Peanut Butter Twix and SEROTONIN

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Have you ever heard of tryptophan? It is the amino acid blamed for sleepiness after a Thanksgiving meal. Tryptophan can also increase our serotonin levels. Serotonin is used in your gut extensively (80% to 90% is found there) but in your brain it does various things like control of appetite, mood and anger.

Serotonin natures are happy, sensory, and live in the moment. Despite being calm they can be very impulsive and like to seek a wide variety of exciting new activities.

Serotonin deficiency is a primary cause of mood or depression disorders. Other symptoms can include carbohydrate-craving, allergies, arthritis, backache, constipation, diarrhea, headache, migraines, insomnia, premature ejaculation, tinnitus, yawning, lack of pleasure, being a loner, OCD, perfectionism, rage, shyness, lack of concentration, and slow reactions. *Note: You need more serotonin during your menstrual cycles!

HOW TO INCREASE YOUR SEROTONIN LEVELS
In order to increase your serotonin, you need more tryptophan. Tryptophan is a precursor to serotonin. Here is a list of the best food sources for tryptophan. The list is basically in descending order of how much you get from a typical portion.

• SLEEP (not a food, but important!!!)
• Wild game
• WHEY PROTEIN
• Avocado
• Egg
• Duck
• Cottage Cheese/Ricotta
• Turkey
• Sausage
• Halibut
• Beef liver
• Chicken
• Cinnamon (reduce carb craving)
• Chocolate (cocoa)




Ingredients in a Traditional TWIX bar = Milk Chocolate (Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Milk Ingredients, Cocoa Mass, Lactose, Soy Lecithin, Polyglycerol Polyricinoleate, Artificial Flavour)Enriched Flour (Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid)Sugar, Hydrolyzed Palm and Palm Kernel Oil, Corn Syrup, Milk Ingredients, Dextrose, Salt, Cocoa Mass, Sodium Bicarbonate, Soy Lecithin, Soybean Oil, Artificial Flavour.


COOKIE:
1/2 cup vanilla whey or egg white protein
3/4 cup peanut flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp Celtic sea salt
1/4 cup butter or coconut oil
4 TBS Swerve (or erythritol)
1 tsp stevia glycerite (omit if using Swerve)
2-3 TBS water (just enough to hold dough together)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a medium bowl, stir together the whey, peanut flour, baking soda and salt. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or your fingers until the butter lumps are smaller than peas. Stir in the almond milk and sweetener to form a stiff dough. Take about 2 TBS of dough at a time to roll out long biscuit shapes (resembling a Twix bar). Place on cookie sheet. Bake for 7 minutes, turn off oven. Leave in oven for 3 more minutes to cool to crisp up. Place in freezer to freeze (frozen biscuits will hold the caramel better).

Peanut Butter Layer:
6 TBS Natural Peanut Butter
6 TBS vanilla almond milk
Sweetener to taste

Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir until well combined. Add sweetener to taste. Place peanut butter sauce on top of the cookie and place in freezer to set.

Chocolate:
1 CHOCO-Perfection Bar2 TBS vanilla almond milk

In a double boiler, combine ingredients, melt the chocolate (or microwavable bowl, microwave for 30 seconds). Stir well. Drizzle over the peanut butter covered cookie. Place in freezer to set. Makes 12 individual twix bars.

NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON (per 2 Twix bars)
Traditional Twix = 290 calories, 5g protein, 15g fat, 37 carbs, 2g fiber
"Healthified" Twix = 195 calories, 9.1 g protein, 16.7 g fat, 2.9 g fiber, 3.3 g carbs