Ingredients:

 

• 3 tbsp. NUA Naturals Vanilla Rice Protein 

• 30ml NUA Naturals Agave Nectar

• 70g amaranth (1 1/2 cups popped)

• 256 g  almond butter 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instructions:

• Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper .

• Pop* your amaranth by heating a large pot over medium-high heat. You'll know it's ready to start adding amaranth when a drop of water disperses quickly and balls up.

• Add about 2-3 Tbsp amaranth at a time and immediately cover. Shake the pot back and forth over the heat (wearing oven mitts is helpful) to move the grain around. It should start popping within 1-3 seconds, and be done popping at the 10-second mark. Be sure to pull them off at around 10 seconds or they'll start to burn. Not every single grain will pop (that's OK!). Very quickly empty into a mixing bowl. This may take a couple tries to dial in your heat and not burn them! But then you'll hit your stride.

• Continue until you have roughly 1 1/2 cups popped grain. As you go, add your popped grain into a small mixing bowl first to ensure none are burnt. Then transfer to a larger bowl so you don't mix any burnt grain with perfectly popped grain. Set aside.

• Add almond butter and agave syrup to a medium mixing bowl and stir to combine.

• Then add protein powder and stir.

• Add popped amaranth a little at a time until you have a loose "dough" texture. Be careful not to add too much or the bars can lose their tackiness and won't stick together. I found roughly 1 1/4 cups to be about right. Stir with a wooden spoon or use hands to disperse mixture evenly.
  Transfer the mixture to the baking dish and press down to form an even layer. Lay parchment paper on top and use a flat-bottom object to press down and pack the mixture into an even, firmly packed layer.

• Transfer to freezer to set for 10-15 minutes, or until firm to the touch. Then lift out and slice into 9 bars. Enjoy as is, or drizzle with a bit of melted dark chocolate (optional).

• These get a little soft at room temperature, so store in the refrigerator (up to 5 days), or in the freezer (up to 1 month).