7 Cashew “Cheesecakes” That Will Blow Your Mind
I can only imagine that being invited to eat dinner at a nutritionist’s house leaves some of my guests wondering if I’ll be serving a dry chicken breast, steamed veggies and a fruit cup for dessert.
It’s truly an eye-opening for my friends and family who have been lead to believe that healthy equals gross, or sacrifice or a life not fully lived, to discover that feeling and eating well also means tasting things that are insanely delicious. No dry chicken or steamed veggies in this house!
Growing up I had a serious sugar addiction, so when I discovered that I could make so many amazing healthy variations on one simple cashew “cheesecake,” I knew I’d found a wonderful go-to recipe for all occasions.
Enjoy!
Lemon Cashew "Cheesecake" For crust: Combine all ingredients in food processor until blended, then press into an 8-inch springform pan: 1/2 cup raw pecans 1/2 cup pitted dates 1/4 cup shredded coconut 2 TBS butter or coconut oil Pinch of sea salt
For filling*, Combine all ingredients in your Vitamix until smooth. Then pour on top of crust. Freeze for 4 hours to set and then move to refrigerator: 3 1/2 cups raw cashews that have been soaked overnight in water (this is an important step that releases the nutrition of the cashews) 2/3 cup maple syrup 2/3 cup coconut oil, gently melted 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice 1-2 teaspoons of vanilla extract or crushed vanilla beans (VanillaMax) Zest of 1 lemon (optional, for a more lemon flavor)
For Raspberry topping, Combine all ingredients in your Magic Bullet until smooth and then drizzle on your "cheesecake" upon serving: 1/2 cup raspberries 1/4 cup water 1 tsp honey 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 tsp nut milk
*I have made many variations of this cheesecake, which include:
Lemon Green Tea – use zest of 1 lemon and add 1 TBS organic Matcha
Raspberry Lime – ½ cup fresh raspberries and use lime juice instead of lemon juice, also add zest of one lime to the raspberry sauce
Pumpkin Cinnamon – add 1 cup organic canned pumpkin, along with 1-2 TBS pumpkin pie spice (use more for a robust flavor)
Orange Dreamsicle – add 1 additional teaspoon of VanillaMax, zest of one orange, and use orange juice instead of lemon juice
Chocolate – use 2/3 cup of water instead of lemon juice and ¼ cup cocoa; top with Enjoy Life mini dark chocolate chips
Maple Vanilla – use 2/3 cup of water instead of lemon juice and 1 TBS VanillaMax