Fair warning, people: It’s just a matter days before one of those shiny metal popcorn tins finds its way into your life. You’ll find them mysteriously appearing at work, in conference rooms, on kitchen counters and coffee tables.
This hallmark of the holidays is designed to tempt you with equal parts cheese, caramel and butter. And like a powerful black hole, it sucks us in with a 100% success rate. But hey, popcorn’s healthy, right? Right?
Obviously, this presents an important question: Of the three scrumptious flavors, which one is most likely to keep your diet intact?
Dietary guidelines say a serving of popcorn is about two cups, so we’ll use that for all of the flavors. Here are the numbers:
Cheese popcorn: 170 calories, 13 grams of fat, 210 milligrams of sodium, 11 grams of total carbs.
Butter popcorn: 160 calories, 12 grams of fat, 160 milligrams of sodium, 12 grams of total carbs.
Caramel popcorn: 100 calories, 2 grams of fat, 135 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of total carbs.
Bottom line: In total calories, surprisingly, the caramel corn comes out on top. If carbs are a concern, then the cheese or buttered options get the nod. Oh yeah… those are conservative numbers up there, and super-gourmet brands typically add more of their delicious toppings, so keep that in mind.
We soooooooo wish this had a happier ending, but the truth is that none are particularly good, and moderation is still the best option regardless of your choice.
Actually, there’s much more satisfying option: Pick up a calorie-free Dean Martin album, make the popcorn yourself, go very light on the butter and salt, and save at least 50 calories per serving.
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