My husband arrived home to find me on the verge of tears and close to throwing the laptop at the wall.

I?d just spent an hour trying to convert the grams of saturated fat in popcorn, into the equivalent number of teaspoons of butter. I did this because I wanted to convey the fat content to you in a tangible way (because who knows how much seven grams of fat actually is?)

Nevermind, despite coming close to the point of insanity, it turned out to be pretty easy in the end. And in the big scheme of things it didn?t really take all that long.

With my calculator well warmed up, I also worked out that I?ll spend approximately 1,728 more hours of my life brushing my teeth, 1,524 hours straightening my hair and 52 hours at TCD. I could have spent 2,704 hours in the queue at Butterfield Bank, but thank God for the Internet.

With a scary amount of our lives taken up with domestic chores, I wanted to make just one thing easier for you.

?Try this, not that? aims to help you make a healthy choice, quickly and simply. You don?t have to spend hours analysing the food labels, because I?m doing it for you.

This week let?s take a look at popcorn. It?s such a common snack for both adults and children in Bermuda, that it?s really worthwhile highlighting the healthier options.

If you look at the chart, you?ll see that in an ideal world, you?d pop your own using only one tablespoon of olive oil per serving and not adding any salt.

There?s no doubt that salted popcorn tastes great, but the ready-popped or pre-prepared versions are salted to the extreme.

The amount of salt in a serving size of mainstream popcorn is high enough, providing up to 15 percent of your recommended maximum intake.

However, the average bag of microwave popcorn contains two and half servings and a lot of people eat this amount in one go.

By the time processed foods, soups and other commonly salted foods are taken into account, it?s no wonder most people consume double the amount of salt than is recommended.

As a high (sodium) salt intake is linked to heart disease and water retention (contributing to weight gain), it?s worth limiting salt where possible.

So if you can be persuaded to make your own, go easy on the salt and note that even ? teaspoon contains 500mg sodium.

You could also use low-salt/salt-alternatives instead. Morton Lite Salt has half the sodium of table salt and Nu-Salt is a sodium free salt substitute.

Both are cheap and widely available in most grocery stores.

Just make sure that if you do have heart disease, diabetes or kidney disease, that your GP, dietician or nutritionist approves your use of either.

While using olive oil yields the highest total fat content per serving, the figure to watch is the saturated fat.

Saturated fat is bad fat, the kind that causes weight gain, heart disease, inflammation and hormonal imbalances.

And although all these popcorn options come from the same brand, just look at the difference between them.

While ?try this? options have less saturated fat than the equivalent of two teaspoons of butter, the ?not that? options contain almost three teaspoons.

And remember that this is per serving, if you ate the whole bag, you?d be eating the equivalent of nine teaspoons of butter ? bear that in mind when you go to the movies and order a large popcorn!

Serving size is also one of the reasons I?ve recommended the ?smart pop!? option.

Although the salt content is still a little high for my liking, the serving size is great.

The smaller packs mean that you really will only eat one serving, rather than the two and a half in standard bags.

So for the health conscious among you ? popcorn can still be a healthy snack, just make sure you pick the right one.

The advice given in this article is not intended to replace medical advice, but to complement it. Always consult your GP if you have any health concerns. Catherine Burns is a fully qualified Clinical Nutritionist. She can be contacted at 291-4725 or clinicalnutritiongmail.com.