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.
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.
Yes!! I totally forgot about nutritional yeast, it is SO GOOD!!
Isn’t it!!! I might make some yeasty popcorn tonight.
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.
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.