Chili-Cheese Popcorn

Jazz up your movie night without piling on the pounds! Leave those bags of junk food at the store and give this spicy alternative to seasoned corn chips a try.

Servings: 8

Equipment: air popper for popcorn, small saucepan

How long does it take?

20 minutes

What's in it?

1/4 cup unpopped popcorn
2 Tablespoons low-fat margarine (without hydrogenated fat)
2 Tablespoons low-fat Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoons chili powder (or your favorite spicy seasoning)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

How to make it:

Step 1: Pop the popcorn.
Pop the popcorn following the directions on your air popper. You'll have about 8 cups. Place popped corn in a large bowl.

Step 2: Prepare the seasoning.
Melt the margarine in the small saucepan over medium heat. Add cheese and chili powder. Pour this mixture over the popcorn. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the popcorn and toss. Serve immediately.

Nutrition breakdown:

Calories: 49, Protein 1 g, Carbohydrate 6 g, Fat 2 g (1 g saturated fat), Vitamin A 153 IU (19% of the RDA), Magnesium 11 mg (4% of the RDA)

What's in it for you?

Popcorn is not bursting with vitamins, but it is a delicious low-fat, high-fiber snack. It fills you up without the grease and calories of most processed food snacks.

Air popping is the easiest and lowest fat way of making popped corn.

Chef's tip:

Don't have an air-popper? No problem. You can make popcorn on the stove in a large pot. Place 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil in the pot, and turn the burner on high. Add 1/4 cup popcorn, and cover. Carefully shake the pot every 30 seconds or so to keep the popcorn from burning. As soon as the popcorn stops popping, remove it from the heat, and carefully pour it into a large bowl. You'll have a little more fat with the stove top method, but it is still a healthy snack.