Popcorn is one of the most favourite snacks in our house.

It’s gluten free and it tastes yummy. I jazzed up our normal, plain popcorn with this sticky salted caramel sauce. A bit of a treat and dead easy to make when you get a yearning for something sweet late at night.

Salted Caramel Popcorn

Vital Stats: Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Vegan, Naturally Sweetened, Nut Free, Egg Free

Okay, so this is what’s in it:

6 cups popped organic popcorn

1/4 cup organic maple syrup

1/4 cup virgin, organic coconut oil

1 tablespoon organic coconut sugar

1 scraped vanilla pod (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)

1 – 2 teaspoons pink Himalayan salt

Okay, so this is how you do it:

Pop your popcorn and chuck it into a large stainless steel or glass bowl.

Mix all other ingredients in a saucepan and heat over a medium temperature.

Cook it for about five minutes or until it has reduced a little and is all gooey and syrupy thick.

Resist urge to pop finger in and test – this stuff burns!!

Pour over popcorn and mix well with a large metal spoon.

Let it cool down before chowing down. Refer to above advice.

Tips:

♥ Using organic popping corn means you don’t have to worry about GMO corn. Get it at your health food store or online here.

♥ Popcorn is actually pretty good for you – it contains lots of fibre and the antioxidant polyphenols.

♥ Use an electric popcorn machine or pop it the old fashioned way on the stove. Microwave popcorn is nasty!

♥ If you want to get fancy, add in some coconut, nuts or fruit and press it into a slice tin or roll into balls.

♥ You can totally swap out the maple syrup for rice malt syrup if fructose bothers you or honey if you prefer. And if you are okay with dairy, try it with some organic, grass fed butter instead of coconut oil.

How to host an eco-friendly kids’ party!

Today I am bringing you my top tips for a very green kids’ party. Keep in mind that even the little things we do can all make a difference.

♥ Plan ahead. Many environmentally friendly products are sadly not widely available, so you may need to hunt around or order online.

♥ Make a list and consider what you will need. From here you can work out how you can make the party greener. Borrow from friends, consider using things you already own or things that can be re-used, composted, recycled or upcycled in anyway.

♥ Invitations can be made at home with recycled paper or cards or you can use some eco-friendly invitations.

♥ Skip the paper invites and email the guests or create a Facebook event!

♥ You need to be very careful with balloons. If you want to have them, please dispose of them properly as they pose a choking risk to animals (even the biodegradable latex ones).

♥ Tell your guests that your party is eco-friendly and ask them to join in the fun. You could ask them to wrap the gift in recycled paper, make the gift a preloved book or toy or have a no-plastic gift policy. One year my son invited so many kids to the park and we really didn’t want over 20 toys (and the packaging!) to add to our home. Luckily he felt the same way and was more than happy to say ‘no gifts, donation if you prefer’ on the invites. He felt very proud donating over $250 to NAPCAN, one of our favourite charities.

♥ Set up boxes or bins, clearly labelled for recycling for easy clean up.

♥ Make paper chains. Use old wrapping paper, cards, brown paper or homemade artworks. Masking tape is best as its recyclable.

♥ Get creative with party decorations. Use things like candles, flowers, leaves, gumnuts, pebbles, shells, seeds and pods! Popcorn garlands and hanging biccies are fun too.

♥ Instead of using disposable plastic tablecloths and banners, invest in a gorgeous fabric party decorations that can be reused over and over again at every celebration! Check out these hundreds of ideas at Etsy – you can even find people who will make customised products for you.

♥ Check the local op-shop for colourful platters, plates and cups. It’s not hard to wash them up and you can store them in a box to be used again and again.

♥ If you want to use disposable party-ware, check out this range that is all natural and compostable. You could even use washed banana leaves as plates – what fun for a jungle themed party!

♥ Food covers are better options than using cling wrap (gosh we used to go through a lot of that stuff for parties!)

♥ Try and cater most of the party yourself. Buying individual portions of food uses lots of packaging and it’s usually more expensive.

♥ Face-paint can be really toxic. My daughter always breaks out in a terrible rash if she gets her face painted! Choose a natural face paint like No Nasties Nevada.

♥ Instead of plastic party bags, use paper bags, fabric bags, noodle boxes, paper doilies, pot plants or even paper cups! Check out my healthier party bag ideas here.

For your next birthday party, spare a thought for the environment and see if you can make even one small change. Trust me, it makes you feel good to know you are doing you’re little bit!

Do you have any more ideas?