The Popcorn Points Question Answered (I think)
This is one of the most asked questions on the Weight Watchers boards. Why is it so to calculate points for popcorn? Let me break down the brand I eat.
Orville Redenbacher’s Smart Pop 94% Fat Free Butter 2.9oz bag (regular size bag, not the mini or 100 cal pack)
According to the bag, a serving size is 3 tbsp unpopped (7 cups popped) there are 2 servings per container which means the bag contains 6 tbsp of unpopped popcorn (14 popped)
Nutritional information for 6tbsp unpopped:
- 240 calories
- 4 g of fat
- 8 g of Fiber
- 4 points
Now the bag gives the calorie count for 1 cup popped as 15 calories. If you multiply that by 14 (number of cups in the bag) you get 255 calories for the bag. This still gives you 4 points. So, no matter how you look at it the normal size bag (meaning not the mini bag) of Orville Redenbacher’s Smart Pop 94% Fat Free Butter is 4 points for the whole thing.
Next I looked up another brand online, 94% Fat Free JOLLY TIME® Healthy Pop® Butter Flavor. According to their site, a serving size is 2 tbsp unpopped (5 cups popped) and there are 2.5 servings per bag which means the bag contains 5 tbsp of unpopped popcorn (12.5 cups popped).
Nutritional Information of 5 tbsp unpopped:
- 225 calories
- 5 g of fat
- 22.5 g of fiber (find this hard to believe, but it doesn’t really matter because of the fiber cap)
- 4 points
They give the calories of 1 cup popped as 20 calories. 20 times 12.5 is 250 calories which still gives you 4 points.
In my opinion, most larger bags of 94% fat free popcorns are 4 points. As for the smaller or single servings bags, I don’t buy them much, but when I do I count them as 2 points. I know there are some brands out there that are 1 point, but they are usually the 100 calorie bags.
I hope that helps a little but. I think everyone has asked the popcorn question at least once. If you calculated the points for other brands let me know in the comments.
Labels: journal
posted by Roni
at
12:47 PM
6 Comments :
I'm an Orville Redenbacher addict! Hi, I'm Emily and I'm addicted to popcorn..."Hi Emily". There, I admitted it ;) I absolutely love the Smart Pop 94% Fat Free Kettle Korn!
The nutritional information is the same for the Smart Pop Butter & I noticed an error in your post. There's actually only 210 calories per 2.9oz bag, not 255! 255 calories would be for 17 cups of popcorn instead of 14! When I know this off the top of my head, I think it's a sign I've eaten one too many bags! ;)
Keep it up Roni - I love your site!
Hi. I went to the Weight Watchers page for more answers. Click on the link below. It caclulates most of the major brands as 1 point depending on how many cups. Most are 1 point for 5-6 cups.
http://www.weightwatchers.ca/util/art/index_art.aspx?art_id=12261&tabnum=1&sc=3017&subnav=Shopping+%26+Ingredients
it is 7.5 cups in a serving. 15 cups total in a bag. Nutrition facts for the whole bag is as follows. You all need to read the what is next to the * lower down on the Nutrition list.
Calories = 225
Fat = 0
Sat Fat = 0
Sodium = 300
Carbs = 45
Fiber = 15
Have you ever measured out the bag, though? There isn't 15 cups of popcorn once it is popped.
Anon - Actually if you go by weight, it's pretty close!
Hi Robin, If you read down in the fine print of SmartPop, it says that the popped popcorn contains less than 1g of fiber per serving. Which puts the whole bag at 4.5 points per serving if I'm doing the math right?
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