Taco Popcorn

Note: This recipe is especially for kids with diabetes, but can be a nutritious part of almost anyone's diet.

Try this low-fat and low-carbohydrate treat for your next movie night. If one serving doesn't fill you up, have two — they'll count as only 1 carbohydrate exchange.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

71/2 cups air-popped popcorn
butter-flavored cooking spray
11/2 tsp. cumin
11/2 tsp. garlic powder
11/2 tsp. onion powder
11/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300º F (148º C).
Put popcorn in a large mixing bowl.
Lightly coat popcorn with cooking spray. Toss and coat again.
Combine cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper (optional).
Sprinkle spices over popcorn and toss to coat evenly.
Drizzle Worcestershire sauce over popcorn and toss again.
Spread popcorn evenly in large baking pan.
Bake for 10 minutes, tossing once.

Serves: 6

Serving size: 11/2 cups

Nutritional analysis (per serving):
45 calories
1 g protein
1g fat
0 g sat. fat
9 g carbohydrate
2 g fiber
0 mg cholesterol
28 mg sodium
9 mg calcium
0.6 mg iron

Diabetic exchanges:
1/2 carbohydrate exchange

Note: Nutritional analysis may vary depending on ingredient brands used.

Variations and suggestions:
Divide leftovers into individual serving sizes and put into airtight bags. Next time you're hungry for a snack, you can easily incorporate it into your meal plan.

Reviewed by: Allison Brinkley, RD, LD/N
Date reviewed: March 2009

Related Resources

American Dietetic Association The American Dietetic Association offers nutrition news, tips, resources for consumers and dietitians, and a find-a-nutritionist search tool.

American Diabetes Association (ADA) The ADA website includes news, information, tips, and recipes for people with diabetes.

Carbohydrates and Diabetes Meal plans can help kids with diabetes balance carbs with medications and exercise to maintain healthy blood sugar levels.

Meal Plans and Diabetes Kids with diabetes don't have to follow a special diabetes diet, but they may need to pay more attention to when they eat and how much is on their plates.

About Recipes for Kids With Diabetes These recipes are especially for kids with diabetes, but it can be a nutritious part of almost anyone's diet. Kids with diabetes may need to pay extra attention to the amount of carbohydrates they eat to maintain control of their blood sugar levels.

Eating Out When Your Child Has Diabetes Eating out can be a learning opportunity for you and your child with diabetes. The key to eating away from home is making the effort to find out the nutritional value of what you and your child are eating - and how much makes up the right portion.