Popped Amaranth Energy Bar With Fruit & Nuts

How to Make Popped Amaranth Energy Bar with Fruit & Nuts

• SERVINGS: 4
• PREP TIME: 20 MINUTES
• COOK TIME: 10 MINUTES
• MEAL: SNACK-DESSERT
• STYLE: WESTERN
• FOR OCCASION: TRAVEL-FRIENDLY, KID-FRIENDLY, MOVIE-NIGHT, GAME-NIGHT

CLINICAL AYURVEDIC REVIEW

Sink your teeth into a nutty, fruity, honey-sweet Popped Amaranth Energy Bar with Fruit & Nuts. Juicy apricots, nourishing almonds, and the light satisfying crunch of amaranth make this an energy bar set apart from the rest. Nothing keeps you going strong through a long day at work, school, or hiking like this easy recipe for stamina.

Burst of Energy

Amaranth, also referred as "Popcorn of the Gods" by the Serendipitous Chef, is as tasty and fun as tiny popcorn when it bursts on a hot pan. Amaranth proves to be much lighter than oats as the base for an energy bar, giving you easy access to enduring strength. Honey plays a dual role - it's stickiness makes it a perfect binder for the amaranth, nuts, and apricots, but it's the quick delivery of glucose that helps you feel a sense of relief after just one bite.

These bars boast a high protein content in an easy-to-munch package. Amaranth and almonds are both great sources of sustaining energy that is great for trail hiking, or simply a long day.

Homemade-Safe

Store-bought energy bars are sneaky culprits for disguising processed sugars and preservatives in a health-food wrapper. They are such a tempting choice, teasing you with stamina when you're tired, simplicity and convenience. Fear not! You may still enjoy the easy nourishment of an energy bar by making this simple recipe at home. Dried fruit and honey are the only sweeteners you'll find on the list of ingredients. Popped Amaranth Energy Bars with Fruit & Nuts are exactly what they claim to be - healthy, nourishing, and satisfying.

Heart Healthy

Amaranth has been shown to reduce cholesterol and blood pressure, making this a great snack for the sweet tooth of kapha constitutions. Popped is the preparation of choice for those dealing with obesity, water retention, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure thanks to its drying nature.

Dry Quality & Vata

Dried energy bars provoke Vata unless each bite is chased with a sip of water. Dense, dried fruits must be chewed well for delicate Vata digestions. Otherwise, Popped Amaranth Energy Bars with Fruit & Nut are a healthy, compact, light snack.

Be Creative!

Feel free to add any other nuts, seeds, or dried fruits into the mix. Some yummy ideas are Brazil nuts, walnuts, and pistachios, flax, sunflower, and pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, cherries, or blueberries. Allow this simple recipe to be your jumping off point into the fun world of homemade energy bars!

Discovered at the Santa Fe Farmer's Market, Keegan Crumpacker Catering, New Mexico.

WHAT IS POPPED AMARANTH ENERGY BAR WITH FRUIT & NUTS?

History of Amaranth from Wikipedia:
Amaranth grain was one of the staple foodstuffs of the Incas, and it is known as kiwicha in the Andes today. It was also used by the ancient Aztecs, who called it huautli, and other Native America peoples in Mexico to prepare ritual drinks and foods. To this day, amaranth grains are toasted much like popcorn and mixed with honey or molasses to make a treat called alegra (literally "joy" in Spanish).

Amaranth was used in several Aztec ceremonies, where images of their gods (notably Huitzilopochtli) were made with amaranth mixed with honey. The images were cut to be eaten by the people. This looked like the Christian communion to the Roman Catholic priests, so the cultivation of the grain was forbidden for centuries.

AYURVEDA'S GUIDE TO VITALITY & WHOLESOME NOURISHMENT

Your Ayurvedic diet is tailored to your individual body and your specific imbalances. With an Ayurvedic diet you feel joy and satisfaction because what you are eating truly nourishes and balances you. Disease results from diets and lifestyles that are incompatible with your nature. By eating a personalized diet matched to your body, you experience optimal health. See How it Works.