I don't eat dairy but I make a mean Cheesecake!

Two of my clients, Michelle and Gillian, are working together to stay focused and get those last few pounds off. They are both sticking to their cardio programs, and eating super clean. And both are seeing great results.

This week, after two weeks of near perfect nutrition, we changed their meal plan to give them a bit more leniency. I wanted to give them some sort of treat that would be really decadent, but also wanted to keep this treat healthy.

Some time ago, I came up with this recipe, back in my dairy days, and I all but forgot about it until this week. The perfect mix between rich and decadent and very healthy and balanced - Cheesecake! I don't really think I need to explain, you're not listening anyway, you just want the recipe!


Stephanie's Rockin' Cheesecake

Ingredients

Crust:

1 cup chopped dates
1 cup chopped walnuts

Filling:

3 cups 2% cottage cheese, blended until smooth
1 cup egg whites
1/3 cup package light cream cheese
Healthy splash of vanilla
5 packages of stevia
¼ cup maple syrup, or agave, or honey
Flavouring of your choice – pumpkin puree is delicious (use about ½ cup, add cinnamon and ginger and nutmeg), espresso powder rocks (about 1 tbsp), cocoa is also awesome (about ¼ cup.) You can also just leave it vanilla.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Line a spring form pan with parchment paper.
2. Mix the dates and walnuts, add a splash of water to better combine. Press the mixture into the bottom of the spring form pan.
3. Bake the crust at 350 for 12 minutes.
4. Let the crust cool while you prepare the filling.
5. Add the cottage cheese, and cream cheese, blend until smooth. Add the egg whites and vanilla. Add the stevia and sweetener of choice. Add flavouring. Try not to over whip or mix the filling as this causes bubbles and cracks.
6. Pour the filling into the cooled crust.
7. Turn down the oven to 325 and put the cake into the oven for 60 minutes. At 60 minutes wiggle the cake pan, there should be just a little movement in the middle of the cake. Turn the oven off, close the door and leave for 30 minutes. Pull the cake out, run a knife around the edge and cool on a rack for 30 minutes. Yum!