Lunch: Candied Apple Popcorn Balls

Recipe by Ann Taylor Pittman Guess what? This is a whole-grain dessert. To keep the ­stickiness at bay, wear latex gloves coated with cooking spray as you shape the popcorn balls.

This recipe includes superfoods such as:

Cinnamon

Health benefits of Candied Apple Popcorn Balls

Cinnamon is one of the best ingredients that someone with insulin sensitivity can eat. Half a teaspoon of cinnamon per day has been shown to be very effective at normalizing blood sugar levels. Cinnamon contains hydroxychalcone, which is thought to enhance the effects of insulin. It has also been suggested that Cinnamon prevents post-meal blood sugar spikes by slowing the gastric emptying rate - meaning that food digests slowly. (Reference: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11506060).

Ingredients

1 tablespoon canola oil
1/3 cup unpopped popcorn
Cooking spray
1 ounce lightly crushed apple chips
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cinnamon hard candies
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add popcorn; cover and cook 3 minutes or until kernels pop, shaking pan frequently. When popping slows down, remove pan from heat. Let stand 1 minute or until popping stops. Pour popcorn into a large bowl coated with cooking spray. Stir in apple chips.
Combine sugar and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a medium, heavy saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat until a candy thermometer registers 300 °. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Immediately pour hot syrup over popcorn; toss well to coat. Cool slightly (about 1 to 2 minutes). Carefully form mixture into 8 balls, being careful not to compact too tightly.

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