Friday is “Movie Night” at our house, a highly anticipated event. And movie night wouldn’t be complete without (zero waste) popcorn!
Instead of microwave popcorn, we cook popcorn on the stovetop. It’s cheap, easy and so much healthier! Plus, it saves SO much waste. Microwave popcorn is full of packaging: a cardboard box containing several bags of popcorn individually wrapped in plastic. 🙁 When you make your own popcorn, you avoid lots of unhealthy things like artificial colors, artificial flavors and crazy amounts of sodium. Plus, you get to flavor it however you like! 😋
To make homemade popcorn, all you need are vegetable oil and popcorn kernels. If you can’t find these items package-free at a bulk food store, look for them in glass containers at your regular grocery store.
For an eco-friendly movie to accompany your zero waste popcorn, I highly recommend the new Netflix series “Our Planet.” Narrated by David Attenborough, these documentaries show our planet’s natural beauty and reveal how humans are changing the planet. 🌎
Happy (zero waste) movie watching!
Stovetop popcorn recipe
Ingredients
Vegetable oil, like canola or sunflower oil
Popcorn kernels
Sea salt
Other flavorings (optional)
Directions
- Pour a couple tablespoons of oil into a large pot that has a lid. Make sure the oil covers the bottom.
- Add popcorn kernels to cold oil. We use 1/3 cup per person. Spread out popcorn kernels evenly across bottom of pan.
- Make sure all the popcorn kernels are coated with oil. Add a little more oil if necessary then sprinkle some sea salt on top.
- Turn heat to medium and shake pan back and forth to evenly heat the kernels. Once the first kernel pops, put a lid on the pot.
- After a couple minutes, the popping sounds will slow down. Once there’s a pause of about 3 seconds between pops, it’s time to remove the pot from the heat.
- Now you can top your popcorn with additional seasonings! Here are some ideas to get you started:
– Butter
– Nutritional yeast
– Salt and pepper
– Parmesan cheese and pepper
– Cayenne pepper
– Popcorn seasoning from Bulk Barn
– Maple syrup