Demonstration Speech: A world of healthy snacks from your microwave

It’s Superbowl Sunday, so this afternoon and evening Americans will be consuming lots of greasy, salty snacks while watching the game on television.

Several years ago I gave a demonstration speech at my Toastmasters club that showed how to use a microwave oven to make healthier snacks. I showed them before and after cooking, and then passed around bags with samples.

Popcorn is one snack food that can be made healthier. As shown above, a plastic popper lets you use bulk popcorn without the fat found in those overpriced commercial bags. Then you can add spices like cayenne pepper, curry powder, or Chinese five-spice, salt, and some butter or margarine.

You can microwave a pair of tortillas on a dinner plate to make your own chips. Cook for thirty seconds, then turn them over and repeat. Regular tortillas might take about four minutes, while extra thin ones just about two. You can begin by rubbing a small amount of oil between the tortillas, and then salting them lightly. Break them into quarters after cooking.

You also can cook an Indian papadum on a dinner plate. Indian markets stock packages of these in several spicy flavors.

As shown above, you even can cook four Indonesian krupuk at a time. (Both uncooked and cooked ones are shown). Experiment to get the correct cooking time. You want the whole cracker to puff up (no raw edges), but don’t want to start burning them.