Have you searched for that perfect snack food? A snack that will taste great, with few calories, low saturated fat, some fiber and low sodium?

This week I’m into popcorn.

I tried microwave popcorn years ago – mostly the full-size bags of butter popcorn from Costco. I’ve tried the popping kernels in a popping machine. This week, however, I discovered microwave, almost fat free, 1.2 oz. mini bags of popcorn.

I just bought three boxes with which to experiment: Jolly Time (JT), Pop Secret (PS), and Orville Redenbacher’s (OR). Here’s how they stack up (snack up):

• JT 100 Calorie Healthy Pop Butter — 2g fat 110 cal.; 5g/fiber; 210mg sodium

• PS 100 Calorie Pop — 2g fat 130 cal.; 4g/fiber; 320mg sodium

• OR Smart Pop — 2g fat 100 cal.; 3g/fiber; 150mg sodium

My tablespoon of melted “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” margarine added to the popped corn gives me another 70 calories and 8g of fat (oops!).

I try to eat one piece of popcorn at a time, but usually I wind up with a small fistful of popcorn without even realizing it. I like the microwave popcorn better than the machine popped from kernels. The microwave popcorn tastes a lot crisper and tasty than the other kind.

I’m glad I went to the store a few nights ago to browse the popcorn aisle. I like the mini-bag concept. Even if I fool myself by eating a couple of mini-bags at a time.

I wonder what aisle I’ll browse next. Will it be the washing machine detergent aisle? The beans aisle? The cereals aisle?

So many discoveries to make. What excitement to find new things to enjoy!

Mr. Ebsen may be contacted at Robertebsen@hotmail.com