I love popcorn! I love it plain, I love it salted and I REALLY love it like this:

It’s crunchy and sticky, salty and sweet. It’s basically the best of all popcorn worlds. The best thing is, for me anyway, there’s no oil!

I don’t like oil. I don’t like the idea of it, I don’t like the taste of it and I really don’t like how it makes me feel. I don’t consider oil to be a whole food because…well, it’s not! Oil only exists when it has been processed out of a certain food. And when you process a food you lose a lot of the nutrients- like everything except for the fat! You can easily meet your dietary needs for fat by eating seeds, nuts, avocados and really any food, because all foods, even fruits and vegetables, have small amounts of fat in them (as well as a bunch of other beneficial nutrients).

But if I don’t like oil so much, why do some of my recipes call for oil or Earth Balance (which is made from oil)?

Simple, because I’m not perfect.

And I’m completely comfortable with that. I think of oil in a similar way that I think of fruit juice. It’s not as good as eating the whole fruit but if I very occasionally consume it, I’m not going to die. If I start to make a habit of it though, my body is not going to like me very much.

Moral of the story?

Meet your fat needs by eating the whole food, not just the fat part of the food!

That’s my opinion anyway. Enough opinions for one day though, lets get onto the good stuff. The Caramel Covered Popcorn recipe!

Caramel Covered Popcorn

Crunchy popcorn smothered in a sweet and salty caramel sauce. A movie night favourite made healthier!

Serves 2

Ingredients & Supplies: 

• 1/4 cup popcorn kernels
• 1 brown paper bag
• 2 tbsp coconut sugar (any granulated sugar will work)
• 2 tbsp coconut nectar (any liquid sweetener will work)
• 1 tbsp cashew butter
• 1 tbsp unsweetened non-dairy milk
• sea salt, to taste

Instructions:

1. Place popcorn kernels in the brown paper bag, fold the top over twice and microwave on high for 2 minutes, or until you hear the kernel popping stop. 
2. Place popped popcorn in a large bowl and set aside.
3. Add coconut sugar, coconut nectar, cashew butter and non-dairy milk to a small saucepan and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Once small bubble start to break the surface of the caramel, cook for 30 more seconds and then remove from heat.
4. Stir for 30 more seconds, ensuring that the caramel is smooth.
5. Add desired amount of salt.
6. Pour over popcorn and stir well so all the kernels are coated.
7. Dig in and enjoy your sticky fingers!

xoxo Erin

Nutritional Information:

Calories: 235 Fat: 4.75 g (0.9 g saturated), Carbohydrates: 45 g, Fiber: 3.75 g, Sugar: 25 g, Protein: 3.75 g

Nutritional information was calculated using coconut sugar and coconut nectar as the sweeteners. Serving size is half of recipe.

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Caramel Corn Cupcakes

UPDATE! This has been shared at Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Wellness Weekend, 5 Ingredient Mondays, Whole Foods Friday, Allergy-Free Wednesdays and Try a New Recipe Tuesdays.