Tag: cheesecake made at home

Healthy homemade berry cheesecake made with real ingredients. No refined sugar, no oil, no gelatin, no eggs, no cream cheese, and no biscuits. No-bake, vegetarian, gluten-free delicious cheesecake made with healthy ingredients such as walnuts, seeds, cottage cheese, berries, and more. The only sweetener in this recipe is dried dates. We use them to bind with the dry ingredients instead of using oil. Is anyone interested in eating a delicious cheesecake that is low in sugar, fat, and calories? The total calories for 1 piece are only 167 calories. We love the taste of salt and sweet at the same time, hence we combine cheese and fruits often. Check our quick cheese and fruit snack.

Ingredients For Healthy Homemade Cheesecake

Seeds For Crust And Topping

As you have seen in several of our recipes such as banana bread and pancakes, we love using ground seeds in our recipes. They are extremely nutritious and are a great flour substitute. In this recipe, we use the ground seeds and walnuts to substitute biscuits in the cheesecake crust. We also use ground seeds in the berry topping for a smoother and richer texture.

Chia seeds

Chia seeds are a very popular seed used in smoothies and puddings. They are best absorbed when added to liquid or if used dry when they are ground. Chia seeds are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, iron, protein, fiber, antioxidants, and calcium.

Brown And Golden Flax Seeds

We use brown and golden flax seeds among our choice of seeds as they are super nutritious seeds as well. Those seeds are best absorbed when ground. You will see a lot of articles debating whether golden or brown flax seeds are better for you. Their nutrient properties are similar, yet the seeds nutrients and nutrients’ amount are different. We use both of those nutritious seeds so we can reap the benefits of both type of seeds.

Sesame Seeds

We love the taste of sesame seeds. Sometimes, we use sesame oil to add an extra nice flavor to our salads along with garnishing some of our dishes with sesame seeds. We love using tahini for our hummus (recipe to come soon). In this recipe, we grind the seeds and add them to the seeds mixture. We grind the seeds because if they reach our intestines intact our bodies cannot extract the nutrients. We actually get rid of the sesame seeds as a whole in our stool if the outer shell isn’t broken. Sesame seeds are rich in minerals such as copper, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, selenium, and calcium. It is also a good source of Vitamin B and fiber.

Sunflower Seeds

Sunflower seeds are another type of seeds we use to grind and include in our baking, toppings, and even snack as we go. They are rich in the B complex vitamins, which boosts our nervous system. They are also rich in protein, healthy fats, fiber, phosphorus, selenium, copper, magnesium, iron, zinc, folate, niacin, calcium, potassium, and vitamin E.

Pumpkin Seeds

We use raw pumpkin seeds to our seeds mixture because they are also a very healthy addition to our overall diet. They are rich in minerals such as zinc, magnesium, manganese, copper. They also have antioxidants and phytosterols. Pumpkin seeds are also a great source of healthy fats and fiber.

Crust For Healthy Homemade Cheesecake

No Flour, No Biscuits

We love biscuits, but unfortunately, they are not really nutrient-dense and are packed with sugar. We prefer to making the base of our cheesecakes with an alternative that is even more delicious than biscuits AND much more nutritious. Ready? We use ground seeds, nuts, and oats for our “flour/biscuit” base. In this recipe, we used ground seeds (see above for the list of seeds we use) and walnuts. We cover the endless list of the seeds’ nutrients at the beginning of our post so now we will cover the walnuts’ nutrients property.

Walnuts

Walnuts are shaped as our brains and that is how I am teaching my kids to remember how important they are for our brains. Admittedly, sometimes my kids won’t like to eat walnuts straight out of the bag. Even sometimes they would separate out the walnuts from a trail mix. That is why I love using walnuts for the basis of most of the cheesecake we eat at home. Paired with dried fruit, the base is really delicious. Among many great nutrients such as protein, fiber, Vitamins such as B and E, minerals such as copper, folic acid, manganese, copper, walnuts are most famous with high antioxidants and healthy Omega 3 fats. Especially, the alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) Omega 3 fat which is linked to many health benefits.

Gluten-Free Oats

We love using oats for our recipes. Luckily, we don’t have anyone in our family with celiac disease and although avenin found in oats may not be an optimal protein, we try to balance out our diets and eat oats once in a while. Oats are naturally gluten-free so double-check when buying them that indeed they are not cross-contaminated with gluten. I know that most of the articles out there say not to worry about eating gluten unless you have celiac disease. However, we believe that reducing/avoiding gluten can actually benefit everyone. In essence, a protein named gliadin is found in gluten. Gliadin increases permeability in the gut lining which results in potentially allows chemicals to enter the body that leads to inflammation. Inflammation then leads to heart and brain problems to name a few. Oats don’t have gliadin, although, they have a similar protein named avenin. Avenin could possibly cause similar gut inflammation issues like gliadin, so we suggest if you truly want to stay on a gluten-free diet to skip the oats in our recipe. Just substitute it with seeds or extra walnuts.

If you decide to diversify your diet with oats, like we do, then here are some great nutrients found in oats.

• Whole oats are the only food source of avenanthramides. This is a unique group of antioxidants that could protect against heart disease.
• Fiber – oats are rich in soluble fiber that promotes better digestion. Beta-glucans, a type of soluble fiber in this grain helps lower cholesterol, improve heart health, and reduce blood sugar and insulin responses
• Protein – we talked about avenin in the paragraph above. Generally, it is safe to consume oats
• Vitamins and Minerals – manganese, magnesium, zinc, phosphorus, iron, copper, Vitamin B, selenium

Sugar For Healthy Homemade Cheesecake

We know you have been eager to find out what we use to sweeten the cheesecake. We actually use real ingredients to make this cheesecake deliciously sweet. Instead of using refined sugar, brown sugar, syrup, or any other “sugar” ingredient we actually use naturally found in fruit sugar. For this recipe, we use dried dates. Dates are naturally very sweet fruit. When used in the base for this cheesecake they not only help sweeten the entire cheesecake (yup – that is the only sweet ingredient we will use in the entire recipe) but also keep the floury and dry ingredients stick together. Pay extra attention to the instructions in the recipe card when making the base of the cheesecake. You will need to ensure you have enough dates so they stick the dry ingredients together. Otherwise, you may end up with a crumbly cheesecake base.

We especially like the Medjool dates. They are so delicious that my kids will sneak out during the night to eat them out of the bag (ouch!). How do I know? Well, that is easy – when I start making a delicious dessert most of my dates have mysteriously disappeared. Oh, yes, and since my kids are still little, I regularly find pits all over the house hidden under a bed, tucked into a corner, hidden under the couch, and sometimes behind the toilet from all the places!

Healthy Homemade Cheesecake Filling

Dairy Filling Choice

Many cheesecakes rely on cream cheese for the filling of the cheesecake. Cream cheese is tasty but it is also high-calorie high-fat food. Hence, we avoid it in our recipes. Instead, we select a low-calorie, lower-fat, healthier cheese version that when prepared is super creamy and smooth. Among many dairy options out there such as ricotta cheese, whipping cream, whipped cream cheese, etc we tried to select our dairy filling to be as healthy as possible but also fluffy, bulky, creamy, and tasty. After all of the considerations, we selected cottage cheese and heavy whipping cream.

Cottage Cheese Preparation

Pay extra attention when preparing the cottage cheese for the filling of the cheesecake. This is the most difficult part, in my opinion, in preparing this delicious cheesecake. To turn the cottage cheese into a fluffy, creamy, smooth, delicious and good looking filling for the cheesecake, you will need to do the following:

• Strain extra liquid from the cottage cheese – get rid of extra liquid from the cottage cheese by straining with cheesecloth, strainer, or any other method you may be familiar with. That prevents the cheesecake from becoming watery. You can also buy a dry cottage cheese version from some specialty stores. They are not easily found so I just do the extra step to drain extra liquid from the regular cottage cheese version.
• Smash the small cottage cheese balls into a paste – this is the trickiest part of making this cheesecake. You will need to select the right kitchen appliance to complete this step successfully. The first few times I tried making the filling bulky, creamy, smooth, and fluffy I was using the blender on too high speed. For best results, use a hand blender or a blender that has a very low speed. I used my 12 speed Oyster blender on the lowest speed I had. In my case, I set up the Oyster blender on low speed and chose the “stir” option from the buttons. I would pulse several times and stir the cottage cheese with a spoon. You don’t want to overdo the blending of the cheese and turn it into a liquid. Just blend it enough for the cheese balls to smooth out. In the recipe instructions, watch some of the mistakes I made initially when making the cheesecake and avoid them. Here is a link to 2% cottage cheese. You can also select fat-free, whole fat, etc. See our post where we cover the topic of should you do skim milk (fat-free), 2% milk, or whole milk. It is essentially the same idea – balance!

Heavy Cream Preparation

As mentioned previously, we chose heavy cream for the filling as it holds well its fluffy, creamy, silky texture. Oh, yes, and heavy cream and heavy whipping cream are essentially the same things. Not sure what was the marketing strategy behind the products – maybe confuse us so we buy both of them?!

You can also try using the whipping cream version instead of the heavy cream as it has lower fat and calories. I have used it in cases I know only my family will eat the cheesecake. Otherwise, the texture and the look is not the same. I also used whole yogurt milk with the recipe to boost nutritious. But again, this is only when I don’t have to “present” the cheesecake to someone external. The cheesecake is as delicious as before, with lower calories and more nutrients, but the look is just deflated for a lack of better word choice.

The Topping

Ahh … the topping… We use berries for our healthy cheesecake. Berries are sweet, tart, sour, all at the same time. Our blend of berries is blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries. Similar to using all variety of seeds, we chose to use varieties of berries in the cheesecake to rip the different berry nutrients’ benefits. Every berry has its own unique health benefits so we just combine multiple berry options in the topping. You can use fresh or frozen berries. The tender berries like raspberries will break down easily and form jello looking texture which I love. The sturdy berries like blueberries will hold intact and they will be as delicious and chewy to eat on the topping. We use 1 cup of berries, but feel free to use more as you like.

You can also use pre-packaged pie filling which is not our preference, though. We don’t include any sugar with the berries to keep their tart taste, however, if you are a sweet lover feel free to add some honey or any other sweeter that is dear to your heart.

Lime And Vanilla Extract

For extra flavor, we use lime juice and vanilla extract in this recipe. Lime is rich in minerals such as iron, calcium, thiamine, potassium, riboflavin, niacin, folate, phosphorus, and magnesium. Limes are high in vitamins B and C and are also a great source of antioxidants. Vanilla extract is mostly a good source of antioxidants.

Keto Diet

If you are on a keto diet, you can make a few tweaks to make this recipe keto-friendly. Instead of oats, you can just have the cheesecake made out of walnuts. When using vanilla extract, just make sure that sugar is not the first ingredient or skip altogether. Also, for the topping, we only use 1 cup of berries so the carbs are not high. We also only use 1 cup of dates to sweeten the cheesecake but feel free to make the crust smaller. For example, you can use only the walnuts in the recipe (no oats and seeds) and half of a cup of dates. The crust will be smaller, but it will still be delicious with less carbs.

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