Microwave popcorn

You know when you open a bag of microwave popcorn and you smell that 'wonderful' smell of butter?

Well guess what?

It is terribly bad for you. It contains a chemical known as diacetyl, and it is in several seasonings and processed foods, including the artificial butter flavor used in microwave popcorn.

And if you are exposed to it a lot, it can cause something called popcorn lung. I'm not kidding. The fumes can trigger a respiratory condition. Many people who work in popcorn factories are getting this. One of my really good friends is a safety consultant. She has gone to these factories and has seen them first hand.

She has warned us NEVER to eat microwave popcorn.

Even though this mostly effects workers who smell this day in and day out, there has been a recorded case where a consumer ate 2 bags of microwaved popcorn a day who was diagnosed with popcorn lung.

Why should we subject ourselves to these conditions?

We can very easily make homemade microwave popcorn

at home for a fraction of the cost AND it is much much healthier!

If you are a popcorn lover- this is too easy NOT to try!

There are several recipes on the Internet, some have lots of pictures to go with them.

For some reason I couldn't find the one I was looking for but here is the recipe as I remember it:

1/4 cup popcorn

1 tsp olive oil

a little bit of sea salt (or whatever seasoning you want i.e. cinnamon, jalapeno, cheese)

Put these into a small paper lunch bag.

Fold over 2x.

Staple the bag 2 times.

1 is not enough and 3 is too many--2 times is not enough to cause any damage.

But I have heard you can tape it shut.

(I can't imagine this actually staying shut, but you could try it.)

Then just pop it for 2-3 minutes- depending on the microwave.

Make sure to watch it, mine tends to be done before the 2 minutes is up.

Enjoy! Yum Yum Yum!