Spruce Up Your Home-Popped Popcorn with Parma! Vegan Parmesan

PREP TIME: 10 MIN
YOU WILL NEED: A bag of unpopped organic popcorn, a popcorn maker, extra virgin olive oil and some seasoning

Movie nights after short Shabbat days in the wintertime are always fun with the kids. This week, we watched the 1993 version of “Dennis the Menace” in our home screening room – aka the living room – popcorn and all.

Although high on the glycemic index, plain popcorn can be a very healthy snack. It contains high levels of manganese, magnesium and phosphorus, as well as lots of fiber and protein.

However, pre-made popcorn is a different story. Pre-popped and packaged popcorn is typically very high in salt, sugar, butter, colorings, cheap cooking oils, and natural and artificial flavors.

What are the problems with pre-popped popcorn – and what are the healthier alternatives? Read on for a product review of our new favorite seasonings, using samples that the brand sent us.

The Problem With Microwave Popcorn

Microwaved popcorn is convenient but unfortunately contains toxins in the popcorn, including in the butter-like flavoring and in the bag itself. These toxins include diacetyl and perfluorochemicals, both chemicals with a long rap sheet of health risks when breathed as hot vapors. In addition, microwave popcorn tends to be loaded with natural and artificial flavors, preservatives and low-quality cooking oils.

Here’s how several popular microwave popcorn brands stack up ingredient-wise:

Pop Secret contains: Whole grain popcorn, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, salt, natural and artificial flavor, color added, nonfat milk. freshness preserved by propyl gallate and citric acid.

Orville Redenbacher’s contains: popping Corn, Palm Oil, Salt, less than 2% of: Butter, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Color Added, Freshness Preserved With TBHQ and Citric Acid. Contains: Milk.

Act II contains: popping Corn, Palm Oil, less than 2% of: Salt, Butter, Natural Flavor, Color Added, TBHQ and Citric Acid (for freshness).

They are definitely not health foods.

The Problem With Movie Theater Popcorn

The popcorn that you buy at a movie theater is even worse. It is literally crawling with chemicals. The four most common ingredients are flavacol, butter-flavored topping, buttery flavoring and enough sodium for an entire elementary school class science experiment. Except for the sodium, the ingredients are rather mysterious and made up of numerous other artificial components.

Flavacol itself is mostly sodium, with some added chemicals. Its ingredients are: salt, artificial butter flavor, FD&C Yellow #5 Lake (E102) and Yellow #6 Lake (E110). One teaspoon contains 2,740mg of sodium (which is more than the 2010 USDA dietary guidelines daily sodium intake of 2,300mg)! Meanwhile, the artificial butter flavoring may contain diacetyl and a host of other chemicals that add flavoring, color and texture.

Luckily, with movie theaters mostly shuttered for now, there is little opportunity to eat this type of popcorn.

The Problem With (Pre-Popped) Bagged Popcorn

A betters solution is to purchase a bag of pre-popped popcorn in a bag. If you stick to the basic flavor, a number of brands like SkinnyPop and Angie’s Boomchickapop contain just 3 ingredients: popcorn, salt and sunflower oil. However, once you add more flavors, sodium levels, sugar, cheese flavoring and other additives creep in. On the upside, some of these brands do use real butter.

The Solution: Make Your Own Healthy Popcorn

You can easily make popcorn at home with a popcorn maker. Purchase plain and preferably organic popcorn kernels, like Trader Joe’s organic unpopped popcorn, Bob’s Red Mill or Arrowhead Mills. Air-popped and lightly seasoned, popcorn is fun for the kids while also providing the full nutrition of a whole grain. (If you do not have a popcorn maker or prefer your corn pre-popped, the plainest Skinny Pop pre-popped popcorn is a good solution because, as you will see below, you will add your own seasoning.)

When my siblings and I were kids in the 1980s, my mother would use her popcorn maker to make us popcorn almost every week in the wintertime. We’d snuggle together on the couch and munch on fresh, warm popcorn while watching TV or an old film. The only ingredient that she would add was some salt.

Flavor Your Popcorn With Parma! Vegan Parmesan

Popcorn with salt is passable. But you can do better. If you want that familiar movie theater flavor, you can drizzle your own organic butter on the warm popcorn and add some salt. Or you could add olive oil and nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavor.

For a fun and flavorful experience that does not include actual butter or cheese, why not add a cheesy flavor to your popcorn with a vegan parmesan? Parma!, a brand that makes vegan seasonings, sent me samples of their four flavors: Original, Garlicky Green, Chipotle Cayenne and Better Than Bacon. Simply add some organic extra-virgin olive oil and a liberal amount of the Parma! seasoning to a bowl of freshly-popped corn (we use Trade Joe’s organic popcorn).

It is surprising how tasty it is!

What Is Parma!?

Parma! is a business that is woman-owned and -run since 2004. The seasonings are made in small batches. There are no preservatives, additives, natural flavors or dangerous chemicals. It is a nutrient-dense, protein-rich, superfood-loaded seasoning made from whole ingredients. And Parma! is certified Kosher by Oregon Kosher.

Parma! is an incredibly versatile seasoning that has already found a myriad of uses in our kitchen. Unlike the store-bought microwave popcorns, Parma! contains zero additives, natural flavors or preservatives. It is also lactose-free. And, unlike bagged popcorn, you control the amount and quality of flavoring on your popcorn.

We are no strangers to nutritional yeast-flavored dishes in our household. We make our own with nutritional yeast, using cashews rather than walnuts. You could even make a Parma!-like seasoning at home. But it's convenient when the various seasonings are already prepared and you can simply add them to your favorite dishes, without first buying all the components.

What Ingredients Does Parma! Have?

The line comes in 4 flavors: Original, Garlicky Green, Chipotle Cayenne and Better Than Bacon. We received samples of all four from the brand.

Original Parma!

Ingredients: Nutritional Yeast, Organic Sunflower Seeds, Walnuts, Himalayan Crystal Salt, Organic Hemp seeds.

This flavor works well as a basic seasoning. In addition to popcorn, it pairs well with meat lasagna.

Garlicky Green Parma!

Ingredients: Nutritional Yeast, Organic Sunflower Seeds, Walnuts, Organic Pumpkin Seeds, Organic Dried Garlic, Himalayan Crystal Salt, Organic Hemp Seeds, Organic Sesame Seeds, Organic Kelp Powder, Organic Dried Basil, Organic Dried Oregano.

This flavor was our favorite. It has a bold flavor that enhances the popcorn and also spruces up a bowl of chickpea pasta.

Chipotle Cayenne Parma!

Nutritional Yeast, Organic Sunflower Seeds, Walnuts, Organic Ground Chipotle Pepper, Himalayan Crystal Salt, Organic Hemp Seeds, Organic Onion Powder, Organic Ground Cayenne Pepper.

Better Than Bacon Parma!

Nutritional Yeast, Organic Sunflower Seeds, Walnuts, Ground Paprika, Organic Dried Onion, Natural Flavor, Organic Brown Sugar, Himalayan Crystal Salt, Smoked Salt, Organic Hemp Seeds.

As you can see, the ingredients are as clean as a product can be: all whole, unprocessed components with recognizable names (with the one exception being Natural Flavor in the Better Than Bacon seasoning). There are no preservatives, fake butters or scary chemicals. And it is pareve, so you and your kids can enjoy the cheesy flavors after any type of meal.

How Much Does Parma! Cost?

Considering the quality of the ingredients that you get in each container, Parma! is surprisingly cost conscious: A 3.5-oz container costs $8.50, while a 7-oz container costs $10.95. We nearly finished two 3.5-oz containers in just a week, so the 7-oz container is definitely worthwhile. On the flip side, this is still relatively expensive for something used to season your food. However, the quality of ingredients makes this unusual for a seasoning.

Parma! can be purchased in person in Los Angeles at Erewhon Market (in Park La Brea, Santa Monica and Pacific Palisades) and Rainbow Acres in Culver City. It is also available online from the Parma! website, Instacart and Amazon (as a 4-pack).

Movie Nights Seasoned With Parma!

My kids have really taken a liking to the Parma! seasonings. They now include them in their popcorn during every Saturday night movie night. And we’ve already added it to kelp noodles and meat-based (dairy-free) lasagna to add a cheesy flavor. It really is rather versatile: You can also toss it on winter squash, pumpkin seeds and pesto.

Choose Parma! Anytime Over Artificial Flavors

Popcorn is one of those ubiquitous snacks that suits almost every social occasion, from birthday parties to business meetings to movies. But a healthy snack can turn dramatically unhealthy with just a few toppings. To avoid the health problems and potential toxicities associated with consuming popcorn drenched in artificial flavors like Flavacol, diacetyl and butter flavor, as well as the high sodium content, it is best to make your own popcorn. If you seek a healthier alternative with a bold set of flavors, Parma! delivers very well. There really are no downsides that I can think of.

Next up: We plan to try Parma! with our dehydrated kale chip recipe. Stay tuned!

This product was gifted by the brand. I was not compensated in any other way for this post. All opinions expressed are my own.