I’m not really a cheesecake person, which is kind of perplexing since I LOVE cream cheese. I think it’s just a bit much, like one bite and I’m done. With that being said, I may have just been swayed by the Classic Cheesecake with Wheatless Crust recipe from Wheat Belly by William Davis, MD. I’m always on the hunt for healthy recipes that I can fool my very set-in-their-ways (oh great, what’s she making now?) family with and this one is a winner. It’s not overly sweet and as William Davis says “so healthy you can eat it for breakfast.”

This a basic recipe that can, and should, be played with: berries, chocolate, key lime, ginger, all are on the list to dress up this healthy dish.

Note: In the book he mentions Splenda as a sweetener option which I have left out as I’m not a fan of artificial sweeteners. I used about 1 1/2 -2 droppers of NuNaturals Liquid Vanilla Stevia. I may add more next time. You could also add a little maple syrup.

Classic Cheesecake

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups ground pecans
• Sweetener equivalent to 1/2 sucrose (Stevia or Zylitol)
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 6 Tbs unsalted butter, melted
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla (gluten-free)

Filling:

• 16 oz cream cheese (Nancy’s cultured)
• 3/4 cup sour cream (Wallaby’s cultured)
• Sweetener equivalent to 1/2 cup sucrose (Stevia or Zylitol)
• Dash of sea salt
• 3 large eggs
• Juice of a lemon and grated lemon zest
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 Tbs Great Lakes gelatin (this is my addition to the recipe)

Preheat oven to 325 F.
Crust: Combine ground pecans, sweetener, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Stir in the melted butter, egg, and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Press the crumb mixture into a glass pie pan.

Filling: Combine cream cheese, sour cream, sweetener, and salt in a bowl. Using a mixer beat at low speed to blend. Beat in eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla. Beat at medium speed for 1 minute.

Pour filling into crust and bake until nearly firm in the center, about 50 minutes. Cool on a rack. Refrigerate to chill before serving.