Cacoa Nib Cookies, Macro-Nutrient Ratios & Holiday Shopping

My love affair with cacoa nibs continues! This is my favorite cookie recipe. I've been waiting for the holiday's to release it (U knew I wouldn't let you down!) If you've been cursing me cuz U bought that package of cacao nibs for the chops and have been sitting on it ever since, here's your opportunity to turn them into something yummy. But first, a little chatting about macronutrient ratios, then the recipe, then, at the bottom of today's blog, a surefire way to save some time shopping for your paleo friends...

Macro-nutrients and Lean Body Mass: I've been wondering whether or not to adjust my diet. A paleo diet is not contested. The question is, am i eating the most appropriate proportions to optimize lean body mass production. I'm not satisfied, at 47, to be one of those chumps that slowly loses LBM each year until i'm skinny, old, and bent over. Some say at this age, you should be satisfied to keep what you have - SCREW that! Others, like Rob Faigan, propose that thru proper macro-nutrient ratios and cycling, you can effectively reverse aging. That sounds goofy but I believe it. How many times have you seen someone that looks 10 yrs younger than they are or 10 yrs older than they are? Is it just external? I don't think so, and neither does Rob. Read his book Natural Hormonal Enhancement. So within what bounds should we be operating if we are to emulate a paleolithic diet? Where am I now? What does the food pyramid (ver 2005) MyPyramid.gov say? - just for $hits and giggles...
Turns out the US food pyramid site will actually figure for you, based on weight, activity level, etc. how much, and of what, you should eat - so i tried it. BTW, it did say I was over weight and should consider reduced calories but i said nu uh, gimme the whole enchilada - i'm happy where i'm at (chubby nutritionists and their frickin BMI blah blah blah! Good indicator unless you're a crossfitter! ;-) . Here are the macro-nutrient results compared to a standard PZ diet (for me) and a 2X fat PZ diet (what i'm eating right now), and a "Paleo Man" (aka caveman or hunter-gatherer) diet as reported by L. Cordain. I didn't even rig these numbers! My diet (2X fat PZ), from a macro-nutrient level, is right smack in the middle of what Cordain's studies showed to be true of a hunter/gatherer. So, obviously, a 1X Fat PZ diet is not. It's at the edge of the range. As for the new food pyramid - high on fat and carbs, low on protein, as you would expect. But, still an improvement over the 11 servings of grains the old pyramid recommended! Progress is progress! ;-) My conclusion? I'm sticking with my marco-nutrient levels. Now the question is - to Carb cycle or not? More on that later.

Now for the recipe...
Paleo Cacao Nib Cookies

1 C Almond Flour
2/3 C Shredded Coconut
1 1/2 Tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 Cup Almond Butter
1 C Coco Nibs
1/3 Coconut Flour
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1 Egg
2 Tablespoon Cocoa Powder
1/2 Cup Honey or Agave
* Note - you may be tempted to skip the coconut flour. Don't. It really does something for them. U can buy it at Whole Foods. U can skip the cocoa powder for a less chocolately taste. Either way, the nibs give them a crunchy chocolately taste that's awesome.

Spoon more or less round blobs onto a cookie sheet - round is better than flat cuz the inside stays a little chewy.
Cook for about 9 minutes at 350. Makes about 24 -each with 10gm C, 9 gm F, and 4 gm P. Enjoy!

Now for Holiday Shopping... Wondering what to give your Paleo friends? I've been working on paleo bison jerky for awhile now. I call it "paleo" because it's not sweetened with sugar (I use agave and maple syrup) or salted with soy sauce (I use sea salt to preserve it) and there's no funky preservatives, nitrates, msg, blah blah blah) I eat A LOT of this stuff so it has to be tasty and pure. For paleo meals on the go, it's the most expensive component and the most difficult to make yourself. BTW, in case you didn't know, it's illegal in the US to give bison antibiotics or hormones - so don't worry about that either. So the good news is I found a legit manufacturer that was willing to make free range bison jerky to my requirements. The marinade includes agave, maple syrup, sea salt and various spices. Rob (the maker) doesn't know what agave is or ...fitness across broad time and modal domains... and doesn't care, but "Rob knows jerky"- it's consistent, flavorful, and tender. Check it out here primitivefoods.com and get your order in before i run out. U can buy one, $9 + shipping, or paks of 4 ($30+ shipping). Each pack is about 3.5 oz (~55 gm P - starts out as ~8 oz lean bison) and vacuum sealed in a sturdy resealable bag. Now instead of shopping for gifts U can't even eat, go work on ...fitness across broad time and modal domains!

Eat Well! Steve "Paleo"

Paleo Pumpkin Pie

If you're serious about eating PZ over the holidays, here's a super simple, practically LAZY, recipe that really tastes pretty good. It literally takes 10 minutes of mixing, etc. and 1 hour to cook. But first, a little something on fats. When starting this pumpkin pie, I wanted to prove that I could make it part of a PZ meal - totally balanced. My first thought was I better go lean on the fats and carbs because the pumpkin pie would have a nut "crust"(quite generous calling it a crust btw - don't let your expectations get inflated ;-), egg yolks, and lots of pumpkin. So I bought turkey breast and some summer squash... and well here ya go...
Healthy right? Well actually, by itself, that's a screwed up meal!! 20 minutes from eating it, i'd be looking for that turkey's brother! There's barely any fat in it. We all have gotten so brainwashed into thinking we have to eliminate all fats. Reminds me of an old friend, Al Menna, then and current owner, of Gold's Gym in Santa Cruz, CA. Al, one of the strongest guys I know, used to tease me for picking all the fat off my plate, and I would tease HIM for eating ALL the fat on his plate. He probably knew something I didn't at the time - specifically, if you work out like a mad-man, which he did, and does, then fat is a great (i'll even go so far as to say "preferred") way to get those extra calories. It's so counter intuitive, I just have to keep saying it over and over. BUT, you better be working out like crazy and/or at your optimal body weight. If you're just crossfitting 4 days a week, and your second workout is walking the dog, well, back to 30:40:30. You be the judge. Here's the breakdown on that meal (steamed veggies)
Hard to believe that meal is so lean? Go to the store and buy some plain old turkey breast - it is SUPER lean, as is most white fish. It's very easy to short change yourself on fats. This is my only issue with Zone - the assumption that 1.5 gm fat is buried in each block of protein. It might be true for the "average" protein source, but if you're focused on lean protein sources, it might not be true. Now what if I add 1/6 of the pumpkin pie? hmmm.... almost looks like someone planned that out ;-)

OK enough of the preaching already. Even if you wash lights, darks, and wools all together, like I do, this pumpkin pie STILL won't be too much work for you.

Paleo Pumkin Pie
15 oz can solid pack pumpkin
2 eggs
1/2 Cup Agave
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/3 Cup Ground Almonds
8 Pecan Halves

Mix up everything but the nuts in 1 bowl. Spread the ground almonds out into the pie pan. Gently pour mixture into pan and add pecan halves on top. Cook for 45-60 min at 350F (watch it - i put foil on top half way thru to make sure nothing burns). Check by inserting toothpick or butter knife - should come out clean. Now come on, you're not gonna impress Grandma with this recipe, but this is what i'll be eating :D

5 Block Meal:
4 oz turkey
8 oz zuke
1 tsp olive oil (to saute turkey and zuke)
1/6 of the pumpkin pie above

One more thing - if you're gonna let the carbs go a little on Thanksgiving but U still wanna keep it paleo, make this side dish.... Peel some sweet potatoes (we call the orange ones "yams" but apparently that's not really correct), chop them up and saute in olive oil. When well browned, add maple syrup (or agave) and cinnamon and keep the heat on for another 5 or 10 minutes. I eat this all the time and it's really good.

Enjoy the holidays, and if you are in need of a customized PZ eating plan, with balanced meals like the one above, or general guidance, email me: steveparsoneault@gmail.com I'll do what i can to help you out.

Eat Well! Steve "Paleo"

The Ever Elusive "Paleo Raspberry Crepe"

Funny thing... as i'm sitting here just spoiling myself on these paleo raspberry crepes, watching the snow fall outside, it occurs to me that we've entered into a kind of symbiotic relationship ;-) You all tune in now and then for PZ recipes and I eat like a king (umm... i meant caveman) in my effort to post recipes that are worthy - thank you. This blog turned into more than i thought it ever would. Well anyway, my daughter really enjoys crepes and we've been trying for some time to re-invent them using paleo ingredients - we nearly gave up. They were always kinda crumbly thanks to almond flour that i kept adding. Then i saw a recipe at www.freecoconutrecipes.com. I had to nix the whipped cream (darnit) and I made some other minor tweaks but dang if these aren't some darn good crepes! I can't tell them from the "real" thing. I hadn't heard of coconut flour until a few months ago - it's weird. Don't think you're just gonna substitute it for regular flour and be on your merry way - I think you could patch concrete with this stuff. But, use just a little, and it works magic. Here's that recipe. Fancy breakfast lovers shalt suffer no more....




Paleo Crepes (enough for 3 crepes)

2 eggs 10F 14P
2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil - melted - 28F
1 Tsp Agave 5C (kinda optional)
2 Tablespoons Coconut Flour - sifted - 12C 2F (can get at Whole Foods)
3 Tablespoons Coconut Milk - 7F 3C
2 Tablespoons Water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
pinch cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
1 Cup raspberries 15C (filling)
1.5 Tablespoons Agave 22C (topping)

Beat the eggs and the rest of the ingredients together. I don't have a sifter so i just put the coconut flour in a little wire gizmo ...... little embarrassed that i even have one of those ;-)
Melt the coconut oil in a nice non-stick pan and, after it's just melted, add it to the ingredients and mix well.
Pour 1/3 Cup of the batter into the hot pan and tilt the pan around so you get about a 6" diameter crepe. Now the hard part - flipping it. Honestly, i stopped trying to use a spatula. I shake the pan around a bit and just wrist flip it. This is very convenient if you're on a 2X or 3X fat plan cuz you get to eat your mistakes ;-) Wrap up 1/3 C of raspberries, sprinkle some coconut flour on top (this is for "looks"), and drizzle with 1/2 Tablespoon agave. Prepare to be impressed! ;-)

This is not quite balanced of course. For me, shooting for a 5 block breakfast, I added 4 oz banana and 9 egg whites to ONE of the crepes above. Believe it or not, this meal is 30:40:30 balanced (I know, hard to believe U can say that and "crepes" in the same breath!)

... now a little off-topic jibberish....on the importance of weighing your food. Recently I noticed i was feeling hungry a lot during the day and was having a hard time waiting for my meals (I try to eat one lunch at 10:00 and one at 2:00. Then i took a close look at my lunch and, SOB!, I was short-changing myself! Traditionally, I've kinda focused on protein and seldom short change myself there. Fats and carbs though, well they're bad right? ;-) I was getting skimpy on both. I got out the scale and started weighing again - now I feel better and can put the scale back for a bit. So, even if you went through the 2 weeks or 4 weeks of measuring your food, break out that scale now and then to make sure your eyeball hasn't gotten a little tweaked. Cuz, if you're doing straight PZ, relative to most people, you're on a low fat, low carb eating plan. Any lower, is not optimum, IMHO.

Eat Well! Steve "Paleo"

Pumpkin Paleo Pancakes

Who like's pumpkin??? :D I've been working with a number of crossfitters wanting to optimize their diet. A prerequisite for me, when i started this over a year ago, was that this "diet" has to be sustainable for life. My goal was to get off cholesterol medication - forever - so this wasn't a temporary thing. As a result, there were a few "must-haves" in my diet (although some of those must haves are starting to bite ;-). As i work with others, it's one of the first things I ask. So, you guessed it, pancakes are at the top of the list! One of my clients said she would try paleo pancakes (http://www.performancemenu.com/recipes) but *sigh* they couldn't possibly compare to pumpkin pancakes made by a local restaurant located near the birthplace of crossfit. I loved pancakes and i could probably DRINK pumpkin pie filling so the challenge was set!! This recipe, while high in fat, will not give you a carb hang-over. I would eat it on big exercise days when you need more fuel. For a 5 block meal, add about 6 egg whites/person and a little extra fruit. You will be seriously fueled for the "hunt". Enjoy this treat! It's perfect for a cool fall morning.









Pumpkin Paleo Pancakes - (2)5 block meals (approx 35 gm P, 45 gm C, 45 gm F /person)

2 eggs
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp nutmeg -change from original post - did it by mistake and liked it more :)
1 tablespoon Agave

2 tablespoons chopped pecans - topping
2 tablespoon real maple syrup - topping

Coconut oil - for the pan

12 extra egg whites to bring the protein up 35 gms/person (ya ya 6 egg whites sounds like more than it is. I do 10 sometimes just by myself! :-)
~ 4 oz of berries to bring the carbs up to ~45 gms/person

Mix everything up real good - sometimes that nut butter is clumpy - and make pancakes as usual (except you're gonna use the coconut oil in the pan) and add the pecans and maple syrup at the end. The recipe above makes 2 good size pancakes. Remember, for you 5 blockers, this is high in fat by ~ 30 gms, which is 270 calories - so, lift something real heavy a whole bunch of times, or go for a good ride, a long run, or a big hike and don't worry about it. If anyone would like help optimizing their diet, e-mail me - i enjoy doing it.
Eat Well! Steve "Paleo"

Cacao Nib Pork Chops

You may think i've gone off the deep end after you read this but I swear I'm sane. I have a thing for chocolate these days - darker the better. Chocolate doesn't GET darker than cacao nibs - they are just crushed raw cacao beans (which are actually seeds). Just for fun i bought some cacao beans because, geez, just sounded like a great snack food.
So here they are next to a quarter. I wouldn't buy them - they are "barely" edible. I just popped them in my mouth - there's a thin shell which didn't help the taste. If you peel them, they're better. I suppose if you covered them in chocolate like those almonds or coffee beans, they'd be the bomb. But these, um, crunchy bitterness.

BUT, that's just proof that it is possible to have too much of a good thing. So, why cook with this stuff? Well, if you google cacao and read up, you'd think it was a magic drug that hits you with magnesium, suppresses appetite, releases all kinds of feel-good chemicals in the brain (the "Bliss Chemical), blah blah blah - don't know if any of that is true. What i do know is that it imparts a rich, nutty, roasty, flavor to meats. So here's the recipe (I swear i've had these like 10 times now! - feeling so guilty not sharing! ) U can get cacao nibs at whole foods or online. They're pricey but we're not using that much.

Cacao Nib Chops with Butternut - enough for (2) 5 block meals

9 oz (final weight) boneless pork chops - trim all fat. 63gm P, 7gm F
4 tsp raw cacao nibs 8gm F, 4gm C
18 oz butternut squash - cubed 60gm C
2 Table Spoon Agave 32gm C
3 tsp Olive Oil 15gm F
1 egg 7gm P 5gm F
Couple handfuls of spinach - negligible C
Cinnamon
Salt and Pepper to taste

Pound the chops out like this if you can.

Whip up an egg in a bowl, coat the chops, then sprinkle 1 tsp of cacao nibs on both sides like so...
I know! Looks funny. Go with me ;-)
Prepare the butternut squash and get 2 tsp of olive oil going in a pan. Get the butternut going first. After 5 minutes, put 1 tsp of olive oil in another pan and, once it's hot, get the chops going. Add the agave to the butternut towards the end and sprinkle with cinnamon (soooo good ). Everything should finish about the same time. Throw some raw spinach on the plate to make your mama proud. Put butternut over the spinach, add the chops and you're ready to chow! Let me say i've made these chops with all kinds of spices - don't do it. The nibs will get lost. Just light salt and pepper work best. Then you will appreciate the roasty chocolate taste.
.......................
Sorry I'm not done :-) If you're just here for the PZ meals, skip the rest. I've been working with some people on "diets" and watching all the new paleo foods come out - which is awesome. There's been so much misinformation in the US about diet - it's hideous really (read "Good Calories, Bad Calories"). Now we've got some brave souls giving us options in the right direction - albeit for a little moolah but this IS America. HOWEVER, I'm not quite happy with some of the statements/direction that seem to imply U just can't go wrong on a paleo diet. Well it depends on your goals. Let's just say you're a crossfitter (might be a few of you out there ;-) You need power:weight - in other words, lean and strong. Will you get there eating strictly paleo with no portion control? Would not work for me. Is it true that you can't get fat eating fat? Not according to my bodyfat tests when i was eating too many nuts (full paleo btw). Granted, you will be better off eating paleo but sorry, paleo tells you what to eat, not how much to eat. Even cavemen were out to gain fat for the winter and the survivors did a good job of it. That skill was passed on to us. So, what do you do? Paleo-Zone of course. Zone tells you how much to eat. Sorry i'm not done ;-) cuz there's a loop-hole in the zone - it's called "double fat, triple fat, you're getting fat" In Barry Sears book, he says "..Truly elite athletes should consume two fat blocks for every protein block. Therefore, their ratio of protein, carbohydrate, and fat blocks would be 1:1:2" He previously states a fat block is 1.5 gm. So, a 1X fat zone meal would be 30.8%P, 39.6%C, and 29.7%F a 2x fat meal meal would be 26.8%P, 34.4%C, and 38.8%F. A 3X fat meal would have 46% fat - who needs 3X fat? Athletes at the top of their game i would guess. So, what are you eating? Check the math - fat is 9 cal/gm, carbs are 4 cal per gram, proteins are 4 cal/gm. There are some marketed "paleo" foods out there with upwards of 56% of their calories from fat. These foods must be for Olympians!! Now i'm not a dietician, nutritionist, or any kind of health specialist and I won't take credit for any Paleo or Zone theories. I'm an engineer that read most of the books out there and knows how to follow instructions and be exact. E-mail me if you need any help perfecting your diet - assuming your goal is a high power:weight ratio. Steve "Paleo"

How to make your own paleo meal-in-a-bag

Here's how you can make your own Paleo Fast-Food ;-)

Ingredients for a 4 block "meal":
4 oz of Free Range Bison turned into jerky (oh ya that's a Quarter LB of bison!)

Dried Bananas ~ 15 gm - WF sells them with nothing added. Go online too.
Dried Cherries ~ 10 gm - no sugar or sulfites.
Dried Mulberries ~ 10 gm - no sugar or sulfites. They are mild, slightly sweet, high in fiber.
Raw Almonds and Pecans ~ 12 gm (Costco baby!)
Gooseberries ~ 5 gm no sugar or sulfites. They are tart, sweet, and VERY expensive. They are also known as golden berries or incan berries. $24/lb at Whole Foods - not kidding.
Cacao Nibs ~ 5 gm no sugar or preservatives. This may be a debatable paleo food but you can eat it raw (in fact this IS raw), and it is 100% natural. Oh ya, maybe i should explain what it IS - this is what's used to make chocolate. They're broken up cacao "beans" - but BTW, they are technically seeds. I've been adding it to cookies and meats (believe it or not) It's kind of a nutty chocolate taste and is more dense in antioxidants than any other food - blueberries, acai berries, pomegranate - U name it.

Here's what everything looks like spread out.


Where do ya get this stuff? Get together with your buddies, sisters, whatever, and order top-round bison from BuffaloGal.com There's lots of recipes for jerky. Replace the sugars with agave and maple syrup, replace the soy sauce with sea salt - about 1-2 tsp per lb of meat, and ramp the spices up a bit to account for the fact that the soy is gone. You can make it in the oven, lots of internet tips on that, or buy a cheapo dehydrator for ~$60.00. You'll have to pool your resources on the other ingredients too but a good one-stop shop is nutsonline.com. Bounce around the net for a bit and you'll find everything you need. The vacuum sealer is the bummer. The good commercial ones are expensive. But, you can go to Costco and buy the home ones. They work pretty good but you have to fight your way into the bag - no challenge for a caveman though right? Good Luck! Steve

Paleo Shepherd's Pie

Now that fall is around the corner, it's time for a Shepherd's pie. I decided parsnips would be front and center despite the sometimes bad rap they get. Why? They have a glycemic index of 97 which is 3 pts shy of sugar! Might as well go stand in front of a speeding train loaded with insulin right? A Paleo diet is supposed to be low glycemic but these aren't so what's up? Well, glycemic index is determined by feeding individuals enough of a given food so that 50 g of carbs are ingested - that's a hell of a lot of parsnips! It's also the only food they ingest - no fats or proteins to slow things down. A reasonable sized serving of parsnips is about 80-90 gm, which is in the recipe below and is only 15 gm carbs. That's WAY below what I need to balance a 5 block meal. I had to chow some fruit on the side. The glycemic load (which takes into account normal serving size) is about 12 for that amount of parsnips (eating ONLY parsnips) or 1/2 what you'll typically see in pasta or potatoes. Ahaaa! This is partially due to substantial fiber in parsnips - about 5 gm in a 80 gm serving. This is 3X mashed potatoes. Now we're starting to get the complete picture. Parsnips have a VERY slight carrot taste and make a great potato substitute. My "kids" liked this shepherd's pie - it's mild and yummy. Give it a try - it's a winner and makes good left overs too. BTW - I used turkey for this one but any lean meat will do - ground round, bison, etc.

Paleo Shepherds' Pie - enough for (4) 5 block meals!
[Protein gms, Fat gms, and Carb grams listed at end of each line)
20 oz Ground Turkey 110 P 35 F
12 oz Parsnnips - pealed and grated - 63 C
8 oz Zucchini - sliced - 8 C
3 oz mushrooms (i used shitake) - sliced - 3 C
1/2 C Red Onion - 5 C
1/2 C Cilantro - negligible C
2 Green Onions - chopped - 4 C
1/2 Cup Celery - sliced - negligible C
1 Slice Bacon - 15F 3P
8 egg whites - 24 P
1 Tbl Spoon Olive Oil - 14 F
1 Teaspoon Onion Salt
1 Teaspoon Celery Salt
1 Tablespoon Seasoning (I used Italian Seasoning. Costco Rustic Tuscan Seasoning would also work well)

About 1 lb of fruit - like apples, pears, etc. to have as desert or on the side to balance out the carbs. Remember this is four 5 block meals. If you're a 2 block person (looking for 14 gm protein), you get 1/10th of the "pie" and about 1.5 oz of fruit (2/20*16 oz). Although, this brings up a different subject... In the book Lights Out: Sugar, Sleep, and Survival by T.S. Wiley, it is suggested that when the days shorten, we should cut our carbs back further because "back in the day", that's what happened, and this helped to deplete stores of fat, cholesterol, etc. Interesting concept - i might try it. What's my point? Maybe being a little shy on carbs as we head towards winter is not such a bad thing.


Preheat oven to 450F.
Peal and grate the parsnips with a cheese grater. Add onion salt and olive oil and set aside.
Slowly cook the bacon slice - remove bacon strip and DO NOT throw out the bacon fat - leave it in the pan.
Pan fry the onions, turkey, Italian Seasoning, and onion salt - do not over cook. We're gonna cook it some more. Pepper to taste.
Prep the zucchini, mushrooms, and celery and saute in the bacon fat - do not over cook.
Combine meat and veggies in one pan and mix thoroughly. Let cool down a couple minutes.

Take 4 egg whites and cilantro and mix them into the meat/veggies.
Take other 4 egg whites and mix with parsnips.
Get an 8X8 metal or pyrex pan and spray bottom with olive oil. Add meat and veggies then cover with parsnip mixture.
Don't smooth tops of parsnips too much - browns better if you don't.

Cook in oven at 450F for about 25 minutes or until top start to brown. I like to put my oven on broil for the last minute so the top is nice and crisp. Sprinkle twith chopped bacon. This dish tastes like "comfort food" - you're gonna like it ;-)

Enjoy! Steve "Paleo"