The Ingredients

They're simple. They're healthy. They make a great team.

 

What felt like months of recipe adjustments has finally yielded a formula for nutritional yeast popcorn that has the best possible oil-popcorn-nutritional yeast-salt ratio to make sure the calories aren't any higher than they need to be and you get an appropriate fix of nutritional yeast!

Nutritional Yeast

Sounds like something you put in bread, right? Well, nutritional yeast or “nooch” for short, is actually a heat deactivated yeast that is loaded with vitamins, nutrients, and a savory flavour. 

It’s considered a complete protein, meaning it contains all nine essential amino acids that the body can’t make itself. A few tablespoons of nooch also contains most of the B vitamins in hefty amounts. These vitamins play critical roles in energy production, metabolism, brain development, and immune function.

Vitamin B-12 is especially important for vegans and vegetarians as this vitamin is only abundant in meat products and a deficiency can lead to anemia, gastrointestinal disorders, and neurological damage. Podyum Popcorn contains nutritional yeast that is naturally fortified with vitamin B-12.

Further reading: https://runningonrealfood.com/what-is-nutritional-yeast/

Safflower Oil

There are two classes of fats out there - good fat and bad fat. Good fats are unsaturated fats and omega-3s. Bad fats are saturated and trans fats. 

Good fats are advocated for the prevention of heart disease and help reduce inflammation and improve immune function. Bad fats raise cholesterol, especially "bad" LDL cholesterol and increase the risk of vascular diseases and stroke. 

Unlike another popular popcorn topper, coconut oil, which is mostly made up of saturated fat, safflower oil is 77% unsaturated fat and has just 1g of saturated fat per tablespoon compared to coconut oil's 11g.

Popcorn

Everyone seems to think popcorn is a really healthy snack, and it is! Plain popcorn has a little bit of everything - carbs/fiber, some fat, and even some protein. In addition, it's a high-volume, low calorie food which means you can have tons of popcorn before the calories start stacking up.

Podyum popcorn air pops local Ontario-grown kernels that are non-GMO and Local Food Plus certified.

Salt

Just a little sprinkle at the end.

If you don't eat many processed foods and work out regularly, having some extra salt here and there can help get those sodium levels up to where they need to be for the sake of your bodily fluid balance and muscle function.

 

References

Jach, Monika E., and Anna Serefko. "Nutritional yeast biomass: characterization and application." Diet, Microbiome and Health. Academic Press, 2018. 237-270.

Donaldson, Michael S. "Metabolic vitamin B12 status on a mostly raw vegan diet with follow-up using tablets, nutritional yeast, or probiotic supplements." Annals of nutrition and metabolism 44.5-6 (2000): 229-234.

“Plant-Based Sports Nutrition: Expert Fueling Strategies for Training, Recovery, and Performance.” Plant-Based Sports Nutrition: Expert Fueling Strategies for Training, Recovery, and Performance, by D. Enette Larson-Meyer and Matthew Ruscigno, Human Kinetics, 2020, pp. 61–65.