Let's talk about snacks.
If you follow me on Instagram (@cjceleiro) then you know I've lost a whopping 20 pounds using Noom and still going strong (#nonspon). But I gotta be honest, it wasn't exactly easy. I have a tendency to unconsciously shovel snacks out of boredom, rather than actually listen to my body and recognize that I'm not actually hungry. This leads to a period of regret, shortly followed by a sluggish, sickly feeling. It would be one thing if my snacking was primarily of whole foods, and for a while I was doing okay at that, but lately our household has become overrun by chips and cookies thanks to several small viewing parties for events like the Friends reunion and Cruella. And you better believe there will be another one for In the Heights.
One of Noom's favorite snacks to encourage users to eat is popcorn, specifically the air-popped variety. My father-in-law received an air fryer for Christmas this past year, and though I could probably steal it from him, I prefer using good old-fashioned oil and a stovetop. I find that oil is vital if you want to flavor your popcorn with seasoning without using butter. And trust me, after you've seasoned your popcorn, the basic butter batch from a bag will seem bland.
Yes, I have recently converted to being a popcorn seasoner. I was morally against it for some time. I tend to favor "original" flavors, with the exception of a BBQ chip, and popcorn was no different. I even scoffed at the pre-popped white cheddar popcorn all the cool kids had in their lunch boxes back in the early aughts. You know, the one in the black bag.
It wasn't until culinary goddess Carla Lalli Music continuously pushed her seasoned popcorn agenda that I thought I'd give it another try. I recently made the corn recipe from her first book, Where Cooking Begins, which is finished with her painstakingly perfected popcorn seasoning (a simple combination of nutritional yeast, aleppo pepper, and salt). A former fan of the BA brand and the now owner of a jar of the ever-popular cheese-ish nutritional yeast, I set out to veganize Claire Saffitz's Doritos seasoning. Unfortunately, I was out of garlic powder, didn't have my paws on any citric acid or white vinegar powder, couldn't use buttermilk powder, and wasn't about to dehydrate bell peppers for what is essentially just color contrast. Armed with my tastebuds, a quarter-teaspoon measure, and a fraction of the actual Doritos ingredients, I made something convincingly Doritos-adjacent. Hell, I'll be honest, it tastes alarmingly like the real stuff, but that could be the MSG talking.
Is making your own popcorn convenient? Not specifically. Could you just pop a microwave bag of popcorn and then sprinkle seasoning on yourself? Sure. But after tinkering around with a few different methods for the perfect home-pop, I don't think I'll be opting for convenience anytime soon. I find microwave popcorn to be occasionally soggy, and overly saturated with salt, which makes me crave soda even though I've cut the stuff out entirely. This version gets its salt strictly from the seasoning, allowing you total control of how much you add before "calling it." Not to mention that it is way cheaper to buy a bag of shelf-stable kernels in bulk.
And for what it's worth, my kid loves this stuff. He's a huge fan of popcorn, but was especially fond of this pumped-up version.
With kernels for my kid,
~c.j.
VEGAN DORITOS POPCORN
PREP TIME: 1 minute
ACTIVE COOK TIME: 6-8 minutes
YIELD: 4 quarts (16 cups) popcorn
INGREDIENTS
4 tsp nutritional yeast flakes
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp monosodium glutamate (MSG)
1/2 tsp ancho chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
3 tbsp neutral oil, such as canola or vegetable
1/2 c. un-popped popcorn kernels
DIRECTIONS
In a spice grinder, combine nutritional yeast, onion powder, paprika, salt, sugar, MSG, ancho, cumin, and cayenne if using. Blitz until fully combined. Set aside.
Place oil in the 4-quart pot over medium-high heat, along with 5 popcorn kernels. Cover with a lid and allow to heat until kernels have popped. Once all kernels have popped, add the remaining kernels to the pot on the heat and cover with the lid slightly askew (this will allow steam to escape and avoid soggy popcorn). Once the kernels begin to pop, occasionally shake the pot to encourage even popping. Continue to pop until there's more than 1 second in-between each pop. At this point, your popcorn will likely have reached the top of the pot.
Remove from the heat and transfer to a very large bowl, sprinkling as much of the reserved seasoning you like overtop. Toss to coat and enjoy.
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