My latest culinary love affair: Blue Majik. The blue-green algae type is a lot like the spirulina we are used to, except it’s tropical blue. We needed a shake up and we got it. In this cheesecake recipe, the blue variety of spirulina not only excites the senses with its baby blue color but also adds incredible nutritional benefits (that are clinically proven!).

What is Blue Majik?

Blue Majik refers to the company E3Live’s branded version of the spirulina extract, but the name has stuck. It is a proprietary extract of the blue-green algae Arthrospira platensis (the green species of spirulina is called Arthrospira maxima).

Like other types of blue-green algae, Blue Majik is chock-full of nutrition. It contains protein, B vitamins including B12, phytonutrients, vitamin E, zinc, copper, manganese, iron, selenium, and gamma-linolenic acid, a type of essential omega-6 fatty acid.

Unlike standard spirulina, it contains both phycocyanin and non-phycocyanin compounds, lending to its uniqueness. According to E3Live, phycocyanin is “clinically shown to relieve physical discomfort, which means consumers feel better, can do more activity, and enjoy an overall better quality of life.”

If I can get all these benefits from a cheesecake, count me in!

What You’ll Need

This Blue Majik cheesecake is easy to put together. Because it is raw, you don’t need to bake it. All you need is a high-speed blender and about 20 minutes of your precious time.

Besides the Blue Majik itself, there are no other evasive ingredients, just highly nutritious ones. Instead of refined sugar, white flour, eggs, butter, and cream, this cheesecake is vegan, derives sweetness from coconut sugar and maple syrup, and gets its density from macadamia nuts, almond flour, and coconut oil!

Blue Majik Cheesecake

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

For the crust

• 1 cup macadamia nuts
• 1/3 cup almond flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons coconut palm sugar
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• Pinch of sea salt
• 1 tablespoon nut butter
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup

For the filling

• 2 cups cashews, soaked in water overnight
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup coconut palm sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of sea salt
• ½ cup coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon E3Life Blue Majik spirulina powder

Directions

Line a rectangular or square baking tin with parchment paper.

For the crust, add all of the ingredients into a food processor and blend until the mixture beings to clump together. Transfer the mixture to the tin and press the crust evenly across the bottom. Place the tin in the refrigerator to cool while you prepare the cheesecake filling.

For the filling, melt the coconut oil, maple syrup, and coconut sugar together in a double broiler. Stir until evenly combined and fully melted. Set aside.

Drain and rinse the cashews and add them into the food processor with the remaining ingredients. Pour in the heated mixture. Blend until smooth.

Pour the blue cheesecake mixture over the cheesecake crust and use a spatula to spread the filling evenly across the surface.

Place the cheesecake into the freezer until it has lightly hardened. Remove the cheesecake, slice it, and garnish each slice with dried coconut and fresh berries!

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The post Raw Vegan Blue Majik Spirulina Cheesecake Recipe appeared first on EcoSalon.

If you’re a sweet tooth like me but eager to keep your dietary lifestyle as clean and healthy as possible (also like me), then raw vegan desserts should be your new shtick. This raw vegan chocolate cheesecake recipe with orange is as decadent as desserts get, only free of refined sugar, white flour, dairy and eggs. Plus, it’s a no-bake cheesecake!

There’s no denying that this cheesecake recipe is high in calories and fats. The difference, though, is in the quality of the ingredients. Plant-based ingredients are digested much more easily and won’t wreak havoc on your gut, skin, and mood. So, even if one piece of this chocolate cheesecake recipe is quite dense and filling, it won’t weigh you down. Instead, it’ll lift your spirits.

What I love about this raw vegan cheesecake recipe is that it doesn’t just stick to chocolate and call it a day – it adds in a unique touch of orange that excites the senses and energizes the palate with each slow-motion bite. Enjoy!

Vegan Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe with Orange

Serves 10-12

Ingredients

For the crust

• ½ cup pitted Medjool dates,
• 1 cup raw almonds
• ½ cup raw walnuts
• ¼ cup melted coconut oil

For the cheesecake

• 3 cups cashews, soaked in water for six hours or overnight
• 1 cup freshly-squeezed orange juice
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• ¾ cup melted coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon coconut flakes for garnish
• Extra cocoa powder for a dusty finish

Directions

For the crust, add all the ingredients to a food processor and blend until the mixtures starts to clump together into a ball.

Press the crust mixture into the bottom of a nine-inch springform pan or a parchment-paper lined pan. Spread the crust along evenly across the bottom of the pan, but do not go up the sides. Place the crust into the freezer to harden while you prepare the cheesecake filling.

For the filling, drain and rinse the cashews and add them to a blender. Add in the orange juice, maple syrup, cinnamon, cocoa powder, and coconut oil. Blend until thick and creamy.

Pour the cheesecake filling over the crust and use a spatula to spread the mixture evenly. Place the cheesecake into the refrigerator to set.

Serve with a garnish of coconut flakes and a dust of cocoa powder. Enjoy!

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The post Vegan Chocolate Orange Cheesecake with Nut Crust appeared first on EcoSalon.

This cheesecake not only takes a vegan twist but lands itself in a cup.

It would be too good to be true if one of our most beloved desserts loved us back, but cheesecake fails to follow through. It’s a dessert that tastes phenomenal but is enjoyed rarely because of its heaviness and calorie concentration. Luckily, there are ways to make cheesecake lighter and healthier. This raw strawberry cheesecake recipe keeps the traditional cheesecake textures in check, but raises the bar on nutritional benefit.

The Cheesecake Factory’s Fresh Strawberry Cheesecake has 733 calories, 29 grams of saturated fat, 425 milligrams of sodium and 66 grams of carbohydrates in each slice. If these stats weren’t cringe-worthy enough, add a few other flavors, and the calorie count goes through the roof. A slice of the chain’s Adam’s Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple Cheesecake bears a whopping 1,326 calories, 20 grams of saturated fat, 700 milligrams of sodium, and 136 grams of carbohydrates – this dessert alone practically satisfies an entire day’s worth of caloric intake!

When you make your own homemade cheesecake using the traditional ingredients of cream cheese, eggs, and sugar, the nutritional information ranges, but can be relatively more redeeming if the portion size is kept in check. Still, the use of heavy, hard-to-digest cream cheese, fatty eggs, and empty-calorie sugar are in the ingredient list and aren’t doing your body or your health many favors.

This recipe is a raw version of cheesecake, no cooking needed! There is no sugar, no dairy, and no eggs. The recipe retains its richness with the use of nuts as the base, but because the cheesecake is served in “mini” cups, you can keep your portion control in check while still getting the definitive, dense dessert that cheesecake is all about.

Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes

Ingredients:

For the Crust:

• 1.5 cups walnuts
• 1 ½ cups raisins
• Dash of sea salt

For the Filling:

• 2 cups cashews, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup honey (or maple syrup or agave nectar)
• Dash of sea salt

Directions:

For the filling, soak cashew overnight in room temperature water. This is an important step. Soaking helps to remove the enzyme inhibitors that the cashews carry to prevent them from sprouting in nature. Birds are too small to deal with the effects of live enzymes in their tiny bellies, so the inhibitors are ideal for them, but not so much for humans. Getting rid of the enzyme inhibitors through soaking helps us to more easily digest nuts. All nuts have to be soaked to get rid of these enzyme inhibitors, save for pistachios and walnuts.

For the crust, food process the raisins and walnuts until the mixture resembles chunky crumbs.

Press the crust mixture against the bottom and sides of small glass ramekins or muffin tins.

Drain and rinse the soaked cashews before use. Combine all the filling ingredients in a food processor and mix until smooth. This may take a few minutes. Be patient – it’ll come together.

Fill each walnut crusted ramekin with a generous tablespoon of the cashew cheesecake mixture.

Set in the refrigerator to help firm or to store for later. You can also eat them right away. Garnish with fresh strawberries before serving.

Bon Appetit!

Images: Zingy Yellow, Aylin Erman

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

The post Nutritional Breakdown: Vegan Cheesecake (In a Cup) appeared first on EcoSalon.