Healthy Cheesecake ~ A Valentine’s Recipe

A lovely candle light dinner for two that you just cooked? There is nothing more magical than cooking together with or for your Valentine – unless you’re following it up with my incredibly delicious healthy cheesecake recipe. But if you are not a cook or have no time for groceries, you have some great options!!! Check any of these companies that deliver right to your door: The Fresh20, Blue Apron, Plated, Hello Fresh. Some of my patients are already raving about this (even their kids are getting more into food as a result).

What they offer: they deliver a specific meal you have chosen in a box full of fresh locally harvested vegetables, including the recipe with the instructions how to cook the meal (with pictures), so really anyone can prepare the meal. The best part is that it is very affordable and since the ingredients are so fresh, the meals taste great. How about 10-15 dollars for a whole meal for 2 or more people delivered to your door? Give it a try!

If you really do not want to cook but would love to have that lovely candle light dinner with your Valentine, check Dine In 2Nite – in this case, your meal for two will be delivered to your door ready to serve!

Finish the Dinner with my All-Time-Favorite Dessert – A Healthy Cheesecake!

I do mean it! I know I may have shared it with you before, but I really still love it that much! Try this amazing raw, vegan, gluten-free healthy cheesecake recipe. Put it in the freezer until you are ready to serve it!

What You May not Know about Chocolate

1. Avoid chocolate if you have heartburn or hiatal hernia. It can make either worse.
2. If you have high sensitivity to molds and mycotoxins, you should know that chocolate production often results in aflatoxin, specifically Asporgillus flavus. Apparently, European chocolates have higher mold standards in chocolate production process, e.g. Lindt 90 or 99% dark chocolate.
3. Keep chocolate in the freezer to prevent it from oxidizing and from mold growth.
4. Raw cacao contains alkaloid theobromine, which is potentially addictive and can impact the central nervous system. It can cause restlessness, sleeplessness, tremors and anxiety.
5. If you do eat chocolate, avoid milk chocolate, as it may contain high fructose corn syrup, genetically modified organisms, growth hormones, transfatty acids, and artificial colors and flavors.
6. Chocolate often contains heavy metals. A consumer group As You Sow tested 42 varieties of chocolates. According to their tests, all dark chocolates contained heavy metals, while milk chocolate was less concentrated. 26 brands tested contained cadmium levels high enough to be considered unsafe; the lead levels were as high as 5.9% above the safe limit and cadmium as high as 8.2 times above the safety limit. Many of the stores, including the healthier food stores, were on the list as well as some of the more reputable chocolate companies. No lead exposure is safe in my opinion, while cadmium is also highly toxic (most exposure is from tobacco smoke) and according a study by Harvard University, there may be a link between cadmium and learning disabilities.

This healthy cheesecake recipe is adapted from Ani Phyo of “Ani’s Raw Food Desserts” 2009. This is my all-time favorite cheesecake – and I seldom even make the topping for it. That is just how delicious it is. Honestly, more delicious than a real cheesecake, as I hear. And so healthy for you!

Strawberry Cream Cheesecake

February 9, 2016

by Kasia Kines

Category Desserts Desserts Member Recipes Recipes

Notes

For a variation try pineapple as the base for the sauce.

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 cup of almond meal (or walnuts)
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ cup pitted Medjool or other semi-soft dates

Filling

• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
• ½ cup of lemon juice
• 1 ½ cups of cashews
• 1/3 cup filtered water
• ¼ cup liquid coconut oil
• Seeds from 2 vanilla beans or 2 tablespoons alcohol-free vanilla extract

Topping (optional)

• 1½ cups of strawberries
• ¼ cup of maple syrup grade B

Instructions

1. To make the crust, combine the almond meal and salt in a mixing bowl.
2. Sprinkle a pie pan lightly with some of this almond meal.
3. Add the dates to the remaining almond meal and mix in a food processor.
4. Press the dough into the bottom of the pie pan as thinly as possible. The crust should reach at least halfway up the side of the pan.
5. To make the filling, combine the zest, lemon juice, cashews, water, coconut oil, and vanilla in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. Refrigerate 1 to 2 hours to firm up the filling. To make the topping, combine the strawberries and maple syrup in the blender and pulse a couple of times to coarsely mix into a chunky sauce.
6. To serve, remove the cheesecake from the refrigerator, pour the sauce over the filling, and enjoy immediately. The assembled cheesecake will keep for 2 to 3 days in the refrigerator. The filling and the crust without the sauce will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator and several weeks in the freezer. The strawberry sauce will keep in the refrigerator a couple of days when stored properly.

https://kasiakines.com/healthy-cheesecake-valentines-recipe/

Kasia Kines