Lemon Cheesecake with Blueberry Topping

 There's something about cheesecake that makes it acceptable any time of the year.

It really is one of those desserts that can fit any occasion. You can do a Fall Pumpkin cheesecake. A birthday rainbow sprinkle and chocolate chip cheesecake. There are recipes for cheesecake dip and cheesecake bites and vegan cheesecake and on and on and on. It's very much unlike hot soup, which I can't stand in the summer, or fruity Popsicles, which do not belong in Colorado winters. 

This cheesecake was inspired by a huge lemon binge that I've been on recently. Everything has been so bright and sunny (84 degrees today!) and the sky has been so blue, and my cravings are really influenced by the weather (cough, see the picky statements above, cough). 

It almost tastes like blueberry lemonade, which is what I came very close to calling it, before I decided that was too stereotypical. Plus, lemonade has a certain.... sweetness to it most of the time that replaces the bright and fresh lemon flavor. This cheesecake keeps that flavor, and the blueberry reduction on top just balances it all out beautifully (and makes it look so nice).

Almost all of my recipes end up being brought to work, because it's just me at my house (and my boyfriend, but he doesn't like sweet things very much), and I had a ton of people ask for the recipe. One woman asked, "Alright, this is delicious, how bad is it for me?" and then I told her it wasn't, she was shocked. It's a really rich-tasting cheesecake that is lightened up significantly with the low fat cream cheese and the nonfat Greek yogurt. I also used two eggs and twp egg whites instead of four whole eggs to cut back a bit on the fat, and Splenda to reduce the sugar amount (you can use sugar if you want, but it increases the gram amount to 46... yikes! That's why I went with the much lower Splenda version.) 

Nom nom nom. 

Lemon Cheesecake with Blueberry Topping
Serves 9

Ingredients:

• 1 graham cracker crust, of your choosing 
• 1 (8 ounce) package low fat cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 whole eggs
• 2 egg whites
• 2c. fat free vanilla Greek yogurt
• 2/3c. splenda (can use sugar if wanted)
• zest of two lemons
• juice of one lemon
• 2 cups frozen blueberries

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. 
2. Meanwhile, place cream cheese in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on high for two minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add egg whites, one at a time, and mix until combined. Add the whole eggs and Greek yogurt, and beat well for at least one minute or until fully mixed. Add in the sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice, and mix just until evenly combined.
3. Place cheesecake on a baking sheet for easy placement in oven. Bake at 350F for 60 min, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cheesecake comes out almost clean. 
4. Remove cheesecake from oven. Cheesecake will likely puff up when baking, but will even out when let to rest. Allow to sit at room temperature for one hour, then place in fridge for at least 7 hours and up to 24. 
5. On the day you are serving the cheesecake, place the frozen blueberries in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cover until the blueberries thaw and you can see the juice at the bottom of the saucepan. When this occurs, turn the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, for three minutes, or until juice thickens and becomes sauce-like. The natural sugars and pectin in the blueberries will allow it to thicken by itself, so adding sugar or cornstarch is not necessary. 
6. Remove the saucepan from heat, and let sit for five minutes. Spread blueberry topping over the top of the cheesecake, and serve.

Nutrition Information (with splenda):
Sodium: 236mg
Total Fat: 10g
       Saturated: 5g
       Monounsaturated: 3g
       Trans: 2g
Sugar: 16g
Protein: 9g
Calories: 222

Nutrition Information (with sugar):
Sodium: 236mg
Total Fat: 10g
       Saturated: 5g
       Monounsaturated: 3g
       Trans: 2g
Sugar: 46g
Protein: 9g
Calories: 337

Poached Pears with Blueberries

Happy February! 

Tomorrow is my Dad's birthday (Happy Birthday Dad! I love you more than anyone in the world.)

Who watched the Superbowl? Anyone? Yeah, I failed as an American and didn't watch it. Partly because I worry about seeing people get injured (apparently someone broke their arm? Can't handle it), and also because I'm an avid Sea Hawks fan and I knew that I would be sad if they lost. (Which, whelp... we all know how that ended). I will admit that I'm more of an ice skating fan than I am a football fan, though. Maybe because I can actually imagine myself ice skating, but not playing football? I am way too intimidated by large men running towards me to be successful in any type of football career.

Things here at CSU have been going very smoothly. I've been drinking copious amounts of coffee and keeping up with school work, which is great. I still have this weird sensation that each day is flying by faster than I can catch up, though. I'll wake up at 6AM and bam, it's 7PM and I'm tired (because yes, I do go to bed at 8PM every night. I am internally an old person in terms of sleep. And probably about five years old in terms of energy level during the day). 

I've really been digging having before-bed snacks. They're usually composed of mini caramel rice cakes (once again: I'm old) or some type of cereal doused in soy milk (living the college life). But recently it's been all about the fruit. Fruit fruit fruit. It started out with me adding frozen raspberries to my cereal but after a while I was really craving something more fresh. Then a few days ago I started to feel a cold come on, which made me crave ginger --I have this weird association between sickness and ginger, because I always crave it whenever I'm sick-- and that led to some pretty creative combinations. 

Thankfully for you, I won't be sharing all those disgusting creative combinations (dates and rice and popcorn may have been involved). Instead, you get this lovely creation, which has actually been a staple of mine for some years now.

Poached pears with blueberries! And ginger. And vanilla extract for that little extra (is that a pun? It could be a pun) sweetness. This is a simple recipe that still impresses friends and family. When I made this for guests back in High School, they thought I was some type of fruit magician. In reality, I put the pears in a pot, walked away to do something else, came back and voila! That was pretty much it. It is a quick and easy way to create a fresh end to a meal. 

A simple scoop of ice cream or some whip cream is always a bonus, but this perfectly sweet dessert is delicious without it as well! Cooking the pears brings out a nice sweetness and the poaching softens them to give a smooth, melt-in-your mouth desert. Blueberries and ginger add little pops of flavor to keep it interesting.

If anyone has suggestions of fruits besides pears to use in this, I'm all ears! Because I think I could devour a whole table's worth of ginger-based goods around this time.


Xoxoxo. 

Poached Pears with Blueberries

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 large Green Anjou pears (firm, but ripe), peeled and cored, cut in half
• 4 and 1/4c. water
• 3tbl sugar
• 1/2 inch segment of peeled fresh ginger
• 1/2tbl vanilla extract
• 1 cup frozen (thawed) or fresh blueberries

 Instructions:

1. In a large pot, bring the water to a boil. Dissolve in the sugar, and add ginger/vanilla. 
2. Gently slide the pears into the water, and cook over medium until soft when a knife is able to slide in and out easily (about 15 minutes, but may take as much as 30 depending on your elevation).
3. Remove the pears from the syrup, and let cool. Cut pears into bite-sized cubes, and divide cubes evenly among 4 serving bowls. Top each serving with 1/4c. blueberries and 1/4c. liquid.

Note: If you want to serve the pears warm, you can chose not to cut them up into pieces. Simply serve each person the equivalent of 1 pear, 1/4c. blueberries, and 1/4c. liquid. This method is best if you are planning to top it with ice cream or some other creamy deliciousness!

Nutritional Information: 
Sodium: 7mg
Total Fat: 0g
       Saturated:  0g
       Trans: 0g
Protein: 1g
Sugar: 39g
Calories: 196

Berry-Kale Smoothie (And The Apartment Update!)

We are finally fully moved into our apartment!

It's taken a bit over a week for us to get all the things that we needed. It's interesting: you don't realize just how much stuff you use on a daily basis until you find yourself without it. We still have a few things left to get, but we are pretty much done. The apartment is a 2Bed 1Bath located really close to campus (about a 20 minute walk and a 10 minute bike ride) and looks super quaint. It has this cozy, lived-in feeling that makes me comfortable as soon as I walk in the door. My apartment-mate and I have similar styles so there hasn't been any conflict over decorations (or any conflict at all, really-- her and I get along great).

Our days have been really productive (mainly because we know that once school starts time will be our biggest issue). Today we cleaned the entire apartment, did laundry, watched the news, made breakfast, took out trash/garbage, and did various other chores all before 11AM. And that was with me sleeping in until 8, which rarely happens. We've been so busy that we haven't cooked much (I've been living off a container of kale and some steel cut oats in the fridge), but I finally got the time yesterday to make a quick smoothie for breakfast.

This is a smoothie that has been a staple for me over the past few months, ever since I found out that I had Iron Deficiency Anemia. I like this for a few reasons: first, it tastes amazing; secondly, it takes about 2 minutes to make; three, it is ridiculously healthy. It's a blend of blackberries, strawberries, kale, almond (or soy!) milk, and yogurt. That is it. Five ingredients and a blender (or food processor-- I've done that too) and you are good to go. This has also been approved by my non-vegetarian father back in Sacramento and my non-vegetarian apartment-mate here in CO.

I personally like my smoothies a bit less sweet than stereotypical ones found in stores, hence why I don't add any sugar or honey to this. However, you could easily add some honey for a touch more sweetness if desired. My apartment-mate liked adding some more sugar because she likes things a bit sweeter, but my Dad was fine with it unsweetened. I'm not a huge kale fan (yet! I'm trying to get my tastes to acclimate to it), so I appreciate how the kale isn't necessarily the star in this one. If you don't like kale, feel free to add in spinach or wheat-grass in replacement. I haven't tried it with any other greens, but chard might work?

This smoothie is also really filling because of all the produce that goes into it, not to mention the protein from the Greek yogurt. Greek yogurt is the way to go when making smoothies, in my opinion, because it provides that extra kick and doesn't drown out the flavor of the fruit. I've had this for lunch and a snack, and it usually keeps me full for a few hours. It can also be refrigerated overnight (I hate the idea of waking up our neighbors with my blender at 6AM, so I usually blend it the night before and just leave it in the fridge for my breakfast in the morning).

If you can't tell by my blabbering above, I really love this smoothie. I'll probably be pouring myself a glass as I run out the door for my morning classes this week (I have to be on campus by 7:30 every day! Whew!!).

Good luck during the rest of the week!

Berry-Kale Smoothie
Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 3/4c. vanilla almond or soy milk
• 1c. nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt
• 1c. packed kale leaves
• 1c. frozen blackberries
• 2/3c. sliced strawberries (fresh or frozen)
• 2tbl honey (optional)

Instructions:

1. Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. 

Nutritional Information:
Sodium: 120mg
Total Fat: 2g
       Saturated: 0g
      Trans: 0g
Sugar: 39g
Protein: 13g
Calories: 252
BONUS
    Calcium: 37% DV
    Iron: 9% DV

Thyme, Blueberry, and Banana Steel Cut Oats

This morning I got up at 4:45 AM so I could make it to yoga class.

They had this membership deal where for the first twenty days, you only have to pay $20 and can come whenever you want. If I wanted to (and was crazy flexible, which I'm not), I could technically go to every single class for twenty days. That's about eighty classes. I couldn't resist the deal, particularly because some of my coworkers were going and invited me along and I love yoga. I also went yesterday morning and they did hot yoga, which oh my god. Not to be gross, but I think I produced enough sweat to water my tomato plant.

TMI? TMI.

Anyways. This morning I got up and I managed to shove a Greek yogurt down my throat before I took off for the 6:15 AM class. After doing plenty of down dogs, some planks, and some Warrior positions, I was most definitely hungry again. I didn't feel like going out, so I came home and looked in my fridge and pantry (side note: that's pretty much how I do everything. Half the things I make are like that. I want quick and easy, you know?). I pretty much came up with this on the fly, and I am so happy with how it turned out.

First, you have the awesome texture of the Steel Cut Oats. If you've only ever had rolled before, Steel Cut is so different in the best way. It has more of a hearty feel to it, kind of similar to rice but with the creaminess of regular oatmeal as well. It also has this slightly nutty flavor that goes really well with fruit and herbs which, coincidentally, I added. Who can resist blueberries and bananas, right? They're a fantastic way to pack in some vitamins and nutrients, along with natural sugars, into your meals. The blueberries add nice pops of sweet flavor and the bananas help make the oats smooth and soft with each bite. I love love love it. I also added some thyme because it goes really well with the other ingredients, adding some more brightness and a slight complexity that you wouldn't have otherwise. I know that you will be tempted to leave it out, but don't. I promise that it's delicious.

Happy Tuesday morning, everyone.


Thyme, Blueberry, and Banana Steel Cut Oats
Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 3/4c. water
• 1/4c. (dry) steel cut oats
• 2 sprigs thyme (about eleven little leaves), cut roughly
• 2tsp honey OR a packet of splenda (if vegan, feel free to use agave)
• 1/2c. fresh blueberries
• 1/3c. banana, sliced

Instructions:

1. Bring water to a boil. Add Steel Cut Oats, and cook, covered, for ten minutes on low. Add thyme and honey (or splenda), stir, and cook for another ten minutes, uncovered. Oats should be soft and water evaporated.
2. Ladle oats into a bowl and top with blueberries and banana. Serve hot.

Nutrition Information:
Sodium: 2mg
Total Fat: 3g
        Saturated: 1g
        Trans: 0g
Sugar: 26g
Protein: 7g
Calories: 317

Blueberry Muffins

I remember that blueberry muffins were the first thing I ever posted on Michelle's Healthy Bites. I was only sixteen years old and I had started a food blog for my photography class (which was taught by the mother of my boyfriend at the time, so I basically wanted to make it really really good so she would be impressed and let me hang out alone with him at their house. Which, shockingly, didn't really work). I remember sitting back and thinking, "What's a recipe that everyone loves but that isn't normally healthy?"

The first thing I thought of was blueberry muffins. Most of us grew up the boxed or bagged kind; or at least, in my family we all grew up on it. I remember walking downstairs with bare feet in the morning and begging my mom or dad to let me mix the batter (because licking the spoon went to whoever did that and duh the batter is always the best part). The blueberries were from the can and the batter didn't have even a pinch of whole grains but damn, they were good.

These are even better. I say that as someone who has eaten blueberry muffins for years, and made this recipe too many times to count. It started off as just a lower-sugar, lower-fat version, and now I've gone full-out vegan on it. They're fantastic, with a hearty-yet-tender texture from the oats and just a touch of sweetness from brown sugar, applesauce (instead of calorie-dense oil) and blueberries. Almond milk adds in some healthy fats, while lightness is achieved with a mix of whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour. They're so good. They're the first thing I ever made for my old blog, and I couldn't resist sharing them any longer.

Blueberry Muffins
Serves 12

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (3 ¼ oz) oats (quick cooking)
• 1/2cup (2 ½ oz) all-purpose flour  (Plus 1 tbl. if using frozen blueberries)
• 3/4cup (4oz) whole-wheat flour
• 1/3c. sugar (I like using Splenda instead, but to each her own)
• 1/4c. (1 ¼ oz) brown sugar, unpacked
• 1 tbl. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4c. no sugar added applesauce
• 1c. sweetened plain almond milk
• 1/2 tbl. vanilla
• 1 and 1/3 cup blueberries (use only 1 cup if they are large) (fresh or frozen- I recommend frozen) rinsed and drained
• Cooking spray

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Mix together the oats, flour, sugars, baking powder, and salt together in a medium-sized bowl.
3. In a smaller bowl, combine the applesauce, milk, and vanilla. 
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and stir together until half-moist. If using frozen blueberries, mix them with 1 tbl. flour until they are coated. If not, skip adding the flour and fold them into the batter. Mix until just moist (over-mixing can cause unpleasant texture).
5. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray, and fill each muffin cup about 2/3 of the way full with batter (Tip: I like to use a ice cream scooper to fill mine. Just spray the scooper with cooking spray beforehand, and the batter will slide out easily). 
6. Place the muffins in the oven and cook for about 20-25 minutes: this changes depending on where you live and such, so make sure to keep an eye on them! (Tip: To test if they are done, either stick a toothpick in and see if it comes out clean, or touch the top of the muffin and if it springs back it is ready). 

Nutrition Information:
Sodium: 226mg
Total Fat: 1g
      Saturated: 0g
      Trans: 0g
Sugar: 13g
Protein: 3g
Calories: 137