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I’m letting out a great cheer because the holidays are here!!!! There will be family, parties, food, music, and just so much fun for me. I can’t be more excited! I had my first “thanksgiving” dinner at church yesterday and it was fabulous! There was an entire table filled sky high with dinner foods and another just for desserts. Which reminded me of the flip side to the holidays… the grave fear that by New Years none of my clothes will fit again. And it’s a realistic fear…it happens to just about every one every single year. We eat too much. We drink too much. And come January we are all making new resolutions. Well I decided instead to make a resolution BEFORE the holidays…to create for myself more and more guilt free options to take to these parties. So, before the Turkey comes out this year here is a little no bake cheesecake that is fast, delicious, and won’t make you run from the scale screaming!

Cheesecake! Sometimes I like them and sometimes I don’t. I have had the ones that feel like lead in my stomach. You know them…so rich your mouth hurts before you get through the first bite. Yeah, I’ve had my share of those. Then a few years ago I went to a friend’s house and we enjoyed a simple strawberry cheesecake and I couldn’t get enough. Then she told me her secret to delicate, light, sweet cheesecake… Greek Yogurt! In the time since then I have made lemon ones, chocolate ones, and now Pumpkin Pecan!

For Turkey day, I won’t be in Cali with my family, so I decided to try an old family recipe with a twist. We always have pumpkin or sweet potato pie for the holidays. LOVE THEM. And my mother always makes her southern praline pecan. I wondered what would happen if I mixed the two staples together into one dish…and voila here comes the new recipe. It is all pretty simple and it’s not your average fat laden sugar bomb of a cheesecake. The ingredients are simple: Pecans, Dates, Pureed Pumkin, Date Sugar, Fat Free or 2% Greek Yogurt, A little butter, Vanilla extract,Pumpkin Pie Seasoning, pure cane sugar or date sugar and Cinnamon.  Viola! Not a big list at all!

The night before you plan to make your pie you need to make your yogurt cheese IE strain the remaining excess whey and liquids out. You will need a bowl, a small strainer and either cheesecloth, paper towels, or even a coffee pot liner. Place the strainer over the bowl. Line with your coffee liner and place the yogurt inside.  I used three coffee liners myself.  Cover with the paper so none of it is exposed. Place a paper towel over the top and put back in the fridge. In the morning or 8 hours later you should have firm cream cheese like yogurt cheese. And Viola 80% of the work is done.

The Crust has taken me a few tries to figure out. I am taking most of the butter out of my friend’s original recipe. So finding ways to get the crust to stay together was fun. In a food processor or blender I made some pecan flour…IE ground the pecans until they fine but before they turned into butter. Then I added my pitted dates. Dates are naturally sweet, sticky, and do a great job holding the crust together instead of eggs or butter. But, because well I like butter I melted two tablespoons and added it to the mixture in the processor. I added ½ cup of almond meal (bought at trader joes) and more coarsely ground pecans (big chunks) and pulsed quickly.  Press into a spring form or pie pan evenly.  Place in the oven for 5 minutes until slightly toasted and sugars from the Dates starts releasing.

The filling part is even easier. Add the yogurt cheese and pureed pumpkin to the food processor OR whip with a hand mixer until fully incorporated. Add date sugar, pumpkin pie seasoning, an cinnamon. Mix really well. At the end add a few more pecan pieces. Pour your filling into the pie crust and you’re done! Put the whole shebang in the fridge until ready to serve! I usually leave it in for a few hours so it’s nice and firm. Easy peasey pumpkin cheesy… cake that is.

This whole process takes me about 20 minutes once I start making the cheesecake. And mostly because I am too busy licking the spoon in the end. Ha ha. These recipe can be made in so many different variations it’s mind boggling. Add some chocolate or use Sweet Potato instead of Pumpkin. Use graham crackers if you are allergic to nuts. Whatever you do it should come out just fine.  In the end you will be able to enjoy your dessert without worrying it will kill your blood sugar or your diet.

Gobble Gobble everyone!

 

B~

PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE WITH PRALINE PECAN CRUST

2 c         Greek Yogurt (strained for 8 hrs)

1 c          Pecan Flour

½ c        Pecans Course chop

2 Tbsp   Butter

1 c          Madjool Dates – pitted

¼ c         Date sugar/pure cane sugar/honey

1 Tbsp    Vanilla Extract

1 Tbspn  Pumpkin Pie Spices

1 Tbspn  Cinnamon

 

Step 1: Strain the yogurt overnight or 8 hrs before.

Step 2: Make the crust. Add the pecans into food processor to make pecan flour or used purchased pecan flour. Add your dates, melted butter, and cinnamon (if you like). Press into spring form pan or pie mold. Place in the oven for 5-8 minutes until browned and sticky. Allow to cool

Step 3: Add the yogurt cheese, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, vanilla extract, pumpkin pie spice, ¼ cup coarse chopped pecans, and date sugar. Mix well

Step 4: Add filling to the crust. Put in the fridge…and Viola!

 

NUTRITIONAL TIDBITS

PUMPKIN PIE SPICES:

Cinnamon: Manganese, Iron, Dietary Fiber, Calcium. Yes, it’s a spice but, did you also know it can help control blood sugar, may help improve brain function, keeps your heart and colon healthy, and is useful as an anti-inflammatory and has anti-microbial ability? Cinnamon slows the rate at which your stomach empties (slowing the rate in which sugars go into the blood stream and maintaining a steadier blood sugar level) and also stimulates your bodies insulin receptors (making it more efficient at utilizing the insulin in the body and therefore metabolize sugar better).

Cloves: Manganese, Omega 3, Vitamin K, Dietary fiber, Vitamin C, Magnesium, Calcium. Manganese is a little known trace mineral that does A LOT to keep us healty. It is vital to absorption of key nutrients (biotin, thiamin, ascorbic acid, and choline), keeps your bones strong, helps body utilize fatty acids and cholesterol, helps maintain healthy blood sugar, helps keep thyroid gland functioning properly, protects cells from free-radical damage, and helps keep our nerves healthy.

Nutmeg: Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Choline, Potassium, Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, iron, zinc, copper, manganese, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin,  Vitamin B6, folate and selenium. Nutmeg cures stomach aches, diarrhea and helps to detoxify the body, reduces blood pressure and increases blood circulation. It is also good for digestion, reducing acidity, relieving vomiting,  flatulence and is used as a medicine for respiratory problems.  Choline: keeps cell membranes (the walls that allow nutrients into cells and waste to leave cells) functioning normally, helps nerves and muscles communicate properly, keeps homocysteine levels from building up in blood stream (high levels linked to cardiovascular disease & osteoporosis ), reduces chronic inflammation. Thiamin/ B1: helps maintain energy, coordinates activity between nerves and muscles, supports heart function.

Dates: Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorous, Potassium, Vitamin A, B6, B1,B2, B3, B5, vitamin C, selenium, dietary fiber and over 20 amino acids. Dates are rich in dietary fiber which prevents dietary LDL cholesterol absorption in the gut. It is also a good bulk laxative. The fiber content helps to protect the colon mucous membrane by decreasing exposure time and as well as binding to cancer causing chemicals in the colon. Dates contain many health benefitting phytonutrients flavonoid polyphenolic antioxidants known as tannins. Tannins are known to have anti-infective, anti-inflammatory and anti-hemorrhagic properties. They are a good source of Vitamin-A (contains 149 IU per 100 g), which is known to have antioxidant properties and is essential for vision. Vitamin A also required maintaining healthy mucus membranes and skin. Consumption of natural fruits rich in vitamin A known to help to protect from lung and oral cavity cancers.

Pecans: thiamin, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, zinc, copper, manganese, vitamin C, vitamin K, riboflavin, niacin, B6, Folate, panthothenic acid, calcium, potassium, selenium, fiber and good heart healthy fat Omega 3s. One serving of pecans contains 64 percent of the % Daily Value of manganese. Manganese is important for building strong bones and may reduce the risk of developing osteoporosis and also helps glucosamine work better in the body. Pecans can play a role in weight loss. Because of their mix of protein and healthy fat, pecans are slow to digest, easy on blood sugar, and provide sustained energy, important factors for those trying to lose weight.