I can only imagine that being invited to eat dinner at a nutritionist’s house leaves some of my guests wondering if I’ll be serving a dry chicken breast, steamed veggies and a fruit cup for dessert.

It’s truly an eye-opening for my friends and family who have been lead to believe that healthy equals gross, or sacrifice or a life not fully lived, to discover that feeling and eating well also means tasting things that are insanely delicious. No dry chicken or steamed veggies in this house!

Growing up I had a serious sugar addiction, so when I discovered that I could make so many amazing healthy variations on one simple cashew “cheesecake,” I knew I’d found a wonderful go-to recipe for all occasions.

Enjoy!

Lemon Cashew “Cheesecake”

For crust,

Combine all ingredients in food processor until blended, then press into an 8-inch springform pan:

• 1/2 cup raw pecans
• 1/2 cup pitted dates
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut
• 2 TBS butter or coconut oil
• Pinch of sea salt

For filling*,

Combine all ingredients in your Vitamix until smooth. Then pour on top of crust. Freeze for 4 hours to set and then move to refrigerator:

• 3 1/2 cups raw cashews that have been soaked overnight in water (this is an important step that releases the nutrition of the cashews)
• 2/3 cup maple syrup
• 2/3 cup coconut oil, gently melted
• 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1-2 teaspoons of vanilla extract or crushed vanilla beans (VanillaMax)
• Zest of 1 lemon (optional, for a more lemon flavor)

For Raspberry topping,

Combine all ingredients in your Magic Bullet until smooth and then drizzle on your “cheesecake” upon serving:

• 1/2 cup raspberries
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp nut milk

*I have made many variations of this cheesecake, which include:

• Lemon Green Tea – use zest of 1 lemon and add 1 TBS organic Matcha
• Raspberry Lime – ½ cup fresh raspberries and use lime juice instead of lemon juice, also add zest of one lime to the raspberry sauce
• Pumpkin Cinnamon – add 1 cup organic canned pumpkin, along with 1-2 TBS pumpkin pie spice (use more for a robust flavor)
• Orange Dreamsicle – add 1 additional teaspoon of VanillaMax, zest of one orange, and use orange juice instead of lemon juice
• Chocolate – use 2/3 cup of water instead of lemon juice and ¼ cup cocoa; top with Enjoy Life mini dark chocolate chips
• Maple Vanilla – use 2/3 cup of water instead of lemon juice and 1 TBS VanillaMax