Healthy Lemon Raspberry CHEESECAKE???!

Yes finally! All our wishes have come true..there is actually a cheesecake that's good for you! High protein, low-carb, low-fat and guess what…it actually tastes like delicious cheesecake! I was honestly amazed that this recipe worked out because my expectations were a little low. But it worked out great! I found the original recipe on another site but I made a few alterations, if you would like the original recipe I will post the link below! At only 142 calories a slice, feel free to indulge….

Serves 12

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1 cup honey maid graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 cup almond meal/flour (If you have a nut allergy, feel free to use all graham cracker crumbs)
• 2 tbsp melted margarine or butter
• 2.5 tbsp splenda(or another sweetener that measures like sugar, or you could even use real sugar)
• 1.5 tbsp milk of choice

Cake:

• 1 & 1/4 cups 2% cottage cheese (could use 1% or fat-free but your cake might be a bit crumbly)
• 1 cup 0% plain greek yogurt
• 1 & 1/2 tbsp flour
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• a little over 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 whole egg + half a whole beaten egg
• 3 tbsp liquid egg whites or 1 & 1/2 large egg whites
• juice from 1/2 a small lemon + zest to taste
• 1 tbsp splenda sweetener (or another sweetener that measures like sugar)
• 1/8 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 small container of raspberries (about 1.5 cups) tossed with 1.5 tbsp of splenda sweetener

Directions:

Crust: 

Preheat your oven to 350* F and spray a 9-inch springform cake pan with cooking oil. Combine your crust ingredients in a small bowl and stir using a fork until crumbly but just sticky enough to form a crust. Pour the crust mixture into the baking pan and using your fingers, press the crust evenly across the bottom of the pan. (Press firmly!)

Cake:

Next, blend the cottage cheese in a blender or food processor until smooth.Transfer the cottage cheese into a large bowl and whisk together with all other ingredients except lemon, splenda and raspberries. Slowly add adittional lemon and splenda until you like the taste of your batter because really it's all personal preference how tangy or sweet you like your cheesecake! If I were to make this again I may add a bit more lemon zest in the batter because I love the flavour it gives! After the batter tastes the way you want, fold in the raspberries. Pour the batter over the prepared crust and top with a little additional lemon zest for garnish. Place in the oven for about 45-50min or until cake is no longer runny in the center(it will be still but still soft to the touch) and sides are lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool on a cooling rack for about 30min before removing from pan and placing in the fridge for another 30-40min. Then it's ready to be served! This would also be great with a warm homemade raspberry sauce! Enjoy!

Original Recipe: http://bakingbites.com/2005/03/cottage-cheese-cheesecake/

Nutrition Facts per slice: 142 calories, 15g carbs, 6g fat, 8g protein, 1g fibre, 8g sugar