Kettle Corn ??

[duchessnicole]

Okay, I love it when different organizations come out to out local Wal-Mart and Dillions every weekend to sell that WONDERFUL Kettle Corn. But does anyone know how many calories are in one of those large bags?

I know popcorn without butter is a pretty healthy snack alternative for all of us dieters, but how about the regular Kettle Corn?

I can imagine the carmel flavored and the cinnamon flavored may be kind oh high up in calories, but I am not sure.


Any thoughts on this would be very welcome. I am addicted to this stuff and am wondering how much damage I am doing to myself downing a whole large bag of it about once a month or so. :)

[Girlie]

I go to history reeactments and l'm a big sucker for Kettle Corn too...

I'm not sure what type you are referring to, but I would say that Kettle Corn
is pretty low in fat, but high in calories...from what I've seen when they make
it at the reeactments, they pop the corn in a huge kettle, but they add tons
of sugar to give it this shiny, crispy coating on it.

I guess your best bet is regular air popped or microwave. There are tons
of microwave popcorns that are low in fat/cals but taste really good!

[MrsJim]

I've seen the Kettle Corn guys at our Farmers Market and just assumed it was a local thing...it smells wonderful but I've never bought it because they seem to use a lot of oil and sugar.

[duchessnicole]

MrsJim: I thought it was a local thing too, until I found several recipes for it on the internet. Also, I read somewhere that anyone can buy the equipment and use it for fund-raising or for a business.

You are right about it having lots of sugar though. It is my weakness. I just love Kettle Corn!

Girlie: You are right too. :) I just hate plain popcorn though. When I do buy the microwave kind once in a blue moon, I tend to buy the carmel flavor or the cheddar cheese kind. I am so bad. :(

[Girlie]

Yeah, I know....regular popcorn can be so boring, but at least if you get a good kind,
you can still have low fat and good buttery taste. Maybe you can experiment a bit using
artificial sweetener, butter spray and PAM or some other FF oil spray. You'd still have a few calories, but
maybe you can try to somewhat duplicate the taste. Have you ever popped kernels in a pan?

I do agree...the caramel microwave popcorn is soooo yummy!!! My BF introduced me to it because
he loves it, and I'd never even known about it! It's awesome to eat, but with popcorn, It's hard
for me to eat in moderation. Usually, when I make popcorn, I eat the whole bag, so I have to
get a type that's very low fat or low in points. My fav is the kind with Land O' Lakes butter flavor,
lite, of course. I think the whole bag is only about 3 points and it's filling.

Girlie

[StraitLover]

I have seen in stores around here that Act II has microwave kettle corn. Don;t know the nutritional info, though. You might want to keep an eye out for it.

[duchessnicole]

Straitlover: YOU ARE KIDDING!! Yippeeee!! I have to check that out. Thanks!! :) :)

[MrsJim]

Back in the olden days, (late 60s/early 70s) my father made what would probably be called Kettle Corn...we had a big iron dutch oven that he would pop corn in with some oil or Crisco. Then he would pour some warm Karo corn syrup over the popped corn and we would all sit around the table eating it right out of the pot!

Also speaking of popcorn, has anyone here read the last book of Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House" series ("These Happy Golden Years" that is) - in that they make popcorn with no oil, using coarse salt instead. Tried it once and just couldn't get it to work out!

[Girlie]

Hey, I'm going to have to check out the Act II Kettle Corn. I'm sure it's high in fat though!
Thanks, StraitLover!

Mrs. Jim:

I loved the Little House books!

I don't remember them making Kettle Corn, but I do remember when they butchered a pig and kept the stomach and they'd use it as a balloon. I thought it was cute, but now that I'm older it's kind of disgusting!

[Girlie]

Hey, for you Kettle Corn Lovers.....

a friend recently told me about something similar...it's called Pirate Booty, and it's low in points...I'm going to check it out at our local grocery store and let you know how it is!

Girlie

[MrsJim]

Unfortunately I gave all my Little House books to my niece - but I'll paraphrase it the best I can here from "Those Happy Golden Years" (the recipe is also included in "The Little House Cookbook").

Laura heated her big iron kettle and threw in a handful of coarse salt, when that was heated, threw in a handful of popcorn. She kept stirring the popcorn, holding the lid over the kettle so the kernels wouldn't pop out. When the kernels were popped, she threw in another handful of popcorn and kept stirring, but (the book says) she didn't need to hold the lid over the kettle because the popped kernels kept the new ones from popping out of the kettle...

At least that's to the best of my recollection.

Another good way to make popcorn is the old-fashioned way - that is if you can find a fireplace corn popper! Totally fat free and low calorie - thank goodness for butter flavored spray!

[AnnieV]

Girlie,

Pirate Booty is the best! It is a corn-based snack that is puffed like cheetos, with a white cheddar coating, and only 2 points per 1 ounce. It's available in 1.25 ounce bags (also 2 pts) and 4 ounce bags. It's often available in natural food stores (try Whole Foods), or you can order it from www.robgourmet.com.

Veggie Booty and Fruity Booty are good as well. Veggie Booty are puffs covered in green veggie dust, with lots of vitamins and nutrients. Fruity Booty tastes similar to fruit loops but is very light, and not at all too sweet.

If you ever come across them, the same company makes Personality Puffs, which are people-shaped puffs almost like Pirate Booty, for 3 points per ounce.

Yummy! Just got a case of Pirate Booty this week, because my DH just adores it, and I'm glad for him to eat a healthy snack.

As for Kettle Corn, I was at an Apple Festival last fall, and the Kettle Corn consession had nutrition information on the bag. If I remember correctly, 3 cups was around 3-4 points, it wasn't as bad as I expected.

Cheers!

Annie
290/210/150-ish

[Neon]

The Act II kettle corn is VERY delicious and is only around 40 calories a cup (if I recall correctly)

[christineu]

Mom had the Act II Kettle Corn ($2 per box of 5 bags at WalMart) in the kitchen. One cup has 40 caloeries, 3gr fat, 65 mg sodium, 1 gm fiber. There are suppose to be 3 serving per bag- but of course they give that info in un-popped terms!~ 2Tablespoons, 170 calories, 11 grams fat, 3 grams fiber. I have no idea how many cups one bag makes~ any guesses? It is a regular sized bag of microwave popcorn, as far as I can tell (I am not suppose to eat it as I am allergic to corn products but when I am feeling okay I sneak a package once in awhile with a benadyl on the side).

Here is their web site~ http://www.actii.com/

I have found the Rold Gold cheddar cheese pretzels a good snack too- they have very little corn produlct in them so they are a great substitute for cheese puffs and popcorn for me at 100 calories, 1 gram fat, less then 1 gram fiber per 1 ounce serving. The first time I tried them was out of a vending machine- a great alternative to a lot of the foods (if you can call soem of the things in a typical vending machine food) you find in them. They also make a honey mustard flavor- I haven't tried them yet.

Christine

[pattypopipance]

I like the Orville Redenbacher 94% fat free butter "Smart Pop" popcorn! It tastes buttery and SALTY....salty foods are my weakness. I think the whole pack is about 2 points, and the sodium would be 720 mg. It's the best Microwave popcorn I've eaten...some brands taste like CARDBOARD, and I don't want to waste my points on that! (although, real cardboard probably doesn't have a lot of points!! Hee Hee) Our Walmart sells Orville's popcorn for $2.50 for 6 packs, so it's a pretty cheap snack.

[lighter]

Try the new Kashi Go Lean Crunch Cereal. DH says it tastes like Cracker Jacks and I say it tastes like Kettle Korn. 1 cup is 3 pts with Winning Points. Drink your water and you will be very full with even 1/2 a cup.

[thenewme]

I make a kind of kettle corn it call for 1/3 cup unpopped popcorn...3tlbs cooking oil....1/3 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water..no salt makes about 6 cups...so there really isn't very much sugar in that.... sandy

[LilBoPeepers]

I eat the Act II Kettle Corn too, and I took the information off the box of the kettle corn to a ww meeting. While I was weighing in I had the lady check the points for me. She said that it comes out to 1 cup = 1 pt. There are about 9 or 10 cups in a bag. I eat this every night. So enjoy.

LilBoPeepers

[Cowgirl]

LBP, do you eat the whole bag? Reading this thread got me to try it and now I'm hooked!:o I like to have one every day too. I don't do ww. So how many points a day do you get? What percentage of your total daily points is that? I don't do WW. Don't have the time or money or desire. I have my own plan but could use the info.

[LilBoPeepers]

I took the box to my weight watchers meeting and the gal that weighed me in looked at it and said the ActII Kettle Corn is 1 point for each cup . I eat it everynight. Save enough points for this because Im addicted to it too.

[turnips]

Eat Turnips instead!

I work at a canteen in the school gym and I know how they make popcorn at the movies, sporting events, etc... In addition to the kernals, there is a powdery salt for flavour, and the 'butter' is just flavoured oil - and probably the worst type. No extra virgin olive in site.

If you're going to the movies, I highly suggest you smuggle in some popcorn from home, or maybe a bag of the white cheese popcorn, if that is any better. Trust me when I say that the great smell you are smelling is nothing more than melted lard and salt.

Maybe chips and salsa is better - still fat in the chips, but at least not the horrible pure fat of the movie popcorn, and you get the goodness of the salsa. Or maybe cheese and crackers. Don't be duped by ads at the theatre advertising Becel or another low fat margarine product. We all know what's really in that stuff, and low fat butters are not good for melting on popcorns, so its almost guaranteed full fat.

I just thought I'd post this editorial here for all to read! Of course, plain popcorn, or even with a little butter, made at home, is usually fine for a treat.:s:

[LilBoPeepers]

Act II kettle corn pops anywhere from 9 to 10 cups approx. It is 1 point for 1 cup. I took the box to a meeting one night and they checked it for me and said that it is 1 pt per cup
I save enough points to have this every night. MMMMMMMMMM goood

[LilBoPeepers]

In weight watchers I get 22 to 27 points. Im not sure what percentage this is of my total food intake. I just know, that I save enough points to eat it. I drink lots of water too. You can buy it by the case (24 Packages) at Sams Club for 5.98
You cant beat the price. And yes, I usually eat the whole bag, it all depends on how many points I have left. If it is 6 then I will only eat six cups. But, I usually have enough for the whole bag.

[Cowgirl]

I'm going to Sam's Club this week!!!!!
Now that six to ten cups of poped popcorn ammounts to 1\2 cup of corn and 10 cups of air so souldn't it be lower in points? I mean ten cups =10 points seems like half your alowance for a day that's a lot of saving!
Oh well I'm not going to obsess over it but I do enjoy it a few times a week. It certainy is better than some things I could eat!:ink:

[dyan_q]

We get the Pop Weaver Brand at Wal-Mart. It's $2.47 for 10 bags. I don't use WW points and I was feeling guilty about scarfing down half a bag yesterday at work until I read this board. Thanks!

[jaschneider]

Orville Redenbacher makes Lite Kettle Corn with Splenda used as a sweetener. It's pretty good.

I agree, Orville rules. :)