Pull up a couch, cozy into your favorite cuppa, whatever, and let’s cover a couple of topics I believe simply belong together: dessert and stress. I mean, DESSERTS spelled backward is – you guessed it – S-T-R-E-S-S-E-D. Coincidence? I think not.
I know you’re here primarily to learn about another badass artisanal food company and their make-your-awesome-life-awesomer products. Southern Cali brand Paleo Treats does not disappoint, but we have come to expect that from the product scouts at USWM, curating only the best. Paleo Treats was established in 2009 – way before the primal diet trends – and its founders, Lee and Nik, are nutrition activists to the core. The fellow rebel in me loves that they set out to disrupt the Big Sugar industry with their clean paleo chocolate treats, and I applaud how they make ‘cheat’ foods that are healthy and great tasting. They vow NOT to make their guilt-free desserts unless they adhere to the strict standards of the Truepaleo certification and taste similar to or better than the ones that make us sugar-lust (then pay for it later).
Paleo Treats® Espresso Brownie “Rocket”
I need an energy boost to write this article for you today, so the espresso-flavored snack is my intuitive first choice to unwrap. The Paleo Treats® Rocket is a decadent flourless brownie with a thick top layer of espresso chocolate – no stabilizers, preservatives, or synthetic gums – just pure whole-food ingredients made into a decadent stress-reducing dessert. This treat is sweetened only with honey, has a nice mild crunch from the almonds, and a delicate hint of coconut and vanilla underneath the espresso forefront. I’m off to a delicious start. I can definitely envision grabbing one of these babies when dessert seems like the only way to manage – or the only way to celebrate!
In addition to introducing you to this vibin’ dairy-free chocolate, I’m going to sprinkle in some wisdom on stress and food from the work of one of my favorite teachers and mystics, St. Hildegard of Bingen – a German abbess in the High Middle Ages known as a prolific writer, composer, scientist, creative, philosopher, visionary, scholar, poet, and (natural) medical practitioner.
After devouring the Rocket, I’m encouraged to predict that what we learn today from our cameo teacher about the biggest threat to our health – is packaged with sweet rewards. In short, with the help of Paleo Treats, we can still stuff down our feelings with indulgence every now and again and still stay the way of St. Hildegard – cultivating a graceful balance between healthy virtue and vice. After years of denying myself the grace of being human, I’m through that terrible phase of life and have come to accept – like St. Hildegard – that we all need some healthy vices to cope with the weird stressors of modern (or Medieval!) life.
What does our 11th-century scholar have to say about using food to cope with stress? Quite a lot, indeed. Over nine hundred years ago, Hildegard was “graced” by means of heavenly visions, valuable knowledge about human nutrition, and identifying the “foods of sadness” that sicken and distress. Equally enlightening are the “foods of joy” that revitalize us and aid in holistically preserving health – physically, spiritually, and psychologically. As an abbess in the Catholic Church, I personally respect the way she devotes solid scientific importance to the subtle “energies” of food, teaching her students how its “power” affects our emotional and spiritual states. This interplay of the physical and non-physical realities is often scandalous spooky talk among church circles. Still, St. Hildegard handled her naysayers with confident, loving reason and a deep understanding of humanity, nutrition, spirituality, holistic health, and healing.
While cacao/chocolate was not a well-known or common pantry staple of St. Hildegard’s time, many current-day health chefs have taken some of her favorite foods that bring joy and combined them with our more modern superfood ingredients to make them more palatable. Trust me on this – the woody bland chestnuts of Hildegard’s time are best married with CHOCOLATE – perhaps an interesting challenge for our friends at Paleo Treats to tackle at some point?! St. Hildegard would certainly approve of their paleo ingredients, principles, and practices, yielding the cleanest natural chocolate treats with no gluten, soy, grain, dairy, or preservatives.
Paleo Treats “Bandito” and “Mustang” Guilt-free Treats
Next on my product review plate is the Bandito – a chocolate almond butter cookie with a roasted almond butter base topped with a layer of pure chocolate and a hint of sea salt and honey. The added flax in this product takes my feelings of joy to the next level as I am made mindful of the layers of nutrition built into this healthy delight. Yummy.
As I round out my Paleo Treats® sampler with the Mustang Bar, I can feel my mood start to lift thanks to some deep thoughts by Hildegard and a healthy dessert-inspired dopamine hit. Probably best, I conclude with what I consider to be the most healthy of the flavors. The Mustang Bar is a sweet/savory granola ‘cookie’ made with almond butter, coconut oil, walnuts, honey, almonds, raisins, pumpkin seeds, almond flour, coconut, vanilla extract, and sea salt. As with all the products tried, it is best served cold. In the future, I will showcase the Mustang Bar alongside a colorful snack board of fruit/veg/meat/cheese as the perfect finishing bite.
So what is stressing you out right now? If you’re anything like me or almost everyone I know, you’re going through something. It’s tough out there. The ‘wartime’ fatigue is real, and stress is inevitable. You’re not alone. Your health community at USWM has your back and is there to support you in putting together your primary defense against stress – nutrition! I preach to myself by also encouraging you to stay the way of St. Hildegard – seeking moderation and healthy vices like Paleo Treats® when necessary to cope with the weightiness of life and to nudge you back to the joy of your well-state. Good food – even dessert – has the power to do just that.
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Katy Brown, BSHN
Katy has a Human Food and Nutrition degree and almost 20 years of experience in various health and wellness roles. In 2020, she shifted her focus to prioritize family life. She follows a balanced, intuition-driven approach to food and enjoys investing in projects that promote health and explore ancient wisdom. As a homeschooling wife and mother of 3 (with one on the way at 42!), she spends her time on freelance writing and cultivating a simple life at her urban homestead in Des Moines, Iowa.
