When Alli, from Don’t Panic Mom, approached me with the brilliant idea of teaming up with other healthy food bloggers to create a campaign called LOVE HEALTHY, I jumped at the chance to be involved! Together our mission is to promote healthier alternatives to celebrating Valentine’s Day, whether at home or at school.
For me, Valentine’s Day is more about showing the LOVE you have for someone special, rather than pumping the sweet artificial stuff. While a sweet treat is perfectly ok now and then, most people (especially our kids) are already over-consuming sugars and artificial ingredients on a daily basis. We certainly don’t need a special holiday for it. So, why not get a little creative and make the treats a bit healthier, tastier AND more fun this year?!
Kids love popcorn and making it from scratch at home can be a really fun family event! I’ve really gotten into using my popcorn kettle at home, especially since there has been safety concerns related to chemicals in microwaveable popcorn bags. So, I’ve switched to making homemade popcorn (for the most part). This Whirley Pop popcorn maker is just the best! It’s cheap, easy to use and makes fresh popcorn in about 3 minutes flat (and that’s about the equivalent of my attention span)!
The magic really happens when you add the strawberry dust! I pulverized freeze-dried strawberries (you can find them in most grocery stores like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods) in my food processor and used a sifter to dust it over the popcorn to give it that special Valentine’s touch, without the use of anything artificial! So pretty!
Kids can decorate pint-sized cardboard cartons (I picked these up at Michael’s) with stamps, crayons, stickers or markers and make little treat bags for their friends or use as Valentine’s Day school party favors.
If you don’t want to make the popcorn you can buy plain bagged popcorn (SkinnyPop is a great brand with no artificial ingredients) and add the strawberry dust at home. The flavor combinations are endless. I added in some cacao nibs and coconut to one batch and created a whole different level of yummy goodness! You could combine the popcorn with…
dark chocolate chips,
cranberries or raisins,
dried fruit,
pretzels,
nuts and seeds,
whole grain cereal (to make a something like a trail mix).
My daughter thought it was the coolest thing! I think your kids will LOVE it too!
For more ideas at home or at school, follow me and other LOVE HEALTHY bloggers:
Stacy from School Bites, Jill from Just the Right Byte, Kia from Today I Ate A Rainbow, Sally from Real Mom Nutrition, Natalie & Amy from Super Healthy Kids, Bri From Red, Round, Green, and Bettina from The Lunch Tray.
as we will be posting for the next two weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day!
Visit the LOVE HEALTHY Facebook or Pinterest Page!
- ½ cup organic popcorn kernels
- 3 tbsp coconut or canola oil
- 1.2 oz bag of freeze dried strawberries
- 2 tsp. confectioners sugar
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- Add strawberries, sugar and salt to food processor and pulse until most of strawberries are pulverized into a powder and ingredients are combined.
- Add oil and kernels to a large pot (6 quarts or more) and cover with tight fitting lid (or use popcorn maker and follow instructions).
- Turn heat to medium and begin to slide and shake the pot back and forth over the burner until the kernels will begin to pop (after about 2 minutes).
- Keep sliding/shaking pot until popping begins to slow down then remove from heat.
- Wait until popcorn has stopped popping before removing lid.
- Transfer popcorn to bowl.
- Spoon strawberry powder into a sifter and sprinkle on top of popcorn.
Alli says
February 5, 2015 at 1:50 pmSuper creative. I can’t wait to try this. I think I’ll use freeze dried raspberries, too!
Donna Castellano says
February 5, 2015 at 2:33 pmThe beauty is you can use any freeze dried fruit to flavor the popcorn!
Adrienne Hoban says
February 5, 2015 at 2:07 pmWhat a unique idea…love this! And the presentation is just adorable!
Donna Castellano says
February 5, 2015 at 2:33 pmThanks Adrienne! I had fun creating this one!
Monica Dubsky says
February 5, 2015 at 4:46 pmOh my goodness this is bliss! What a lovely and simple recipe, perfect for valentines & healthy. Who cannot like this?!
Monica
Mama Bee Simple
http://mamabeesimple.blogspot.com
http://facebook.com/mamabeesimple
Donna Castellano says
February 5, 2015 at 6:50 pmMonica, you’re so sweet! Thanks so much!! Hope you enjoy!
Heather says
February 5, 2015 at 6:00 pmWould it turn out made with popcorn popped without oil? Would the mixture still stick? (and taste good)?
Donna Castellano says
February 5, 2015 at 6:47 pmSarah and Aubrey….Yes, I think it would work just as fine! The strawberry dust doesn’t need the oil to stick. I would however sprinkle it on while it’s still warm but not very hot.
Donna Castellano says
February 5, 2015 at 9:24 pmHeather, depending on what oil you use it may impart some flavor, but the dust should still adhere to the popcorn if you put it on while it’s still warm.
Sarah says
February 5, 2015 at 6:40 pmIf I use an air popper to pop the popcorn, will the dust still stick to it?
Aubrey says
February 5, 2015 at 6:45 pmdid you have to add anything to get the stuff to stick to the popcorn. I plan to airpop mine? Thx,
Donna Castellano says
February 5, 2015 at 11:51 pmFor those of you with air poppers, you could probably spay on some oil after it’s popped, gently toss then add the strawberry dust. Haven’t tried this method but I’m sure it will work fine.
Emily says
March 4, 2015 at 6:29 pmMy 2 year old a I just made about 10 minutes ago and it’s almost gone!!!! It is delicious. Perfect mixture of sweet and tangy!!! Definitely going to try it with other fruits.
Donna Castellano says
March 4, 2015 at 6:58 pmI’m so glad you liked it! So many different real fruit flavors to experiment with! 🙂 Have fun!
Jessica says
January 30, 2017 at 6:56 pmHow would you make this with pre-popped popcorn like SkinnyPop?
Jessica says
January 30, 2017 at 6:56 pmHow would you make this with pre-popped popcorn like SkinnyPop?
Donna Castellano says
January 31, 2017 at 6:09 pmHi Jessica. Just dust on top. You can probably spray a little olive oil or coconut oil over the popcorn first if you want it to stick a little better.