Superfood Popcorn Nachos {Vegan, nf}

This bowl of Superfood Popcorn Nachos is loaded with goji berries, chia seeds, hemp seed butter, watermelon seeds, and sunflower-oil sweetened popcorn!  Made with powerful nutrient-dense tasty ingredients that will keep your snack game strong.

I think we forget that popcorn with toppings is an epic snack!  Everyone’s all about taco’s, taco Tuesday and nachos, but popcorn has its perks too!  Especially Superfood Popcorn Nachos! No longer do we have to eat caramel popcorn or artificial cheesy popcorn with added sugars and ingredients you can’t pronounce.  It doesn’t have to be that way if you don’t want it to.  There are plenty of healthy ways to turn your popcorn nachos into a healthy but delicious (no leftovers) kind of snack.  And it doesn’t have to be a guilty snack either.

I’d say popcorn on its own, plain popcorn that is, can be an empty snack. Meaning you eat and eat and eat but don’t feel full, or you feel full but then 20 minutes later you are starving again.  When it comes to snacking, the right way to snack is to eat something like popcorn with a healthy fat or with a healthy protein so you get full!  That way you are enjoying a beneficial snack for your body that tastes good and you eat less.  Because there is nothing worse than feeling over full.  You know what I’m talking about…that feeling you have to walk off.

And you don’t crash from superfoods because they are not empty artificial foods. Superfoods sound like they have superpowers, and in ways, yes they do – but not the way you think.  They are just loaded with tons of nutrients, minerals, and vitamins giving your body big benefits – a power punch.  Long gone are the days when you heard the word healthy or superfoods and automatically thought “if it’s good for you, it must be gross”.  Gone are those days.  Hello to healthy food that tastes delicious and gives your body nutrients too!  It’s a win!

Since 2014 I have had tree-nut and peanut sensitivities that were so bad I didn’t even try to add them back in.  I’m currently (3 years later) working on walnuts and cashews, but not in a capacity where I can add them to a recipe that I will devour (not yet).  So for this recipe, I went with Hemp Seed Butter because I can eat that, and I like making it.  If you’re not into hemp seed butter, no worries – sub in any nut or seed butter you want!  Just make sure it’s creamy.  If it’s creamy it will work wonders.  You can try almond butter, cashew butter, pumpkin seed butter, sunflower butter, pistachio butter, hazelnut butter, tahini – really there are so many options.

SUPER COOL SUPERFOOD NUTRITION FACTS

Watermelon seeds (remember only the white ones are edible) = Plant Protein, Magnesium, Iron, Folate.  These little guys will keep you full.

Chia Seeds = Dietary Fiber, Omega 3 Fatty Acids, Omega 6 Fatty Acids, Calcium, and many vitamins and minerals.  Think of them like sprinkles.

Goji Berries = Beta Carotene, Vitamin A, high level of Antioxidants, helps stabilize your blood sugar and detoxifies the liver. Plus Goji berries are a sweet and tangy fruit.

Hemp Seeds = Acts as the perfect protein because hemp seeds contain all 20 amino acids, plus 9 of the essential amino acids the body cannot produce, a balance of both omega 3 & omega-6 fatty acids (think healthy fats) and high levels of vitamin A, magnesium, potassium and vitamin B3.

Coconut Oil = Has anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, anti-viral and anti-fungal properties, loaded with healthy medium-chain fats that are easily digestible, immediately converts to energy, reduces inflammation, prevents gum disease and is excellent for your skin inside and out.

Without further adieu, I’m sharing with you my favorite popcorn snack to make!

Ready to make beautiful music together?

Print Recipe

Superfood Popcorn Nachos

Prep Time15 mins

Total Time15 mins

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, healthy, Vegan

Keyword: chocolate, healthy popcorn, hemp seeds, popcorn, popcorn nachos, superfood

Servings: 3 people

Author: Julie Rosenthal

Equipment

• food processor

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups Skinny Popcorn
• 1 tbsp goji berries
• 1 tbsp salted and roasted watermelon seeds
• 1/2 tbsp chia seeds
• pinch Himalayan pink salt or sea salt

Hemp Seed Butter

• 1 cup hemp seeds
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 4 drops liquid stevia
• pinch Himalayan pink salt or sea salt

Instructions

Hemp Seed Butter

• In a food processor, add 1 cup of hemp seeds and process until a dough forms that is semi-creamy. This could take over five minutes, sometimes longer depending on the power of your food processor but also sometimes less.
• Then add 2 heaping tablespoons of coconut oil one tbsp. at a time, up to 4 drops of liquid stevia and a pinch of salt and process till creamy.
• Using a disposable pastry bag cut the tip at an angle. Then fill the bag with the hemp seed butter mixture and pipe onto the popcorn. If you don't wanna be fancy, just use a spoon.

Popcorn & Toppings

• Put 3½ cups of popcorn in a bowl, add your toppings and then pipe the hemp seed butter on top. Remember you can use as many toppings as you want, but keep in mind you will get full faster with nutrient-dense toppings.

Notes

Option: If you don't want to make Coconut Hemp Seed butter, then add unsweetened coconut shreds and use nut or seed butter of choice. Option: Feel free to use this idea as inspiration and add whatever superfoods that suit your needs. // 

Option: If you don’t want to make Coconut Hemp Seed butter, then add unsweetened coconut shreds and use nut or seed butter of choice.

Option: Feel free to use this idea as inspiration and add whatever superfoods that suit your needs.

***For all superfoods I use brands that are certified gluten-free at 5ppm.  These are from Nuts . com  (make sure you buy from the gluten-free section) and Organic Living Super Foods . com.  I love them both!

Looking for another healthy Superfood Snack?  Try my Superfood Apple Nachos!

Love and Superfoods,