If you were to walk into my dorm room right now, you would probably smell the aroma of popcorn considering my roommate and I might have a slight addiction. But honestly, can you blame us? Popcorn is the perfect snack for socializing with friends, binge-watching Netflix, or fulfilling a craving after a long night out.
My main issue with popcorn is how addictive it is. If I’m not careful, I could definitely finish an entire bag without realizing it, so I went on a mission to discover the true calorie content of some of my favorite popcorn brands.
The popcorn aisle at the grocery store can be very deceiving with each bag advertising how “low calorie” it is, but what is often overlooked is the serving size that accompanies this low calorie count.
In order to find out which popcorn brand would provide a popcorn lover, like me, with the largest portion for a low calorie amount, I ranked the following eight brands by how large of a serving 100 calories is.
8. Bachman Butter Popcorn: 1.05 Cups
Maybe I was getting a little ambitious thinking that this would be low in calories because honestly the bright yellow color of this popcorn doesn’t quite scream healthy. In fact, this brand provided the smallest serving for 100 calories at only 1.05 Cups. Due to the addictive nature of the buttery and salty layer on these kernels, one can easily eat way more calories than they expect.
7. Smartfood White Cheddar: 1.09 Cups
Smartfood White Cheddar was launched in 1985 with the mission to create great tasting popcorn using quality ingredients. While this white cheddar snack is quite good, it only allows you to eat 1.09 cups in order to remain within 100 calories.
6. Organic Pop Heartland Cheddar: 2 Cups
Judging by the name and the large graphics of actual corn on the bag, this air popped popcorn seems rather healthy from first glance. While it is organic, it is definitely not the lowest in calories as 100 calories worth only leads to a serving of 2 cups.
5/4. Slim Popcorn and Skinny Pop: 2.5 Cups
The next two brands have tied with a serving of 2.5 cups fulfilling the 100 calorie mark. SLIM popcorn claims to be both positively addictive and guilt-free which is achieved with the decent serving size.
Skinny Pop is the brand of popcorn I personally eat very often so I was glad that it provided a decently large serving for 100 calories. Now I don’t feel as guilty for having an empty bag of Skinny Pop sitting next to me as I write this article.
3. Snacks 101: 2.6 Cups
Made with coconut oil, this Snacks 101 popcorn is baked which results in a crunchier and healthy popcorn. The coconut oil has the added benefits of promoting heart health, aiding weight loss, supporting the immune system, and providing more energy. Along with all of these additional benefits, hungry snackers can enjoy a nice serving of 2.6 cups for only 100 Calories.
2. Boom Chicka Pop: 2.85 Cups
Boom Chicka Pop set out to create a treat that wouldn’t trigger the common post-snack regret. This sea salt popcorn is not only delicious but can be consumed without much thought of how many calories it is because 100 calories worth is a substantial serving of 2.85 cups of popcorn.
1. Good Health: 4.16 Cups
Finally, the ultimate low-calorie popcorn snack. Good Health believes that their Half Naked Popcorn will lead to snackers feeling good which in turn will make us happier and love life to the fullest. This popcorn is air popped and topped with a small dose of olive oil making it light and flavorful. For only a 100 calories, one can enjoy the very large serving of 4.16 cups of this delicious treat.
With so many options to choose from for this very addictive snack, it is often easy to consume a lot more calories than anticipated. Checking the serving size can ensure that you won’t be eating all of your daily calories in popcorn as you suddenly get hungry late at night. I now know just what I will be stocking my dorm with to fulfill my next popcorn craving while still feeling good.