Strawberry Cheesecake? Yes, Please!

If you have been following my blog for awhile, you know that I love to eat dessert. Like it is literally my favorite favorite meal of the day! Unfortunately this can be a bit of a derailment when trying to lose fat or even maintain weight loss. That is why I try to "health-ify"some of my top picks when it comes to treats. I love to eat at Cheesecake Factory, always getting the same thing, Kale and Quinoa Salad. Have you tried it? If that is a no, then promise you will order it on your next visit, seriously it's so yummy. But I always have such a temptation to order a piece of cheesecake (I mean who doesn't). Sometimes I do, and that's ok but is it so wrong to want to eat cheesecake every day? Maybe. 

Well, lucky for both of us, I have solved that problem. I would like to introduce you to these lil' beauties....Oh So Light Strawberry Cheesecake Bites. Yes, my friends this bowl of goodies will satisfy those sweet tooth cravings while keeping you swimsuit ready! 

Oh, and did I mention if you choose these over CF Strawberry Cheesecake, you might be saving yourself 638 calories. Aaaand 27 grams of fat. 

You're welcome. Now go make these!

Oh So Light Strawberry Cheesecake Bites

1 cup low-fat cottage cheese

1 cup part skim ricotta cheese

2 egg whites

1/3 cup truvia baking blend

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

¼ tsp salt

1 TBSP arrowroot powder

40 strawberries

graham cracker crumbs (garnish)

·      Preheat oven to 350

·      Coat a 9 inch round pan with nonstick spray, set aside

·      Blend together the cheese in food processor until smooth

·      Add in egg whites, truvia, lemon juice, vanilla extract, salt and arrowroot powder. Blend until smooth

·      Pour filling into pie dish, cook in oven for 50 mins.

·      Remove cake from oven, allow to cool.

·      Scoop cheesecake out and place in piping bag or Ziploc

·      Core strawberries and pipe about 2 tsp of filling into each berry.

·      Garnish with graham cracker crumbs

·      Serve chilled

(1 serving is roughly 4 berries)

Gimme Lemon....Everything

There is something genuis behind the lemon, ya know? It's beautiful, bright yellow color makes me instantly happy, invoking fantasies of sipping' lemonade in the sunshine. I'm going to totally pretend like it didn't snow a few days ago and summer is right around the corner. Good news is these Lemon Chia Protein Bites are the perfect way to get ready for that bikini, or tankini, or swim dress. I love to make a big batch at the beginning of the week and have them on hand whenever I get the urge to snack, which might be every 20 mins. Anyone else feel my pain???

Lemon Chia Protein Bites

½ cup quick oats

1 TBSP chia seeds

3 cups vanilla flavored protein powder

1 TBSP Truvia

1 tsp lemon zest

4 TBSP lemon juice

6 TBSP water

·      Combine oats, chia seeds, protein powder, Truvia and lemon zest in bowl.

·      Add in lemon juice and water

·      Form into balls (note: all protein powders have different dryness levels, so you might need to adjust water measurement)

·      Roll in unsweetened coconut shreds and place in freezer for 30 minutes.

·      Remove from freezer and store in airtight container in fridge. Will last for 5 days