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Skinny Mini Popcorn Bites with Better Ingredients

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.  #SkinnyGirlSnacks #CollectiveBias
 
Skinny Mini Popcorn Bites really hits the “sweet” spot after a long, busy day bustling to and fro.  But snacking on a mini cup or two for dessert this time allows us to leave the guilt behind! Say what?!
It’s true! How great is that?
I’m one of those weird people who actually love to work out.  I’ve mentioned before that my passion is running.  There’s just something about the feeling I get when my feet are pounding the pavement with heart wildly thumping and breathing accelerated.

Here I am in the middle surrounded by my favorite running buddies (i.e. my sisters) after our 5k Freedom Run back in July when I visited “home”.  Our girl time during my week-long stay consisted of lots of training for the event, yummy food-making, and shopping…only our favorite things ever!
My sisters and I have many things in common, our looks being one, but another biggie is our sweet tooth.  We love and live for desserts!
However, after a good, hard run, I cringe at the thought of backtracking through careless, mindless eating.  But my philosophy is that you can “have your cake and eat it too”, so to speak.  It’s fun to enjoy a sweet treat every now and then, and there’s nothing wrong with that, especially when it’s these lower-guilt, Skinny Mini Popcorn Bites!
Oh. My. Word.  Can I just tell you how excited I was to discover a popcorn snack that wouldn’t kill my good eating intentions?  Yes, such a thing exists.
Behold, the amazing and almost-too-good-to-be-true Skinnygirl Popcorn! But it’s real, and the photo above is proof.
Being the popcorn lover that I am, I was skeptical that anything could even come close to my butter-heavy, calorie-laden movie night indulgence.  But Skinnygirl gives me the same satisfaction and a very similar flavor sensation of eating full-calorie butter popcorn, but without the residual shame over what I just consumed.  I’m pretty sure my nose won’t lengthen two feet for saying so, either.  🙂  It’s honestly a fantastic substitute/replacement for the other stuff!
Sure, it’s not quite as buttery as the comparison, but I’m saving 20% on calories to its competitors eating something with better ingredients that still tastes pretty darn yummy, so I don’t care! PLUS it doesn’t contain artificial colors, flavors, and sweeteners, so I’m giving it two thumbs way up and leaping onto the Skinnygirl bandwagon!  Wait for me!
On my last trip to Walmart, I grabbed a box of Skinnygirl in “Butter & Sea Salt” that I used in today’s recipe and another in “Lime & Salt” for a movie night later.
To make these cute and tasty popcorn cups, I sweetened the popcorn just a titch with some honey and then added an extra flavor boost with a touch of peanut butter, an eensy weensy measure of coconut oil, a teeny weeny bit of mini chocolate chips, and a few colored sprinkles.

Added up, it equals pure goodness that allows me to still enjoy dessert, in controlled portions, minus the overwhelming pit of “why did I eat that?” afterwards.

{SKINNY MINI POPCORN BITES}
Recipe adapted heavily from Inside BruCrew Life
6 c. (about 1 1/2 bags) popped Skinnygirl Butter & Sea Salt Popcorn
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. creamy peanut butter
2-3 Tbsp. mini chocolate chips
1-2 Tbsp. colored sprinkles
Pop popcorn, put in a large bowl, and set aside.  In a small saucepan, stir coconut oil, honey, and peanut butter over medium-low heat until smooth and melted.  Pour over popcorn and toss to coat well.  Let cool for a few minutes, then serve in mini cupcake papers for convenient portion control! Top each with a few mini chocolate chips and a pinch of colored sprinkles.
How’s that for easy peasy, not to mention delicious?!
Count me in for dessert tonight!  And tomorrow I don’t have to run nearly as hard, right?  Even better!
I’m wishing I could send some through the computer screen to my sisters (i.e. far-away running partners) right now because a girl’s got to enjoy dessert sometimes, and it doesn’t have to destroy all the good that happened during that workout.I’d gladly share with you, too, if I could!  But for now you’ll have to take my word on its utter deliciousness until you can make some for yourself.

Enjoy!

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Comments

  5. Wow! it's nice to hear such a good review of the Skinny Girl popcorn. Your recipe sounds amazing, and I will be picking some of the popcorn, and the necessary ingredients for your popcorn bites on my next trip. I would love if you would stop by and share this and anything else you would like at the blog party, "Celebrate It!" We are all about celebrating the everyday things you do, or the once in a lifetime events. We just want to "Celebrate It!" with you!
    http://thefreshmancook.blogspot.com/2014/09/celebrate-it-blog-party-9.html

    Hope to see you there!

  9. HI, I just pinned this. I'd love to see your skinny mini's at #theWeekendSocial. Please stop by and bring your popcorn treat! We're live through Sunday 9:00 PM EST. http://thekitchenchopper.com/indexBlog.php/theweekendsocial-39-recipediy-linky-and-garden-barley-stew-white-chocolate-halloween-ghosts-boo/

  10. What a great idea... and what a nice little sweet snack that's not so horribly bad for you, especially once you've rocked your workout! Like you, I'm a runner, and there's something so satisfying about that. Though there is something incredibly satisfying about eating a nice sweet snack after, too. ;)

    This was one of my favorite links shared at last week's #thatsfreshfriday link-up! I'll be sharing the link on my blog, as well as through my social media, this weekend. I hope to see you back there this week with another fabulous recipe. Keep up the great work!
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