RECIPE: Use popping quinoa to rev up your energy bites
During a Saturday night Netflix and popcorn binge, I became curious. Not about my compulsion to finish a bad series in the hope that it will spontaneously improve, but about my snack, which was the only star of the evening. If I can pop corn, what else pops on the stovetop?
Quinoa! In literal minutes, you can transform this protein-rich, seed-turned-grain-substitute, into a puffy and — with one exception we’ll discuss later — tasty treat.
While most recipes instruct you to rinse the quinoa first, I found zero taste difference when I didn’t. I give you permission to skip that step, unless you know you are sensitive to saponin, the coating on the quinoa seeds. If you do wash your quinoa, dry the seeds relatively quickly in a 200-degree oven for 30 minutes.
My research suggested puffing the quinoa like popcorn, using a pot with a tight-fitting lid. However, my lid trapped moisture, even with thoroughly dry seeds, which delayed popping and made the quinoa chewy. Instead, I puffed the quinoa in an open pasta pot, stirring the seeds with a wooden spoon, and trusting the pot’s high sides to contain any flying quinoa. While the risk of an exuberant seed shooting your eye out is small, it is never zero. Wear eye protection, like onion or swim goggles, to be safe.
Popped quinoa tastes like toasted nuts and is a delicious addition to trail mix, yogurt, cookies and any recipe made with peanut butter. It does not, unfortunately, work as a puffed cereal substitute. My quinoa crispy treats were a gritty waste of good marshmallows. Save yourself an evening of regret and use popped quinoa strictly in supporting roles.
- 1/2 cup white quinoa
- 1 cup rolled oats (not instant or steel-cut)
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Heat a pot with tall sides over medium-high heat 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium and add quinoa to the dry pot. Stir the seeds continuously 1 to 2 minutes, until the seeds smell toasty. Remove the pot from the heat and continue to stir 1 minute more, until you no longer hear the seeds popping. Pour the quinoa into a medium-sized mixing bowl.
- Add oats, peanut butter, honey, vanilla and cinnamon to the bowl. Stir until well-combined. Shape into 1-inch balls and place on prepared baking sheet. Freeze 10 to 15 minutes, until balls are slightly hardened.
- Place chocolate chips and coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on 50% power 1 minute . Stir and microwave again, in 15-second increments, stirring after each time, until chocolate is melted. Roll balls in the chocolate and return the prepared pan. Refrigerate until chocolate is hard.
- Transfer energy bites to an airtight container. Keeps refrigerated 1 week. Makes 12 bites.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per serving: 197 calories (percent of calories from fat, 48), 5 grams protein, 21 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 11 grams total fat (5 grams saturated), no cholesterol, 53 milligrams sodium.Sign up for the AJC Food and Dining Newsletter
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