Popcorn is typically promoted as a healthy, low-calorie snack, and now there are endless options of brands and flavors of pre-popped popcorn. But even many of these marketed as “Smart” or “All-natural” really aren’t all that great, nutritionally speaking, so today we’re Getting the Skinny with Molly on top picks and worst bets for ready-popped popcorn.
LOVE IT!
Single-serving bags of pre-popped popcorn – low in sugar and oils; 30-100 calories per bag
Skinny Pop, Angie’s Boom Chick A Pop, and Whole Foods’ 365 reduced-fat reduced-sodium popcorn
LIKE IT!
Popcorn with less than 35-45 calories per cup, and less than 2 grams sugar per cup, like:
Angie’s Boom Chick A Pop popcorn in Lightly Sweet and Sea Salt
Quinn Popcorn in Cheddar & Chipotle and Kale & Sea Salt
Skinny Pop in Ultra Lite White Cheddar, Black Pepper, and Original
HATE IT!
Popcorn with 90+ calories per cup. Note: Nutrition facts may look similar to the “like it” options, but a one-ounce serving size is a mere 1 ¼ cup to 1 ¾ cups, instead of 3 ¼ to 4 cups of popcorn per serving.
SmartFood Popcorn’s White Cheddar popcorn – this brand also 290 mg sodium per ounce, approximately 2-3x more sodium than the “like it” options
Cosmos Creations – particularly their Caramel popcorn with 14 grams sugar per one-ounce serving.