alternative to popcorn?

[grace'smom]

My daughter is allergic to her favorite food: popcorn. I tried popping some quinnoa and that didn't turn out. It just burned. But I did hear you can pop it so perhaps it was user error, LOL. I also heard you can pop millet but don't have any in the house right now or an easy way to get it. I've been smashing up rice cakes and giving them to her like popcorn, but it's not quite the same. I might try to microwave a rice cake and see if she likes that... maybe it's the warm factor.

 

Any ideas?

[Melinda in VT]

My son's ortho recommended Pirate Booty (or something like that. Braces just went on this week and I haven't tracked it down yet) as a good popcorn replacement for a movie snack. Although if warm is a critical component, that won't help you.

[Dinsfamily]

My son's ortho recommended Pirate Booty (or something like that. Braces just went on this week and I haven't tracked it down yet) as a good popcorn replacement for a movie snack. Although if warm is a critical component, that won't help you.

 

This is what we use. I don't allow popcorn until dc are 6 (choking hazard) so we just eat Pirate's Booty. It is all-natural cheese puffs that are shaped like popcorn. I buy it at Costco or Trader Joes.

[AngieW in Texas]

But Fruity Booty is WAY better.

http://www.amazon.com/Pirates-Booty-Fruity-4-Ounce-Bags/dp/B000CPCBJQ

[abbeyej]

But if corn is the problem, Pirate's Booty is also off-limits. It's great stuff, but it's made of corn.

 

Do you have Trader Joe's near you? They have several different puffed snack-type things that might fit the bill.

[MaMa2005]

If she can eat rice products, find an Asian grocery store. They have all sorts of snacks made from rice. But again, if warm is the factor, that won't help.

[amyable]

I tried popping millet, and it was nothing like popcorn! Maybe I did it wrong, but it just kind of cracked, not puffed up big like a "little popcorn". :tongue_smilie: Buttered and salted rice cakes is about as close as we have come to a popcorn substitute here.

[grace'smom]

I tried popping millet, and it was nothing like popcorn! Maybe I did it wrong, but it just kind of cracked, not puffed up big like a "little popcorn". :tongue_smilie: Buttered and salted rice cakes is about as close as we have come to a popcorn substitute here.

 

 

Sounds like we're in the same boat then... Rice cakes all around.

[Tidbits of Learning]

:bigear: My son is allergic to corn as well...

[Melissa in FL]

Can you eat Cheerios? Or something like it? I fry cheerios and that's what the kids eat during movie time (I love it with salt and butter). We started doing this because of ds's braces. How about homemade chex mix using the rice chex (or something similiar) You could probably fry up something like that. Really, anything fried in butter is good!

Melissa

[Gwenhwyfar]

I've been smashing up rice cakes and giving them to her like popcorn

 

if she can eat rice cakes' date=' there's a type of mini rice cake snacks that are flavoured like "buttered popcorn" ...

 

hmmm ok wait. strange. in canada, we have them called "crispy minis" and they do indeed come in buttered popcorn ...but it looks like the US version is called "quakes" and i don't see the same flavour...i do see one called kettle corn ...which looks like it's a popcorn flavour?

[helena]

How about this?

http://raisingallergykids.blogspot.com/2010/09/popped-sorghum-popcorn-replacement.html

[msjones]

My kids aren't allergic to popcorn, but they LOVE a big bowl of homemade croutons. They'd take the croutons hot out of the oven over a bowl of popcorn any day.

[amey311]

Roasted garbanzos are pretty tasty and you can still get some of that crispy/salty combo you're looking for:

 

http://www.dianadyer.com/2008/02/roasted-garbanzo-beans.html

[KidsHappen]

I eat pumpkin or sunflower seeds as a snack. Salty delicious. :tongue_smilie:

[ElizabethB]

:grouphug:

 

I have some millet...I don't really think it would pop, but I can try a few for you. I'll try it in our air popper and on the stove.

 

I am also allergic to corn and about 100 other things. I miss popcorn, I used to be able to eat it with coconut oil. I also miss ice cream. But, I can currently have allergy free chocolate chips, I was allergic to them for a while but have successfully added them back, so I'm really thankful for that.

 

You can get millet from Amazon:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Arrowhead-Mills-Whole-Millet-Organic/dp/B0037RPQSY/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1285996594&sr=8-7

 

or

 

http://www.amazon.com/Millet-Grits-Meal-1-lb/dp/B000F9ZDJY/ref=sr_1_cc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1285997317&sr=1-1-catcorr

 

 

My son likes pancakes made from millet flour, but I didn't like the texture, I prefer the whole millet.

 

When we lived in Northern Virginia, an oriental grocery store had a machine that made fresh rice cakes, they were fun to watch being made and tasted a bit like popcorn. The fresh rice cakes were light and sweet and tasty, nothing like the styrofoam tasting ones you can buy in a normal store. It looked like a serious machine, though, I'm not sure you could do it at home with anything else, and the machine looked very expensive.

Edited October 2, 2010 by ElizabethB

[sacgw]

We used to heat the cheerio's up in a pot with butter-- similar to how you make rice krispie treats but without the marshmallows. Tastes a lot like popcorn.