Often, we carry a belief that says dessert is bad for us and will make us gain weight. But, there are many ways to make desserts nourishing, tasty and Primal without the health or weight worries. Our taste buds have become used to the flavor of sugar and in very high amounts. Many think that eating fruit or unprocessed sugar or organic sugar makes it better for us to consume. However, it is important to know that sugar, despite its form-organic, conventional, honey, fruit sweetened, is all sugar. Some sugars may contain more minerals and be less processed than others, but sugar is sugar is sugar. And, all sugar can have very pro-inflammatory effects on the body and disruptive effects on the pancreas despite its origin.
Peanut Butter Cookies
There are some sugars that are best omitted in all cases-white sugar, conventional sugar, beet sugar, conventional cane sugar, agave-these are highly processed sugars. And, conventional sugar is one of the most commonly known GMO crops. Some sugar sources contain more minerals and enzymes than others. Organic sucanat and organic rapadura are two mineral rich sugars. Raw, organic honey is rich in enzymes and bee energy. However, these sugars should be used quite sparingly, on a weekly or monthly basis, not on a daily basis. If you are fermenting beverages, these mineral rich sugars are necessary to use as they are converted to beneficial microbes throughout the fermenting process. This drastically reduces the sugar content that the end product of the beverage contains.
When it comes to Primal desserts, those who are not used to Primal eating, may consider the desserts not sweet enough. This is simply because we have trained our tastebuds in this way-that a food is not tasty unless it is loaded with sugar. Our tastebuds and body’s have become addicted to sugar. One huge benefit of Primal Foods eating is that it teaches the tastebuds and body to desire foods that are truly nourishing to our body and cells. It introduces new, nourishing, healthy flavors to the tastebuds-flavors such as animal fat, plain, full-fat dairy and the taste of real food! These flavors are significantly lacking in the modern diet.
Recently, my parents were in town and I decided to make them homemade ice cream. I doubled the sugar that I usually use thinking that it wouldn’t be sweet enough for my dad. I only had a few bites as it was way too sweet for me. Yet, as I sat down at the table, my dad grabbed a jug of maple syrup and poured it all over his ice cream and into his water. I was really stunned but then realized that most people are not use to eating Primally. They are use to eating sugar and carbs and their body has become addicted to these foods.
It does take time for the body to adjust to eating less sugar. Just like one would work out to gain muscle mass or endurance, we need to retrain our tastebuds, our brain chemicals and our neuro-pathways to eat less sugar. This takes time. Once we have obtained this knowingness in our body and our tastebuds, we will become more and more sensitive to foods that are destructive to our wellbeing-such as sugar and carbs, and more sensitive to foods that are truly nourishing and sustaining such as grass-fed animal fats. For those of you who tolerate really great quality dark chocolate and organic, roasted peanut butter, these cookies will likely knock your socks off. They are very low in sugar and contain nourishing dark chocolate. The darker the chocolate, the lower the sugar content contained within the chocolate.
I suggest using at least 85% dark chocolate to make sure you are not bombarding your body with too much sugar. Organic, dark chocolate is a wonderful source of polyphenols and antioxidants. Polyphenols, from certain plants, are wonderful to have in the diet as they transport very important molecules, such as sulfur, to areas of the body that need healing and repair. Foods containing polyphenols, such as organic, dark chocolate, also help improve healthy bacteria levels in the body, improve healthy gut microbe levels and help facilitate the removal of cellular debris in the body. Have fun eating and making these Primal Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies! They are a delicious, nutrient dense dessert low in sugar and rich in polyphenols and antioxidants.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
1 cup organic, roasted peanut butter (look for brands in a glass jar)
1 pasture egg
about 8 squares 85% or higher dark chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon raw honey
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
grass-fed butter or lard for greasing pan
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350.
Grease a pyrex baking dish with animal fat.
Make sure honey is soft. If not, gently melt on very low heat.
Place all ingredients EXCEPT chocolate in a bowl and mix together using a hand mixer.
Add in chocolate and mix again.
Scoop cookie size ball shapes and place in pyrex dish. Press down with a fork in 2 opposite directions. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
Let cool for several minutes before transferring to a plate or cookie wrack. The longer these cookies set, the firmer they become.
