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Inspired by Brendan Brazier’s use of popped amaranth grain in some of his THRIVE recipes, I created this bite-sized protein popper which is great for kids and people on-the-go. Popped amaranth is similar in smell and taste to popcorn, yet micro-adorable in size. It pairs deliciously with buttery nuts and sweet banana. You can store poppers in an airtight glass container in your refrigerator, freezer or you can dehydrate them and keep them in your pantry. Amaranth Hemp Protein Poppers are a great snack to keep with you in your kitchen, office, handbag or car so when hunger hits, you have a healthy option ready for you.

Friendly note: if you are at all adverse to a mess, this may not be a good recipe for you. I find this recipe great for the spirit in that I always am smiling and laughing when I’m popping amaranth—it’s fun, but inevitably, a few grains will make a run for it and dive beyond the perimeter of the skillet. I sometimes use a plate to deflect the escape attempts and it keeps the brave little buggers in while keeping the fun at a maximum. I have also heard that you can use a wok, air popper or saucepan to pop amaranth, but I haven’t tried those yet.

Makes: approx: 28-30 poppers  |  Preparation Time: 1hr |  Optional Dehydration Time: 6-8hrs

Tools:
Food Processor
Blender
Skillet
Dehydrator (optional)

Ingredients:
Preferably all nuts have been previously soaked and dehydrated. This recipe will work with soaked, non-dehydrated nuts, but know that the texture will be less crunchy. You can always use raw unsoaked nuts too, but the enzyme inhibitors will still be on the nuts if they are not soaked and they make digestion and assimilation difficult.

1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/4 cup raw pecans
1/4 cup raw almonds
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 organic banana
2 Tbsp raw agave nectar (optional for extra sweetness. Can substitute organic maple syrup, raw yacon syrup or raw honey to taste. Note that honey isn’t considered “vegan” and maple syrup isn’t considered “raw”)
2 soaked Medjool Dates, pitted
1/4 cup organic hemp seeds
1/2 cup Amaranth

Let’s Get Started:
Place sunflower seeds, pecans, almonds and salt in the food processor and pulse until chopped (below right). Don’t over process, you want to maintain chunks of nuts. Place nut mix in a large bowl and set aside.

Let’s have some fun now. I think popping amaranth grain is one of the cutest kitchen activities one can participate in. Place your best skillet on high heat and when a drop of water disappears immediately when dropped in, your skillet is ready. Pop amaranth by placing 1 tablespoon of grain in at a time, stirring constantly for about 15 seconds until seeds pop. After they pop, transfer to a bowl and add the next tablespoon of amaranth to the skillet until you get 1 cup of popped amaranth.

Now, I have read that a skillet lightly greased in coconut oil also works well, but my experience has been that an ungreased skillet on high heat yields great results. So I think it depends on the pan and the range you are cooking with. Don’t be discouraged if the grains don’t pop right away, just adjust the temperature until you find the combination that works in your kitchen.

Once all your amaranth is popped, place in a shallow bowl and set aside. Now let’s create a sweet banana date paste to bind our poppers. In the blender, place banana, dates and agave and mix until smooth.

Pour paste into the large bowl with the nuts and mix well. Fold in your hemp seeds.

Using a small spoon, scoop your banana nut and hemp mixture into your popped amaranth. Coat your dollop with popped amaranth, roll in your hand until you have a fully coated ball.

Continue until you have used all of your mixture and popped amaranth.

Store poppers in an airtight glass container in your refrigerator, freezer or you can dehydrate them and keep them in your pantry. If you would like to extend the shelf life of this snack, then dehydrate your poppers for about 6-8 hrs.

NOTE: Look for unique ingredients at your local health food store and try the bulk section for the cost savings. Ask your grocer to stock the ingredients that you need.

Where to purchase unique ingredients online:
Find organic Hempseed, raw, non-pasteurized almonds, raw organic honey, organic, raw yacon syrup and raw organic agave nectars at Sunfood Nutrition.

Find the following at Amazon:
Raw Honey
Pink Himalayan Salt (Pack of 3)
Organic Shelled Hempseed
Organic Maple Syrup
Amaranth Grain (Pack of 4)
Raw Honey
Fine Ground Celtic Sea Salt
Organic Brown Rice Syrup
Raw Organic Organic Manuka Honey

RawGuru carries:
Raw, Organic Yacon Syrup
Raw, Premium Amber Agave Nectar
Fine Ground Celtic Sea Salt
Organic, Raw Hemp Seed
Certified Organic Makuna Honey
Fine Ground Pink Himalayan Salt
Organic, Raw Pecan Halves
Raw, Organic Almonds

Recommended appliances:
Vita-Mix 1700 Turbo Blend 4500 Countertop Blender
Excalibur 3500 Deluxe Series 5 Tray Food Dehydrator
Cuisinart Pro Classic 7-Cup Food Processor

I know that these appliances are expensive—I bought them both for my own kitchen after all. But please know that they are an incredible investment and reliable tools that you will have for a very long time. I use the dehydrator every week to make snacks to keep in my purse, at my desk, at work or in my car so when hunger hits, I’m not tempted to purchase or eat junk. The dehydrator is pretty fun, you can dehydrate almost everything. I also use my food processor almost every day for nutrition bars, pates, pudding, dinners and more. I also use my high-powered blender every day for smoothies, milks, sauces, dressings, desserts and more. The pain of the pricetags are a distant memory at this point, with only hundreds of tasty meals as replacement.

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