My husband loves popcorn, particularly movie theater popcorn. Greasy, deadly, salty, bright yellow, god-knows-what’s-hiding-in-there-popcorn. In the days before kids, we would see a movie almost every Saturday night, reveling in bottomless buckets of popcorn and endless cups of High-C fruit punch (that being my own chemical dependency.) Some Saturday nights we would even see two movies back-to-back, particularly if the first movie was a complete disappointment….or a little bit scary. (Yes, we always bought tickets to the second movie instead of theater hopping–because that’s just how I roll.

With 2 young kids in tow, the movies nights are fewer and far between, having given way to DVR, movies on demand and a whole lot of HBO.

The love for popcorn and for each other endures 🙂

Happy 9th Anniversary, to my wonderful husband!

Fake Movie Theater Popcorn–Easy, Cheap and Low fat

Ingredients: Popcorn

Butter flavored baking spray (I use Pam)

Salt

Air pop popcorn into a large bowl according to package directions.

Spray lightly with baking spray, making sure to lightly coat every piece of popcorn.

Add salt to taste, shaking bowl to get the salt to stick to the popcorn.

Maple Spiced Popcorn (original recipe from Alexandra Zohn on her inspired super-foods baking blog The Irony of Baking

topping to cover about 6 cups of popcorn (1/2 cup kernels air popped according to package directions)

2 Tbsp olive oil (or spray popcorn with unflavored baking spray, using my method from above–butter flavored spray would probably be icky here)

1 tsp pure maple syrup (NOT pancake syrup)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp allspice

1/8 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp sea salt

In a small bowl, mix together olive oil, maple syrup and spices until well combined.

Drizzle spice mixture over popcorn and shake gently to coat.

Note: Popcorn can be a serious choking hazard for small children, and really isn’t recommended under the age of 3 or 4. If, your toddler is intent on sharing your snack (like my daughter most certainly is), you can give her tiny bits of the fluffy part of the popcorn–avoiding the leftover kernel in the center.