Popcorn By the Pound

I buy my popcorn by the pound.  Well I used to anyway. True life.  I was addicted to popcorn.

It all started sometime last year.  I had an insatiable craving for things like pretzels and potato chips.  Pretzels are low fat but super high sodium and you can only eat so many chips because FAT and neither one has any real nutritional value.  I started focusing on getting more nutritional value out of everything I eat and something kind of cool happened.  I totally quit eating pretzels and I only ate chips occasionally.  I fully enjoy the chips when I do eat them but I no longer crave them like I used to.  I needed a healthy snack that would satisfy my munchies AND give me some kind of nutritional value and popcorn fit my needs perfectly.  Low calorie, low fat and it has protein.  It has carbs but healthy carbs are okay right?  Loading it with butter defeats the purpose.  I wanted it in it's most natural form without added sodium or fat so I went old school and started popping kernels in a pot on the stove.  It turned out to be the perfect snack.  6 tablespoons of kernels makes a pretty big bowl of popcorn and I could eat all.  The whole getting to eat it all part was really cool.  

It was quick to make, I could eat a lot of it, and it was healthy.  Once I'd discovered the perfect snack I wanted it every day and there was just one problem with that.  Oil.  It was necessary in order to get the kernels to pop.  I used as little as possible but still, it was added fat AND washing the pot out every single day got old.  I'd want my snack but dread scrubbing out the pot. 

Enter the Nordic Ware Microwave Popcorn Popper that I found on Amazon.  Where has this magical bowl been all my life?  All I have to do is dump the kernels in the bowl, stick it in the microwave and in 3 minutes my all natural popcorn is done.  No oil, no fat and no clean up either.  I only have to wash the bowl once a week.  My popcorn addiction grew even more if that was even possible.  When I was making it in the pan I would sometimes add garlic salt or popcorn seasoning to flavor it up but if I do that in the bowl I have to wash it every single time.  With a daily popcorn habit I was too lazy to bother so it totally worked out that I didn't even miss the extra flavor.  I really love the natural flavor of popcorn.  If you really love popcorn this bowl will change your life.  I've since bought one for my mom and sister.  

Those dinky little 16 oz containers of kernels were not enough to feed my addiction.  I could not be a day without having at least the option of eating popcorn so I was constantly running to the store for kernels.  It was clearly time to go bulk so I went back to Amazon and bought the biggest bag of popcorn I could find.  Weighing in  at 12.5 lbs this bag of popcorn is actually larger then a new born baby.  I had to lean it up against the wall to keep the kernels from spilling out.  It looked really bad sitting there like that but I couldn't tuck it away too far because it's too heavy to keep getting out.  First world problems, I know.  I solved this by getting a cute jumbo mason jar to store the kernels in and refill as needed.

It was really bad.  This is the part of the addiction that I'm most embarrassed to admit.  I tend to be kind of possessive of my food anyway and it was even worse with popcorn.  I wanted  needed the entire bowl to myself.  I only allowed MJ to have a couple handfuls before I got really annoyed.  I used to ask him if he wanted some because if he did then, I'd pop some extra but he always said no so I felt mostly justified in swatting his hand away.  And how long do you think it took me to eat 12.5 lbs of popcorn? Let's see.  I ordered my first giant bag on March 1st and I had to place another order on May 3rd.  That's about 4lbs of popcorn a month.  Told you.  I was totally addicted, but if you are going to be addicted to something it could be a lot worse then all natural popcorn. Right?  If it's not one thing it's another with me and food.  When I like something I like it and I will eat it constantly and never get sick of it.

My current meal plan does not allow for a huge mega bowl of popcorn a day habit.  I still eat it sometimes but it's been 3 months since my last overflowing giant steamy bowl.  I am still as yet undecided on how long I'll continue with this meal plan but I definitely see a big bowl of popcorn in my future and MJ better not ask for even one kernel.  

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