I don’t know if I’ve ever told you, but I graduated from the Home of the Walking Taco.  Yeah.  You should be pretttyyy jealous. 

You might say to me, “Katie, are you sure?  Was your grade school REALLY the Home of the Walking Taco?”  And I would reply, “Yes.  Yes, it was.”  If you’re TOTALLY confused at this point, let me catch you up.  Walking tacos are tacos that are assembled in chip bags (generally Fritos) thus making them portable or “walkable”.  It’s a pretty genius invention and at every sports tournament from the time I was in kindergarten until I was in 8th grade, my school touted the fact that we were the “Home of the Walking Taco.”

People loved the walking taco and I can’t count the number of walking tacos I ate as a child.  I can’t remember the last time I ate one though and I decided to try a new twist on walking tacos.  Now stick with me on this one.

Popcorn instead of chips. 

Don’t look at me like that!  Popcorn isn’t all that different than corn chips.  They’re both corn, they’re both crunchy, and they both make a pretty good snack.  I love popcorn and often have massive amounts of air popped popcorn as a little movie snack.  Or dinner.  Don’t judge.  While I like making my own popcorn, I’m also a huge fan of SkinnyPop.  My sister introduced me to this popcorn a few years ago and I’ve been in love ever since.  I like that they have minimal ingredients and the ingredient list doesn’t read like a science experiment.

Luckily for me, SkinnyPop has small individual bags that make the perfect vessel for walking tacos.  You just load up the bag with your favorite taco fixin’s and away you go.  Walking and eating.  We truly are living in the future.  

For all of you not super keen on the idea of eating out of a bag (it’s fun, you should try it), there are plenty of other fun ways to enjoy popcorn.  Try it as a salad topper, in a quinoa bowl, or just eat it by the fist full.  I have DEF done that with bigger bags of SkinnyPop…. Plus, SkinnyPop comes in a lot of fun flavors, so if you want to get crazy and mix it up, try a walking taco with the white cheddar popcorn or the new jalapeno flavor.  You do you!

Now onto the popcorn walking tacos….

SkinnyPop Walking Taco 

• 1 1oz bag of SkinnyPop, whatever flavor you like
• 1/2 cup taco filling (I used taco quinoa, recipe below, but you could use ground beef/turkey or shredded pork/chicken)
• lettuce
• bell peppers
• salsa or salsa verde
• guacamole
• avocado sour cream
• chopped cilantro
• shredded cheese
• any other taco topping you like!

1. Now here is the easy part, open up the bag of popcorn and take out about half.  Add your taco filling and a little of the popcorn you took out.
2. Add any topping you would like and then finish it off with the rest of the popcorn.  You can close the bag and shake it up to get it all nice and mixed or you can stir it around with a fork.  Either way, enjoy your walking taco!

Taco Quinoa 

• 1/2 cup dried quinoa
• 1 1/4 cup water
• 1 tbsp taco seasoning
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• juice of half a lime

1. Place the quinoa, water, and seasonings in a medium pot and bring everything to a boil.  Stir once then cover and lower to a simmer.
2. Cook for about 15 minutes until all the water is absorbed.  Remove from heat and add the lime juice and fluff with a fork.