Butter Variety yet! More info:  www.myfitnesspal.com/nutrition-facts-calories/odeon

Microwave popcorn is great for convenience but it has its negatives... 'Artificial butter flavouring' contains Diacetyl (and it's related compounds), which cause lung disease when inhaled in large quantities; The Microwave bags contain Perfluorinated Compounds (PFC's)  which are chemicals that have shown to cause cancer in animals and suppress immune function in kids... if that isn't enough to put you off?! 

So... you're best bet is to make it Fresh! And Fluffy! This is only one way of flavouring popcorn; over this year I think I'll be experimenting with quite a few ways to put popcorn together! I'll keep you posted... but for now its my favourite flavour: Honey and Cinnamon...

Ingredients:

Popcorn kernals

Vegetable oil

Squeezy honey

Salt

Cinnamon

Cinnamon carries many health benefits; it's said to be effective in combating menstrual pains through regulating hormones, it has a natural anti-infectious compounds, it helps to regulate blood sugar and contains dietary fibre, calcium, iron and manganese. Yippeeee!

I haven't put any measurements as its nearly all about preference!

Directions:

In a large saucepan (make sure you have the lid too!) pour in a little bit of oil to just cover the bottom of the pan. Pour in your Corn Kernals until the bottom of the pan is covered.

Put on a LOW heat (if too high, the Kernals won't pop and you'll end up with a burnt saucepan!), sprinkle over a bit of salt, put the lid on and give the pan a little shake to coat the Kernals. Simply wait until you start to hear popping noises. Keep the lid on- they really do fly everywhere!

Meanwhile, squeeze some honey into a mug and warm up in the microwave for 10 seconds- this only makes it pour easier when drizzling over your popcorn. 

Once the popcorn is done, (should take about 5 mins and your pan should be almost full), drizzle over the honey, sprinkle a little more salt if you feel it needs it and generously powder some cinnamon over. With the lid back on, give the pan a big shake and tip into a big bowl.... enjoy!!

NB: your hands will get very sticky when eating!