Cricket Brownies

Cricket Brownie - you need to jump on this one!

Like I've said before, I don't post these days unless something really rocks my boat. Entomophagy (eating bugs) has definitely got my attention.  But don't run away yet!  First let's talk about all things goin' on.    GAMES  !!!  It's been a VERY cool season so far and I commend Crossfit HQ for the changes they made this year.  The addition of the Master's 2nd round of qualifying work-outs made it damn real.  You had to really want it this year.  9 workouts over a couple months and last 4 video recorded.   I  was killing it until those damn wall balls showed up! No chinks in the armor or you're out.  I was so scared, I did it twice within 24hrs.  This work-out took me 12:51 to finish the 1st time. 100 pull-ups and 100 wallballs - NO ONE wanted to do it twice.  The 2nd time I changed my strategy.  Wore lifting shoes, broke up things differently, said a prayer, blah blah.  What did i get? 12:51 AGAIN! If I wasn't convinced how lame I was the first time, the 2nd time etched it in stone.  I needed the slap in the face.
Reflecting back on this past year, I'm happy how everything has evolved.  Crossfit athletes are getting RESPECT.  Paleo is now full blown mainstream. Restaurants are popping up all over.  Blooming Beets in Boulder for one - fantastic place.  Many other restaurants have paleo menus and dishes that 5 yrs ago could only be found on specialty blogs (like mine).  Cali-mash at Shine Restaurant for example.  How F$#%$ing cool is that!? Lots of companies are popping up that will prepare meals for you and deliver 2X/week.  Locally, Eating Primal is the best example. They've been kind enough to supply my meals since the beginning of the year.  It makes a HUGE difference and the food is GOURMET. So, our lifestyle is being recognized and companies are sprouting up to serve us.  We are lucky to live in this time. Getting teary yet?

Ingredients - note the big cup of ground up bugs.

On to the recipe?  Won't lie.  These are the most expensive brownies you'll ever make unless you're into the Mary Jane variety. Cricket flour is currently pricey - about $50/lb.  This will change.  For now, just know that you will be the ONLY one bringing bug brownies to the party ;-)   1 Cup of cricket flour has 50 gm protein - that's like 10 eggs.  Here's a good US source  Cricket Flour . It's cheaper from Thailand but shipping is more. I estimate the cost of each brownie to be about $3.  If you want to skip the oven and buy protein bars made from cricket flour, these EXO are awesome (especially PB&J and Cacao). Each bar, including shipping, is $3.  Now i know why.  These guys also sponsor me (yay!)  Their product is excellent (I ASKED to be sponsored after I tried their bars).  One more thing - crickets are related to shellfish.  If you have shellfish allergies, watch out.  Here's the recipe.

Cricket Brownies
 - preheat oven to 350F
- line a 8X10 pan, or equivalent,  with parchment paper
1 cup cricket flour

My dog Bear can always be found in the kitchen.

3 eggs
3 TBS cocoa powder
9 dates soaked in water for 1 hr
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon 
1/2 cup coconut oil melted
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup dark choc chips
1/4 cup honey
2 tbs chopped pecans

In a food processor, mix cricket flour, salt, baking soda, cocoa powder, chocolate chips and  cinnamon
Add honey, dates (drained and pitted), vanilla, and eggs - mix.  My food processor is small, so at this point I transfer everything to a mixing bowl, add oil, and mix. Pour into pan lined with parchment paper, top with chopped pecans and some extra choc chips if you want,  and bake.  I've done this several times and it always takes 20 minutes but I'm at 7,500 ft.  A knife should come out clean so adjust baking time as needed. You can cut the cricket flour with almond flour.  I worked my way up to all cricket flour - still awesome. To be honest, bugs like crickets and grasshoppers taste just a little nutty.  So they're perfect for brownies. Do you TASTE crickets or see any LEGS in these? Sadly, no.  So, indulge.

Macronutrients?  1/8th of the pan (pretty good sized brownie) is 17 P, 24 F, 37 C    It's a bit carby, best post WOD.

In my next post, I'll talk about my trials and tribulations with the Cricket Reactor  (!!!)


Best of luck to all my competitors at the Games!  If you see me, say hi! Please support my sponsors below because they're seriously cool.

FitAID
Eating Primal
EXO
Simply Pure Nutrients
Suerte Tequila

Eat Well!     Steve "Paleo"

Happy 4th of July!