Best Protein Cheesecake Recipe + How to Ride a Mechanical Bull
I kid you not when I say this is THE BEST cheesecake I’ve ever made without cream cheese or even fake tofu cream cheese. If there are suckers for cheesecake out there (me!) you will fall in love with this recipe. It is seriously so good, and so good for you too! This recipe was adapted from my friend Anna’s Protein Pow Blog where she creates some of the most interesting and delicious treats made from all sorts of protein powders. I made some changes from the original recipe, but they still came out FANTASTIC!
INGREDIENTS (makes 1 dozen cheesecakes, if baked in a cupcake pan)
Cheesecake part:
– 1 cup of nonfat plain Greek yogurt
– 2 tbsp of nonfat or 1-2% fat cottage cheese (I used 2%)
– 1 tbsp of whole wheat flour (orig. recipe called for coconut flour, but I didn’t have any)
– 1 whole medium lemon
– 2 fresh organic eggs
– 1/4 cup of vanilla whey
– 1/4 cup Stevia
– 1/2 cup berries
Crust part:
– 1/2 cup of walnuts
– 6-7 pitted medjool dates
DIRECTIONS:
1. Make the crust: blend the nuts and dates together in a food processor. It should turn into a crumbly gravel. If you don’t habe walnuts, you may experiment with other nuts, but I cannot assure you that they will stick together as well as walnuts do! The stickiness from the dates should hold the bits together.
2. Scoop about a tablespoon of the crumbly mixture into the bottom of the cupcake pan. This will be your cheesecake crust. You can spray the cupcake pan with PAM beforehand, but i found later that it didn’t stick very much anyway. So this step is unnecessary if you have a new slick pan.
3. Using your fingers, press the crumbles down so that it becomes a dense layer, almost like the graham cracker layer of a real cheesecake! (I learned this from eating raw vegan cheesecakes.) If the crunbles keep sticking to your hand, try spraying your finger tips with PAM. Or spray the bottom of a rounded spoon and press with that.
4. Next, make the liquid cheesecake mixture: pour everything into a blender and give it a whirl for about 15-20 seconds or until smooth. You may taste test this to see if it tastes ok.
5. Pour the mixture on top of the crust about 3/4 of the way full.
6. Throw a tiny handful of berries (I used blueberries) into each tin. This is about 6-7 berries.
7. Bake at 325F for about 20 minutes and until tops are no longer liquidy.
8. Take out, eat, and enjoy! I promise you will love this. I just had the urge to make mini cheesecakes today and this is the exact recipe and ingredients I used.
| Without Crust | With Crust |
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WOWWWWWWW!!!! Under 60 cals without the crust!? Amazing!!! Perfect dessert if you’re trying to eat clean with a sweet tooth. Like me 😛 You can store the extras in the fridge. Just make sure to cover them to keep moist.
Hope you enjoyed my cooking fiasco this weekend!
Much love,
Cassey
Oh..WAIT!!!!! PS! Last night I rode a mechanical bull for the first time in my life!!!! At first I was like haha, look at those crazies! Then I was like, hmm, ok I have this one life and I wanna know what it feels like to ride a mechanical bull. So then my girlfriends and I got on and held on for our dear lives!!!
I was SOOOOO scared. My heart was beating so fast as I was waiting my turn. I was terrified of flying off and hitting something.
But it was SUCHHHHH an adrenaline rush. And great workout for your thighs and core! You just gotta SQUEEZE SQUEEZE SQUEEZE!!!
Here is a snapshot of me about to fall off, but thanks to grip strength due to weight lifting, I was able to hold on and lift myself back up for round 2!
Quickly after that though, the mechanical bull operator guy went nuts on the twirler thingy and I fell bam on the floor. Hahaha. Ahh, it was so fun doing something I never thought I’d get myself to do!
So POPsters! Which one of you have done something you were terrified to do but went ahead and did it anyway? And…I have footage of this whole thing…do you wanna see it!!??
29 thoughts on “Best Protein Cheesecake Recipe + How to Ride a Mechanical Bull”
There are Array29 comments posted by our users.
I am so trying this recipe. I’m doing the crust less version. Cheesecake without guilt is awesome. Thank you for sharing.
So I tried cross country skiing for the first time this weekend. I’ve always wanted to try it and been wanting to find new, fun ways to get some exercise. Well I got both, fun and exercise. I was terrified when I first put on my skis but once I got going I had a blast. I definitely fell down a few times but that didn’t bother me! So glad I tried it and now have found something I love and will be doing lots this winter…..oh and great exercise!! And thanks to all the blogilates I’ve been doing I think my legs have gotten stronger to help keep my balance, thanks Cassey!!!
I just made this last night and it was pretty gosh darn good. I made a chocolate version since I only had chocolate whey. If anyone is interested, I just left out the lemon and berries, subbed raisins for the dates, and used about 1.5 tbsp raw sugar. Topped with a couple of dark chocolate chips, because chocolate 🙂 I made it in a cake pan and for 1/9th slice of cake it was something like 220 calories. Higher than the original but still better than regular cheesecake!! Thanks Cassey, this is by far the best healthified cheesecake recipe I’ve ever tried!!
What can I substitute the vanilla whey for?
So I found this lovely recipe last night while at work (I know, productive, right??). Anyway I debated either going to the gym after work or gathering ingredients to make these…I did both. So happy i did!! These yummies actually take like 5 mins of work on your part haha. After reading a lot of comments about the muffins coming out too bitter/sweet, I modified the amounts of certain ingredients. I used wayyy less than 1/4 cup of stevia (worked perfectly), and less lemon juice. I did find however, I used too many blueberries in each muffin because that’s actually all i could taste. So next time, few less berries. Today I brought a couple into work and they tasted even better than the night before when i baked them!
ALSO, I’m all about cooking for my live-in boyfriend. He loves sweets and he tried the batter (without knowing one ingredient) and he said it tasted sooo yummy!! It wasn’t until after he ate one that I told him what was in it 🙂 hehehe, I’m sneaky.
Keep the yummies coming Cassey! xo
I tried out this recipe and they turned out pretty well! Maybe a little too sweet/sour for my taste. I just posted about it on my blog, so feel free to read some of my tips for trying this recipe as well 🙂
Thanks Cassey!
Hey Casey,
I baked these, and they came out REALLY bitter/sweet!!!!!!!
I am in Australia and used powdered Stevia (Nirvana Organics, 100% pure extract powder), but I’m certain it’s the stevia that has made them taste like this. They are inedible 🙁
Can you tell me what I’ve done wrong?
Is this what I’m meant to use?… and is it definitely 1/4 cup?????
I feel like I’ve used WAY too much.
I made these and they are SO good! maybe next time a little less lemon juice though, mine turned out a little sour to my taste. oh and I used the lemon zest, just because I really love the smell when you grate off it’s yummy yellow skin. haha, could be the reason I thought they were sour :p anyway, lovely! and I’m gonna make a whole lot for a friend’s birthdayparty next week!
love from Holland
I love cheesecake, this recipe sounds great.
I never baked with Stevia before, wich brand do you use?
You’re doing an amazing job, thank you 🙂
sugar in the raw i think it’s called. it’s at target.
Hi Cassey! I have a question about eating clean. I know how important you say eating “whole” foods is, but does that mean my veggies and fruits have to be “fresh”? Whats your opinion on eating canned fruits and veggies?
Does any one have an answer to my question…. 🙁
yeah it should be fresh. canned fruits and veggies contain lots of sugar, preservative and additive. thats not good for the health. 🙂
OH MY GOSH!!! I cannot wait to try these after my week of the lean diet!!!
so I keep hearing EVERYWHERE, everything i read, how celebs lost 15 lbs in 3 weeks etc by cutting out all sugar and eating high in protein and veggies….is this true? or is it a scam? and if I did this, would it be dangerous? how can i do that safely? i dont want to feel gross or anything but i want to lose weight fast….what do you suggest doing that along with what workouts to see quickest results? idk if it’s close to your 8 wk bikini body? should i do that and still eat some fruit for some carbs so i dont lose too much energy? ah sorry for all the questions!! :p You’re amazing!!
protein and veggies are the way to go.
What is with the lemon? Do I squeeze all the lemon juice from the lemon or do I need to peel it and throw it in the blender with the other ingredients? I want to make these tonight!
Haha just the lemon juice!
This look great, I’m so gonna make this tomorrow morning..
Thank you for the recipe Cassey!!! I am cooking now and using cherries for the berries.
Looks great! New adventures every day right? 🙂
Yum these look great! I’m thinking of surprising my mom with them because this is her favorite dessert. Could I substitute egg whites for the eggs? If so how many would you recommend?
Thanks!
What a yummy looking recipe! Thanks so much for sharing, I cant wait to try it sometime. 🙂
I have anxiety problems and fear of new places. So everyday just going to the gym is a problem. It’s been since October and I still fight to go everyday. My Mom is so proud of me for getting the membership and going on my own. Usually I need someone to take me to new places to increase my comfort level.
you’ve got this jennifer! don’t be scared! no one is looking!