By Katy Wilkens

On its own, popcorn is a low-fat, low-calorie, high-fiber and low-sodium snack you can eat a lot of because it’s mostly air. Put it in a bag and package it up with too much fat and salt, and it becomes a horror movie. Almost every brand of microwave popcorn I see in the store contains more than 300 milligrams of sodium –- even the low-fat, no-butter kind. All that salt harms your heart and kidneys.

Avoiding salty popcorn is easy. Make your own, using good old-fashioned kernels. Think how much plastic, cardboard and packaging you will save if you make popcorn from scratch.

Try:

• Making your own microwave popcorn in a brown paper bag, using either olive oil or butter to flavor it. See the recipe below.
• Using an old-fashioned metal tray popcorn popper to pop kernels in your fireplace.
• Packing a few little bags of popcorn kernels when going camping. They can make a drippy, dark night turn suddenly magic around the campfire.
• Getting an old air popper from your local thrift store. You’ll be amazed how good the popcorn is.
• Using a Whirley-Pop Stovetop Popcorn Popper, my favorite. It has a blade inside, and you turn the handle while holding it over the stove burner. You can find one at a kitchen store or online.

Brown bag popcorn for one

¼ cup high-quality popcorn kernels
2 teaspoon olive oil
1 brown paper lunch bag
Stapler
Toss popcorn kernels with the oil in the paper bag. Fold to close and staple twice. Place the bag in the microwave on high for 2 minutes or until 5 seconds go by between pops. Don’t worry, the staples won’t hurt your microwave.
Nutritional information (per bag):
Calories: 155, Carbohydrates: 27 grams, Fat: 4 grams, Protein: 4 grams, Sodium: 0 milligrams
This popcorn is sodium-free, low-calorie and just as fast as any of the packaged brands. Making popcorn this way gives you control to decide what to put on it. No-sodium spice mixes are tasty. (Try Mrs. Dash, Lawry’s, or Trader Joe’s salt-free seasonings.) If you want, you can add butter and/or cinnamon and sugar. Parmesan cheese is tasty and not too high in sodium. Try the chili popcorn flavoring below for a corn chip-like flavor.
Zesty chili popcorn
1 teaspoon ground chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon black pepper
3 teaspoons grated parmesan cheese
6 cups popped popcorn
Butter-flavored cooking spray

In a small bowl, combine all seasonings. Put popcorn in a bowl and spray lightly with butter-flavored cooking spray. Sprinkle 3 teaspoons of spice seasoning onto popcorn. Mix thoroughly. Add more spice seasoning to your liking, and use more cooking spray if needed.
Place any leftover seasoning in the refrigerator for the next batch of popcorn.

Nutritional information (per cup):
Calories: 40, Carbohydrates: 7 grams, Protein: 1 gram, Sodium: 15 milligrams, Potassium: 30 milligrams, Phosphorus: 36 milligrams
The recipes in this column are meant for people who want to keep their kidneys healthy and blood pressure down by following a low-sodium diet. In most cases, except for dialysis patients, a diet high in potassium is thought to help lower high blood pressure. These recipes are not intended for people on dialysis without the supervision of a registered dietitian.

Katy G. Wilkens is a registered dietitian and department head at Northwest Kidney Centers. She has a Master of Science degree in nutritional sciences from the University of Washington. See more of her recipes at www.nwkidney.org.

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