This trail mix popcorn is filled with nuts, seeds, dried fruit and chocolate chips for a fun snack.
The pantry door opens. She thinks nothing of it. The sound of plastic being torn open gets her attention though. Ears are now perked and the trademark tilted head expression now looks back at me.
I open the microwave and she waits in hopeful anticipation. 15 seconds go by, nothing. She’s still hopeful though sitting eagerly on the edge of the area rug. Pop. Pop pop. She stares intently at me.
Pop, pop, pop pop, pop. She now comes prancing into the kitchen, her nails clicking against the hard wood floor. She sits by my side and we wait.
I take the bag out, pour it into a bowl and she hops backwards towards the couch banging into something, a chair, the decorative column that divides the rooms, the tv stand, unfazed as popcorn trumps any and all pain in the mind of a dog.
For the next 20 minutes, we play the game. A kernel for me, a kernel for her. Her catch rate is usually about 50%, lost under the couch rate about 5%, pure and utter happiness…110%.
This is the scene that unfolds every single time we eat popcorn in this house.
When it comes to popcorn, while Ginger will eat it any which way, you have to really jazz it up or cover it in chocolate for me to want it. Butter alone isn’t going to cut it.
I want caramel, chocolate, spices and any other adds in you can dream up. In fact, it’s not just popcorn I feel this way about, almost any party snack is the same. Hence, my love of a good chex mix recipe.
If it’s winter, it’ll usually be this pomegranate popcorn mix.
To celebrate JOLLY TIME Pop Corn turning 100 this month (which also happens to be National Popcorn month), I dreamt up my ideal popcorn combination.
Trail mix popcorn. It’s got nuts, seeds, fruit, spice, stickiness AND chocolate. Not quite sure there could be a better combination to celebrate turning a century old.
Not only is this snack healthy, family owned JOLLY TIME popcorn is made with non-GMO kernels so you can indulge without any worries.
And yes, I know chocolate is bad for dogs. Ginger’s portion was sans chocolate chips and she wants me to tell you she highly approves.
Trail Mix Popcorn
Ingredients
- 4 cups popped pop corn
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped cashews
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 3 tablespoon pumpkin seeds
- 3 tablespoons chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons oats
- 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Place popcorn, cashews, cranberries, pumpkin seeds, chocolate chips and oats in a large bowl.
- Pour melted coconut oil on top and toss until well combined.
- Drizzle honey on top and mix gently until coated.
- Season with cinnamon and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
*This post is sponsored by JOLLY TIME and Kitchen-PLAY. All content is my own.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
Yum! Chocolate and popcorn! A dream combination.
Have you tried the spiced pumpkin seeds at Trader Joe’s yet? They are ah-mazing.
What an adorable post! Popcorn isn’t typically my go-to snack, but everything in this IS! Yum!
I love snacking on both trail mix and popcorn.. but never would have thought to combine the two! What a delicious idea! Definitely a yummy snack I can picture myself devouring.
haha.. I love that your dog does that. So fun! Our dog just wants to eat it all at once, none of this one at a time business… and to be honest if I had this in front of me right now I would do the same thing because it sounds amazing Gina!