I saw my doctor recently and while talking about what a lazy fat-ass I am, he mentioned something about replacing the crap I usually snack on with healthier snacks like seasoned air-fried cauliflower or something like that. So what are your favorite healthy-ish snacks that can be made relatively quickly when I feel like shoving food in my face for no reason other than boredom and force of habit?
No one mentioned it, so I’ll throw it out here:
Popcorn.
I’m not particularly concerned about avoiding fat or salt, so I drown it in butter, but you do you.
After one of my kids killed our microwave by putting a package of popcorn in it and turning it on for way too long and forgetting it, I banned microwave popcorn from the house and got an air-popper. The thing is awesome. I never liked the microwave popcorn, but the air-popped popcorn became my snack of choice.
Hmmm, yes, they do say popcorn can be a healthy snack, huh? Still, to invest in a machine that only makes one kind of food, in my not-too-big apartment…
Is it a big machine? Can you clean it in the dishwasher?
You can take the plain popcorn and pop it in a microwave in a brown paper lunch sack that is folded over. No need for a one off machine.
You can just make it on the stovetop in a pot with a top
Just any pot works, you dont need a machine.
I use spoonful of coconut oil or clarified butter, but coconut oil works better. Heat oil
put corn kernels, i put just to cover bottom of the pot, or a bit less.
Then you cover and shake.
Use fine salt and fine msg for seasoning. I like adding smoked paprika powder.
I have a collapsible silicone bucket with a lid for popcorn making that goes into the microwave. It’s easy to use, doesn’t require any fat, also serves as a bowl and you can just throw it into the dishwasher. Size-wise, it’s probably not that different from an air popper when collapsed, but it’s easier to find a spot for; mine is on top of the stack of roughly bowl-shaped things. And you could also use it as a bowl for other things, so it’s not necessarily single-purpose.
I have one of these. A perfect product honestly.
Air poppers can be small, mine is about ten inches tall, five inches wide and deep. I’m no fan of single use appliances but it makes a healthy snack so easy (just pour half a cup of kernels in and switch it on) that it gets a pass. It’s fast too, takes about a minute and can’t burn them. The only cleaning it needs it to shake out any popcorn bits that for some reason didn’t get ejected. It was a great value purchase for seven bucks.
The downside is it’s loud AF.
Stove top popcorn is too stupidly easy to buy a one off gadget. I make popcorn on the stove at least 3 times a week just using vegetable oil and flavacol. My wife and I are now spoiled on this popcorn.
Came here to say exactly this, people sleep on popcorn as a low calorie fiber source.
I buy it pre-popped by the bag at Aldi, since it’s pretty cheap and for healthy snacks I need to prioritize convenience to make sure I actually eat them.
Trader Joe’s has ranch seasoning that is amazing on popcorn!!
I’ve been using nutritional yeast and it is like a cheese dust replacement. Would not recommend eating it by itself though (ie what’s leftover at the bottom of the bowl).
So a double whammy for health. To OP: Do an internet search for volume eating - lots of good suggestions there.
I don’t think nutritional yeast tastes like cheese, it’s a unique flavor, but wow it is incredible on popcorn, particularly with chili powder, and also on grits, with cheese and butter.
Yes!! I totally forgot about nutritional yeast, it is SO GOOD!!
Isn’t it!!! I might make some yeasty popcorn tonight.