This week I am proud to reveal the latest product in the Big Brain snack food line. This one is my personal favorite and it is one that I developed myself primarily for my own enjoyment. Today I am happy to share it with you and I know you all are going to love it too!
Drum roll please...
May I present to you Big Brain Butter:
Big Brain Butter is a nootropic nut butter made with a mixture of nuts and super seeds and stacked with adaptogens and our big brain proprietary formula of lion's mane and cordyceps mushrooms for brain boosting benefits.
I have been a nut butter addict for as long as I can remember. My favorite thing to snack on through most of my childhood was a thinly sliced apple dipped into a melted puddle of Skippy Peanut Butter. I can vividly remember my mom helping me to slice an apple and measure a heaping spoonful of Skippy onto a plate to melt in the microwave for thirty seconds. I would then arrange the apple slices in a neat circle around the melty peanut butter pool and set the plate on the kitchen table to munch on my sweet and salty snack as I attended to my coloring books or I would carefully carry my snack to the playroom where I would lay on the floor and nibble with delight as I watched Winnie the Pooh on the old CRT TV.
I have since graduated from the low nutrient and high sugary quality of Skippy Peanut Butter. But, I still find so much comfort and joy in globbing a gewy spoonful of nut butter into my mouth when I'm in need of quick snack or a boost of energy.
Through my young adulthood I have become somewhat of a nut butter connoisseur if there is such a thing. When I was 23 years old I invested in my first Vitamix and began experimenting with making my own nut butter in a effort to reduce waste from all the jars of nut butter I was eating my way through each month. I kept this up for a few months, usually opting for almonds instead of peanuts as my preferences evolved. Ultimately I reverted back to buying store bought almond and mixed nut butters and even did a nut butter detox between 2019 and 2021 (it felt like it was time for a break). Then, in 2022, when Omar started buying ingredients in bulk for making Big Brain Bars I asked him to add almonds, cashews, and brazil nuts to one of his bulk orders and just like that, the Vitamix-ed nut butter game was back on.
By the early winter of 2023 I really got the knack for making complex and creamy nut butters with the addition of some of the pumpkin and chia seeds that Omar and I had stocked in our pantry for Big Brain Bar production. It has since become a bi-weekly ritual of mine to roast a couple of trays of nuts and seeds and make my supply of mixed nut and seed butter to feed my daily habit of eating a spoonful of nut butter before my morning workout. That little bit of protein and fat first thing in the morning kick-starts my metabolism and gives my muscles that added bit of fuel necessary for strength training.
Now here's the "big brain" thing...
Earlier this winter Omar showed me some cordyceps extract resin that was derived from US cultivated cordyceps mushrooms. An extract, when referring to plant medicine, is a substance obtained by pulling out the nutrient components from a raw material by using a solvent such as water, alcohol, oil, or honey.
Extracting the soluble compounds from plant medicines using one or more extraction methods is often essential in order to receive the full spectrum of medicinal compounds from the plant or mushroom. Since some vitamins and minerals are only soluble in water, alcohol, or fat, simply eating the raw material would mean that our bodies are missing out on absorbing many of those nutrients.
So now you understand why extracts are important when considering using mushrooms as medicine, so what exactly is an extract resin?
An extract resin is a derivative of an extract in which the liquid portion has been evaporated leaving only the highly concentrated residual matter. Essentially the extract resin delivers more potency per gram than your average mushroom powder. And, since less resin is needed to gain the full spectrum of nutrients it can be added to foods without altering the flavor or texture in a dramatic way.
When I learned about the concentrated potency of the cordyceps extract resin I was eager to blend it into my next batch of nut butter and I'll tell you why.
Cordyceps mushrooms are little powerhouses that contain a whole host of medicinal qualities that anyone can benefit from and are particularly advantageous for fitness junkies like myself.
For one thing, cordyceps militaris are loaded with antioxidants which help to rid our bodies of free radicals and reduce oxidative stress. Additionally, cordyceps are effective in enhancing blood circulation and increasing blood flow to muscles and organs thus promoting athletic endurance and reducing muscle fatigue. Studies have also found that cordyceps might help to delay the build-up of lactic acid (which is formed when doing short bursts of muscle activity such as weight lifting and can render one feeling stiff and sore after a workout) by increasing the activity of Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) enzyme. This increase of LDH activity is also supportive of balancing blood glucose levels.
Other reasons to love cordyceps include its energizing quality and effects on supporting libido and sexual function.
Since I started adding cordyceps and lion's mane extracts to my nut butters I have noticed an increase in my endurance and muscle recovery, feeling notably less sore after my workouts.
Adding these mushrooms to the nut butter has been a big brain choice because there is something truly synergistic about the combination of the mushrooms with the fats in the nuts and seeds. Since the compounds in the mushrooms bind to the oils in the nut butter our bodies can better absorb the nutrients in the mushrooms efficiently giving our muscles and organs the extra boost needed to optimize performance.
Big Brain Butter was thoughtfully formulated to be a fully functional food. I have developed two sweet and spreadable flavors inspired by my childhood. Cinnamon Swirl is reminiscent of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, and Chocolaty Goodness tastes like an elevated version of Nutella. Each Big Brain Butter also includes maca root powder for an added energy kick and, just like me, Big Brain Butters are completely sugar free.
In a later post I'd like to share a breakdown of all the ingredients and their nutrient quality. But for today I want to leave you with something else to chew on...
Omar and I started this business from our shared vision to heal people with food both by delivering higher quality functional foods to consumers of all ages, and by providing consumers with the information and education necessary to promote conscious consumption.
But, in order to sell Big Brain snacks and share all this goodness with you we must act in compliance with the Ventura County Environmental Department. This means that there are a number of permits and licenses that we need to obtain.
They are as follows:
$114 Business License Fee
$356 Shared Commercial Kitchen Facility Permit Application Fee
$456 Processed Food Registration Permit
$100 Processed Food Registration Permit Application Fee
$349 Mobile Food Facility Registration Fee (needed for selling packaged food at Sunday Ojai Certified Farmers Market)
The costs of starting up the business have been many, and Omar and I have thus far been funding this venture ourselves. We are now asking for your help to get these permits across the finish line so that we can start distributing our products to you.
I am attaching here a link to our GoFundMe page along with a request that you consider making a small donation to help us get going. You'll see on our GoFundMe page that donating to our cause in different amounts will earn you different gifts including opportunities to try new products like Big Brain Butter.
If you love me and Omar and and if our vision resonates with you, or if you simply want to get your hands on some of this dangerously delicious Big Brain Butter, please share this blog and the GoFundMe link with a friend or two.
Please don't hesitate to reach out to me with further questions about our products or our goals.
As always, be well and stay curious.
With so much love from,
Chrissy Dasco-Uribe
Felicidades para ambos.
Tendrán mucho éxito y los abrazo. Eurídice
I always learn something new reading your blog posts. Thank you! And I can't wait to try these nut butters ;-)