Vanilla Protein Cheesecake

Vanilla Protein Cheesecake

My fiance and I make Protein Cheesecake all the time together.  This is our current go-to recipe for a simple Vanilla Protein Cheesecake.  With only 7 ingredients and 7 easy steps, you really can't go wrong with this recipe!  

Ingredients:

• 2 containers (8 oz each) of Fat Free Cream Cheese (Great Value Plain)
• 2 packs of Nonfat Vanilla Greek Yogurt (Dannon Light & Fit)
• 1 Whole Egg
• 6 Tbsps of Egg Whites
• 1 Tbsp of Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 scoop of Protein Powder (BPI Vanilla Whey)
• 4 packets of Splenda

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 250F.
2. In a large bowl, beat room temperature cream cheese and greek yogurt together until smooth.
3. Once the batter is clump free, blend in the whole egg, egg whites, and vanilla.
4. Next add the protein power and Splenda and mix well.
5. Pour mixture into a greased cheesecake pan.
6. Bake at 250F for 80 minutes.
7. Let your cheesecake set in the fridge overnight before serving.

Nutritional Data
Per 1 Slice (Out of 8 Slices)

Calories: 137, Protein: 19.8 grams, Carbs: 11.6 grams, Fats: 1.6 grams

Pumpkin Protein Cheesecake

Pumpkin Protein Cheesecake!

I LOVE cheesecake! What I don't particularly love about cheesecake is the crazy amount of fats and carbs it usually contains. So, in an effort to "have my cheesecake and eat it too" I finally decided to try baking a healthier version and boy am I so glad I did! I had seen numerous protein cheesecake recipes floating around on social media so I combined a few I found appealing and tweaked some of the ingredients to my taste and voila! Super scrumptious, creamy and delicious Pumpkin Protein Cheesecake! Just a heads up, you may want to double the recipe and make two cheesecakes because this has been a huge hit with my family, friends, and co-workers. So if you end up sharing, don't say I didn't warn you! :)

Ingredients:
·         1.5 Containers *12 ounces* of Fat Free Cream Cheese (Great Value)
·         2 Containers *8 ounces* of Pumpkin Cheesecake Greek Yogurt (Yoplait Whips)
·         2 Whole Eggs
·         2 Egg Whites
·         1 Scoop *23 grams* of Protein Powder (VPX SRO Whey – Graham Cracker)

·         ½ Cup *122 grams* 100% Pumpkin (Libby’s)
·         1 Tbsp. Natural Sweetener (Zing)
·         1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
·         1 Tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
·         1 Tsp. Cinnamon

Directions:
1.       Preheat oven to 250F.
2.       In a large bowl beat cream cheese, greek yogurt, and pumpkin thoroughly until smooth.
*Tip* Make sure the cream cheese sits out and is room temperature before you begin. This will ensure the batter is lump free and a creamy consistency!

3.       Once clump free and pudding like, add in the eggs, egg whites, and vanilla and mix well.
4.       Next add your dry ingredients – protein powder, sweetener, and spices, and mix until incorporated.
5.       Pour mixture into a greased pie/cake tin and bake in the oven at 250F for 30 minutes.
*Tip* To prevent surface cracking: Bake the cheesecake in a water bath to keep the oven moisture high and the heat gentle. (A water bath is using a larger pan containing water in which to place the smaller cheesecake baking pan).

6.       After 30 minutes, change the oven temperate to 300F and bake for an additional 20 minutes.
7.       Finally, turn the oven back down to 250F and bake for a final 20 minutes.
8.       Let cool and enjoy!
*Tip* Let your cheesecake set and chill overnight for optimum enjoyment. :)

Nutritional Data

Candy's Pumpkin Protein Cheesecake

Calories: 122, Protein: 16.5 grams, Carbs: 9 grams, Fats: 1.3 grams

vs.

Cheesecake Factory's Pumpkin Cheesecake

Calories: 750, Protein: 10 grams, Carbs: 95 grams, Fats: 32 grams

I think mine "takes the cake!" Lol! :)

Raw by Rae - Nutrient Balanced Treats

Raw by Rae

One of my fabulous fit friends, miss Rachel Dora, was kind enough to send me several flavors of her delicious Raw by Rae nutrient dense desserts!  I was really excited to try these because I have a HUGE sweet tooth (I certainly live up to the name Candy) lol!  As you can tell from my blog, I love eating well.  I think it is very important to eat whole, all natural foods to fuel your body and mind in order to perform proficiently.  But let's be honest, like most people in this world I crave "junk" food too, especially desserts like cakes, cookies, and brownies.  Yet we all know those aren't exactly the best choices for our health and/or waistline.  That's why I love these Raw by Rae treats!  Not only do they taste heavenly, but they are HEALTHY, 100% RAW, ALL NATURAL, REAL food that everyone's body can benefit from.

So far, I have had the opportunity to try 4 flavors:

1) Chocolate Chip Cookie

- Chocolaty goodness; I just love the bites of raw cacao nibs!

2) Pecan Pie

- Sweet southern comfort! Chewy and decadent.

3) Orange Chocolate

- Just the perfect blend of chocolate and orange flavor. Rich and refreshing.

4) Coconut Brownie

- Rolled in unsweetened coconut shavings for a burst of coconut on top of a fudgey "brownie".

There are a variety of other yummy flavors to choose from too, such as; Original Brownie, Banana Split, Pumpkin Spice, Salty Caramel, Cinnamon Roll, Tiramisu, Lemon Coconut, and Mint Chocolate Chip.  Basically, whatever your favorite sweet treat is, Rachel has most likely turned it into a nutrient-packed gourmet dessert.  Although I must say, I recommend making a S'mores or Chocolate Peanut Butter treat!

Every treat is made fresh daily, with completely raw and unprocessed ingredients which allows the abundant amount of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and omega-3 fatty acids to remain in their optimum natural state . All the desserts are dairy free, egg free, gluten free, grain free, and soy free with no artificial sweeteners, no preservatives and no trans fat, which works well with specialty diets including raw, vegan & vegetarian diets.

My first bite of Raw by Rae - The Chocolate Chip Cookie!

An example of the ingredients you'll find in a Raw by Rae treat would be: dates, cashews, flaxseed, cold-pressed coconut oil, maple syrup, cacao, cacao nibs, vanilla extract, and grey sea salt, which is exactly what the Chocolate Chip is comprised of.

Pecan Pie!

Close up of the Raw by Rae Pecan Pie treat.

Packed with raw pecans, which are a rich source for energy, health benefiting nutrients, minerals, anti-oxidants, and vitamins that are essential for wellness, this treat was so moist and delicious!

Having an Orange Chocolate treat with my post-workout breakfast!

 

Here's a close up of the Orange Chocolate! Let me be honest by saying, I was hesitant to try these ones due to the fact that it was orange flavoring, I'm more or a strawberry or blueberry type gal! But, I was very pleasantly surprised by these! They were REALLY GOOD. The orange extract was not overpowering and it was just the perfect mix of cacao and orange. So tasty! Ingredients are dates, cashews, flaxseed, cold-pressed coconut oil, maple syrup, cacao, vanilla extract, orange extract, and sea salt! The texture to me is like a fudgey brownie. Two thumbs up for these healthy treats!

The Coconut Brownie treats makes me smile :)

To order online and have these treats shipped directly to your door, visit www.RawbyRae.com.

Wholesome Chow: Organic, Gluten Free, & Vegan Brownie Mix

I took a trip with my mom to one of our favorite stores the past weekend; Home Goods!  Cause Home Goods "makes me happy"! Lol!  No but really, it does, I love that store.  Any who, I stumbled across this Organic, Gluten Free, & Vegan Brownie Mix made by a company called Wholesome Chow and decided to give this mix a shot because I'm absolutely obsessed with anything chocolate, especially brownies :)

 Organic, Gluten Free, Vegan, Brownies!

Super easy to prepare, just add: Butter (non-dairy or dairy), Flax Meal (or an egg) and Water!  Mix, bake and serve these delicious brownies in under an hour!  Made with the finest non-gmo, organic and gluten free certified ingredients...yum!

 

Wheat, Gluten, Egg, Dairy, Casein, Peanut, Nut and Corn Free!

Mix, bake and serve! Ingredients: Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic White Rice Flour, Organic Brown Rice Flour, Organic Fair Trade Cocoa Powder, Organic Potato Starch, Organic Tapioca Starch, Sodium Bicarbonate, Aluminum-Free Baking Powder (Sodium acid pyrophosphate, Sodium bicarbonate, Corn starch, Monocalcium phosphate), Xanthan Gum, Evaporated Sea Salt.

Each package yields 6-9 brownies

Not too sure how many calories it comes out to per brownie because  of the way the nutrition facts are... who eats 2 tbsp of dry mix?!  Lol!  I'm assuming if you slice the brownies into 9 equal servings that would equal out to about 2.4 servings per brownie, but I could be way off in my assumption.  I always prefer making anything from unprocessed, all natural, whole foods but these were so easy and delicious I had to share with you fit fam!

I actually had this for breakfast with scrambled eggs!  Freshly chopped organic strawberries topped with a crumbled brownie and all natural almond butter.

Amazeballz! :)