When it comes to popcorn, I don’t need (or want) popcorn recipes that require me to read the fine print.

Sure, when the time calls, I’ll get super crafty and creative and turn my plain ol’ popcorn into something Pinterest worthy, but not when I’m 3 minutes away from curling up on my beloved couch and looking for a snack that takes my eager-to-lounge-not-luxuriate-over-details pace to heart.

But that doesn’t mean my popcorn has to be the same every time I make it. In fact, with just a few twists of the wrist and pinch of the fingers, popcorn can go from zero to hero. The following three easy popcorn recipes are testament to just that. Enjoy!

1. Chocolate Popcorn

It doesn’t get much easier than this. Melt your favorite chocolate bar (preferably 70 percent cacao or above) and drizzle over popcorn. Add a few dashes of cayenne for extra oomph. I find this popcorn fit for a chick flick or any movie that pulls at the emotional strings. Be still heart, chocolate is here.

2. “Cheesy” Popcorn

I make this version of popcorn when I’m feeling particularly peckish and incapable of controlling how much I’m munching (read: inhaling). Instead of using real cheese, I opt for something I know isn’t weighing me down as much but still provides the savory cheesy overtones I crave: nutritional yeast. Simply season the popcorn with garlic salt and nutritional yeast (excessively, if you must).

3. Gourmet Popcorn

Eh, not so gourmet, but the ingredients are high quality on this one and the result is nothing short of what you’d discover as a trendy restaurant’s rendition of complementary bread. Got a grater? Good. Take any cheese you have on hand, preferably a hard goat or sheep-based one, and grate it generously over warm popcorn. Season with salt, pepper, and dried thyme.

Aylin Erman is founder of GlowKitchen. There she shares step-by-step picture recipes of her plant-based creations. Aylin lives and works in Istanbul as a writer and editor at the country’s first-ever green-living and sustainability platform, Yesilist. Like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter to keep up with food news and recipes.

Related on EcoSalon

20 Unusual Ways to Use Nutritional Yeast

20 Foods to Help You Sleep Better

EcoSalon Recipes: Salty Snack Cravings? DIY Kale Chips

Image: bigburpsx3

The post 3 Ridiculously Easy Popcorn Recipes that Taste Incredible appeared first on EcoSalon.

Taking an odd ingredient and finding even more unusual uses for it.

It’s not so much that the following uses are particularly unusual, but rather that nutritional yeast itself is an odd ingredient. It’s gaining popularity among foodies for its cheesy taste and nutritional benefits, but it still has a way to go in terms of becoming the pantry staple it’s meant to be. Nutritional yeast (nooch) is one of the only non-animal sources of vitamin B-12. It only takes 1/2-1 tbsp of nutritional yeast to get the daily requirement for B-12. Nutritional yeast is also an excellent source of iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, chromium, selenium, and other minerals as well as 18 amino acids, protein, folic acid, biotin, and other vitamins.

And don’t worry about the yeast fermenting in your gut. It’s deactivated, so it will not give you the bloat. This is what distinguishes it from Brewer’s Yeast, which has not been deactivated.

Pop Corn

As if popcorn couldn’t get any more addicting, nooch had to get involved. Sprinkle the powder along with a drizzle olive oil and a dash of sea salt onto popcorn just popped for a cheesy touch. Add other spices, such as garlic powder, dried thyme or dried rosemary for an even more gourmet experience.

Pizza

Skip cheese and sprinkle a light layer of nutritional yeast onto pizza just after it leaves the oven. Cheese is hard to digest, especially when cooked, but that doesn’t mean you have to cede the taste completely. If you top a pizza with diverse textures and flavors, such as a robust marinara sauce, roasted vegetables and nutritional yeast, the cheese component is unnecessary.

Vegan Cheese Sauce

The food blog world is bursting with vegan “cheese” recipes – some simple, some elaborate – with nutritional yeast as the key ingredient. Check out Angela’s Low-Fat Vegan Cheeze Sauce on her blog Oh She Glows for a 5-ingredient approach. Head over to Epicurian Vegan for a heartier vegan cheese sauce that gets some extra bulk from cashews.

Bread Crumbs

Replace bread crumbs with nutritional yeast in any mixture requiring holding power. This cuts down on the carbs and adds an extra bite. Try using nutritional yeast to hold together veggie burgers or any other patty that would normally require bread crumbs.

Kale Chips

There’s nothing wrong with the standard kale chip recipe. But, nutritional yeast takes kale chips to a whole new level – a level that merits obsession and daily consumption. Try your hand at the Spicy & Cheesy Kale Chips presented by the blog Eating Bird Food.

Macaroni & Cheese

We’ve already given macaroni and cheese a serious makeover, and nutritional yeast was an crucial player in this feat. Not only is this recipe vegan, but thanks to nooch, it offers cheesy comfort to a creamy, sweet potato base.

Pasta

Skip the grated parmesan and sprinkle nutritional yeast atop warm pasta along with some garlic powder and a drizzle of olive oil. The combination of flavors makes for a dish that doesn’t miss a thing.

Mashed Potatoes

Stir nooch into mashed potatoes, not only saving calories by nixing cheese but also cutting down on the sodium. Indeed, mashed potatoes can be healthy.

Bean Dip

Emily Malone of the blog Daily Garnish makes a fabulous bean dip using nutritional yeast. If serving this at a party, no one would even be able to tell its vegan.

Roasted Vegetables

One of my favorite go-to meals is roasted vegetables topped with shredded cheese. On days I’d like to skip the cheese and opt for a healthier alternative, I stir nutritional yeast into the finished vegetables instead. When warmed by the vegetables, the yeast smoothens out and creates a creamy sauce with help from the vegetable juices and oils.

Roasted Nuts

Roast nuts that have been tossed in some nutritional yeast. The roasted flavor will be augmented and the nuts will have a slightly cheesy coating on the skin.

Onion Rings

Nutritional yeast has been showing up in onion ring recipes, and for good reason. It helps to increase the nutritional benefit of onion ring batter and adds an edge to each bite. Make the baked fat-free onion rings featured on vegan blog My Whole Deal.

Sauce Thickener

Much like flour and butter are used to thicken a sauce, nutritional yeast can replace the flour to do the same thing.

Gravy

Keeping your health on track during the holidays is all about cutting corners in small ways. Nutritional yeast can redefine gravy. Bring this simple recipe to the table and the cheer will only heighten.

Salad Dressing

Sneak in your B12 quota is by adding a tablespoon of nutritional yeast to a homemade salad dressing like the Hollyhock Salad Dressing, which you can find on A Passionate Plate blog.

French Fries

Want some added nutrition, crisp, and kick to a homemade version of baked French fries? Drizzle olive oil over cut root vegetables and then toss them in a few tablespoons of nutritional yeast. The flavor is out of this world.

Creamy Cooked Greens

Cooked spinach pairs well with cream and cheese, but you can replace those heavier add-ins with a tablespoon or two of nutritional yeast and then watch as the bare spinach suddenly becomes decadently creamy and bold in flavor.

Vegan Quiche

Experiment with this No-Soy Vegan Quiche recipe from blog Triumph Wellness. It’s the perfect example of where just a little bit of nooch makes a big difference.

Dog Food

Dogs need their vitamin B12 too, especially if your dog is on a plant-based diet. Mix some nutritional yeast in your furry friend’s nibbles and he or she will benefit in a major way.

Baby Formula

If a baby is using formula in place of breast feeding, it is recommended to add nutritional yeast to the infant formula.  Nutritional yeast provides B12, iron and folic acid, which are essential to growth.

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

Photo Credit: Artizone, Acquired Life

The post 20 Unusual Ways to Use Nutritional Yeast appeared first on EcoSalon.

Get your popcorn out.

In this week’s infographic installment, we tackle the big business of film. Whether it’s breaking down famous quotes into pie charts, tracking the appearance of Apple products as extras, or highlighting how studios are greening their operations, these infographics feature different various facets of the movie industry with facts, humor, and lots of color-coding. Cue applause.

The Most Popular Movies of All Time: See if you can match the movie with the quote in this colorful round-up of the industry’s highest-grossing films.

Hollywood Goes Green: A look at how different film studios are adopting more environmentally-friendly practices.

Apple Products Throughout Film History: Check out how the Macintosh has played a supporting role in films from “Back to the Future” to “Sex and the City.”

The Best Movies of All Time Map: Take the top 250 films of all time, break them down by genre, and see where they intersect in this subway map-style infographic.

Film Industry by the Numbers: The dollars and cents of the multi-billion dollar movie business.

Famous Movie Quotes: A graphic interpretation of film’s most famous sayings.

Famous Movie Quotes, Part 2: The first was so good, they had to make a sequel.

The 12 Movies With the Dirtiest Mouths: As measured by use of the f-bomb.

The Future According to Films: Looks pretty bleak.

How To Make A Movie: A humorous flow-chart on the real business of movie making, as only the French can do.

ALSO CHECK OUT:

10 Food Infographics That Have Us Consciously Consuming

10 Fashion Infographics to Give Us a New Style Sense

10 Political Infographics on Election 2012

10 Infographics Exploring Sex, Love, and Relationships

See more infographic round-ups here.

Image: o5com

The post 10 Oscar-Worthy Infographics on the Film Industry appeared first on EcoSalon.