Jimmy Moore's Tempting True Lemon Low-Carb Cheesecake Recipe
After much trial and error, this cheesecake recipe is perfect!
Several weeks ago, my wife Christine and I did a couple of YouTube videos highlighting a brand new product called True Lemon who are sponsors of my blog right now. In one of the videos, we shared a very simple and quick recipe for making a lemon, lime or orange cheesecake. It was pretty basic with the cream cheese, True Lemon products, and Splenda.
But ever since we recorded that video, everybody and their momma has been wanting to know more about the recipe. So I started tinkering with the on-the-fly recipe that we did for that video and played around in the kitchen to see how I could make this even better. After a few weeks of doing this, I think I've finally done it! And the proof in how good it is happened on Friday night when I took two cheesecakes to a social gathering at my church (which I shared briefly about at my new menus blog for February 1, 2008).
Look at how gorgeous this beauty turned out:
I was so proud to put those out for "real" people to try without telling them it was low-carb and sugar-free. My favorite reaction to it was when a little girl about 4 years old started pointing at my cheesecake stating to her mommy, "I want THAT one! I want THAT one!" Little did that precious child know she was gonna be eating healthy. :D
When people wanted to know who brought that fabulous lemon cheesecake, I told them it was me and that they had just consumed a low-carb dessert. Most people were astonished to hear that because it didn't taste like it. Despite the fact there were many other sugary desserts there, my lemon cheesecake stood out from the rest. WOO HOO! See, I'm convinced people will eat sugar-free, low-carb foods if they taste good enough. We've just become so conditioned to eating what's there instead.
So, to all of you who begged me to share this recipe, I'm happy to say this one is pertineer perfect! There may be a few more tweaks every now and then, but I could eat this one all by itself. And I couldn't believe the crust I made was so easy and yet did far better than I ever thought possible. I'll be making this cheesecake anytime I'm invited to a social gathering or hosting a party in my home. This thing is AWESOME! ENJOY!
JIMMY MOORE'S TEMPTING TRUE LEMON LOW-CARB CHEESECAKE
Crust
1 bag of Flax Z Snax No Sugar Added Cinnamon Nut Granola
2 Tbs Nutiva Extra-Virgin Coconut Oil
Cheesecake Filling
2 12-ounce tubs of whipped Philadelphia cream cheese
1 cup of heavy whipping cream and/or Calorie Countdown milk
12 packets of True Lemon, True Lime, or True Orange
18 packets of your favorite sweetener (I use Splenda!)
Whipped cream
Pour entire bag of Flax Z Snax Granola into blender and slowly pulse about 10-15 times until well chopped. Pour into a mixing bowl and scoop out underneath the blades to clean it completely. Add 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and stir until all the granola is wet. Next, dump this mixture into the bottom of a disposable pie crust pan and lightly press the pie crust down with a spoon until the entire bottom and sides have been covered. Place pan inside refrigerator while preparing the cheesecake filling.
Pour the heavy whipping cream and/or Calorie Countdown milk (use more heavy cream for a thicker cheesecake and the milk for a lighter cheesecake) and mix 10 packets of True Lemon and sweetener together until dissolved. Add cream cheese (the whipped is easier to stir than the block) and stir like a madman until well-blended. Take a taste test to make sure there is enough flavor and sweetness for your taste buds.
Grab the crust out of the refrigerator and pour cheesecake mixture on top of the now-hardened crust. Spread delicately with a spoon until the entire crust is covered. Dollop some whipped cream on top and spread around. Take the two remaining packets of True Lemon and sprinkle across the top of the cheesecake. Cover and place in the refrigerator until time to serve. ENJOY this low-carb treat! :D
Labels: cheesecake, low-carb, recipe, True Lemon
posted by Jimmy Moore at
2/03/2008 05:46:00 PM
27 Comments:
Looks like a great recipe!
Just wanted to mention that you probably shouldn't serve something with artificial sweetener to people without letting them know about it, especially children. There are people who don't want their children eating splenda, aspertame, etc.
Why are we more concerned about the use of Splenda, but not sugar? I hear what you're saying, but there's so little concern over the damage sugar can do and massive amounts of angst over sugar alternatives. Why?
Does Splenda actually DO anything bad? I hear a heck of a lot of guilt by association: "Artificial sweetenters LIKE NutraSweet AND Splenda have made people break out in hives" or "Aspartame gives me migranes. A lot of people like Splenda but, personally *I* am distrustful of putting anything at all ARTIFICIAL in my body. *I* use tiny amounts of fructose cut with soy protien to decorate my Christmas cookies".(La TEE Da!)
And I've heard the scary-language about its production: "They use Chlorine to make it! CHLORINE!!! Would you put BLEACH in your coffee?!??! Huh?!?!"
(like, yeah, lets talk cheese, lets talk sausage, lets talk about how a lot of things are made)
And I've heard some really obscure oddball "research" about how 80 year olds who try Splenda might eventually develop dementia and become incontinent. (or something like that)
My experience has been that aspartame makes me dizzy and tired and hungry and grumpy and can give me migraines while Splenda makes my coffee taste sweet. Is there really anything to this other than the fact that it is equally artificial to things that caused cancer in the 70's (but only then) and things that make people feel sick? Becuase, I'd like to hear it, rather than a lot of illogical junk.
P.S. I have 20/20 vision and CANNOT read that verification thing! Is that Arabic? Ah well, trial and error.
Ahhh, nostalgia. Sugar is "safe." Sugar is "natural." If only people could see how it's refined. Back in the 1960s, diet pop and other low calorie products had cyclamtes in it, and I can verify that it was much, much better tasting than saccharin. The artificial sweetener bogeymen came along, claimed it caused cancer in rats (who were fed an equivalent of about 120 bottles of soda per day), and poof! it was banned, with tons of canned fruit and other products going to landfills. Oddly, it was only banned in the United States. In fact, I can still bop over to Canada today and buy it there. Obviously Canada, and the rest of the world, didn't think it was so dangerous. Folks have been advising against using artificial sweeteners for decades (saccharin causes bladder cancer, aspartame will give you brain cancer, Splenda will give you a toxic reaction to the chlorine, and so on). Some people feel they are unable to tolerate these sweeteners. Ok, but that doesn't necessarily make them dangerous. I can't eat bananas without all digestion ceasing for 48 hours, but I don't claim bananas cause stomach tumors or insist they should be banned. I've read the claims that chlorine is a by-product of Splenda, but I'd wager most people consume far more in their drinking water or in their swimming pools than what's consumed in the limited amount produced by consuming some packets of Splenda. Most reliable medical websites will allow that artificial sweeteners are safe. Some may advise people to try to refrain from all sweets with the idea that consuming them only causes the consumer to want more, but that is a another world from maintaining that consuming them is life-threatening. Also, many rat studies are unreliable, at best (rats died eating Total cereal, but no one proposed pulling that product from grocery store shelves!). Conversely, refined white sugar, as well as corn syrup and other refined carbohydrates, have been scientifically implicated in the rise in diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and numerous other maladies, yet this is glossed over by the mainstream press and the medical community. Meanwhile, my diabetic mother keeps repeating that ALL food turns to sugar in the body (she gets this info from her doctors!) and so goes on with eating junk and injecting herself with insulin. She's also over 300 lbs. and counting. I'm going to buy another copy of Good Calories, Bad Calories and send it to her primary care physician.
An $8.00 pie crust is not in my food budget. Do you have any other low carb pie crust recipes that are less expensive? Thanks.
I hear ya, Mindy! Of course, you don't NEED to have a crust for this cheesecake, but a lot of people asked me to create one. This is what I came up with. You can always crush up almonds, macadamias, and/or walnuts to create a nut-based "crust" that will work, too. Just be creative! But, like I said, eating it without a crust is just fine, too. :)
Can't wait to try that cheesecake. According to the "store-finder", I should be able to buy the True Lemon here. Thanks for giving us the recipe!
I made your recipe for the cheesecake filling. I made my own crust with crumbled up homemade almond flour cookies. I am enjoying a slice every evening! Last night I put some sf lemon curd on top. Now I want to make a sf strawberry sauce.
Thanks for the recipe!
I love it and your blog.
Jeri
Oh YUMMY Jeri! GREAT JOB!!!
sounds delicious! How many carbs are there in the entire recipe?
and how many typical servings are there in one?
Hey Burt, this makes 8 slices of pie, each with about 6g net carbs each. Not too shabby, eh? :D
The crushed almond idea sounds good. I will definitely try this recipe with or without a crust. Thanks again.
I think you have all just hit a nerve of mine. It is the most considerate thing when bringing something to a potluck to label as to what is in it. It is deceitful to do anything else. We have potlucks at work and there are people with known allergies, vegetarians, people who abstain due to their religion, etc.. We all label our foods so nobody is offended or made ill.
Artificial sweeteners are dangerous according to a number of MDs willing to write about the side effects. (mercola.com) Many people think Splenda is safe today. 20 years ago everyone thought Aspartame was safe. Now we know it is an exitotoxin and affects the endocrine system. What will be found out about Splenda? Will it be too late?
As a parent, I know sugar is bad but I don't think it is as serious as these other chemicals. I am not going to jeopardize their growing bodies with artifical sweeteners. Refined sugar has been in use for 400 years. We know what sugar causes. It's the devil I know vs. the devil I don't.
Adults can decide for themselves what to put in their bodies. I'm not telling anyone here not to use Splenda. I'm just asking you not to slip it to someone without telling them "for their own good". I especially do not want someone doing this to my child.
Valerie
Interesting comment, Valerie. But it comes back to my point again about sugar. Where is the angst and concern for the children over that ingredient? By the way, everyone who found out it had Splenda in it were very THANKFUL at that gathering, so it was a VERY GOOD thing. :)
For anyone interested, there is a 25-page report on the saftey of sugar substitutes by the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH). It can be found by searching on Google:
http://www.acsh.org/docLib/20060417_sugar_web.pdf
Also, check out the article "Are sugar substitutes bad for you?" at
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14556707/
I would never "slip" any food item to a child without his or her parent's permission, as food allergies do abound (and especially not cookies or lollipops!). And it is true that a lot of what was formerly reported to be good for us has turned out to be bad. Ironically, though, I find that I have been duped much more often by the "mainstream" promoters of low-fat, high carb folks (and those that claim that eating sugar in "moderation" is ok). Back in 1968 when most of the women in my family went on the Weight Watchers program, the diet allowed no added fat. All of us adhered to it faithfully, except for my grandmother who added oil to her salads, etc. Not only did she lose the most weight, but she is the only one of us who did not have her gall bladder removed due to stone accumulation! I was only 19 years old, and the surgeon couldn't believe the diagnosis. As it turns out, people NEED fat for the gall bladder to empty thoroughly; it's the buildup of unreleased bile that forms the stones. I just read that whole milk builds muscles better than skim, and promotes weight loss. I won't go on, but you get the idea. Of course, there are some who will never, ever, believe that sugar substitutes (or fat) are safe no matter what the evidence. And that's their choice, but it really is a shame, given that their health is at stake.
Let me clarify one thing...I didn't know children were going to be at this event where I served the cheesecake. In fact, that little girl who wanted a slice of my cheesecake was only one of two total kids there.
Oh, man, I hope you didn't think that I thought you tried to put one over on anybody at your gathering!! As with your experience, at the last family gathering we had for my mother's birthday, the guests were most relieved that the soda was sugar-free AND that the cake was made with Splenda. No one complained. I find it disturbing, though, that sugar substitutes are usually referred to as "artificial" as though refined sugar is "natural." The end result is that people have been encouraged to see "artificial" as dangerous, and "natural" as safe or normal even though science has shown sugar to be harmful, seemingly for nearly 400 years, as seen in this lead quote from a New York Times article from 1987:
"Sugar-plummes heateth the blood. . . Rotteth the teeth. . . And withall, causeth many time a loathsome stinking-breath." - "Klinike on the Diet of Disease," 1633
Do people who serve health-compromising sugar-laden products run around like the town crier warning all potential partakers that they're about to eat SUGAR? Not hardly. If I don't wish to eat foods with sugar, I'll ask what's in them. Parents with children allergic to peanuts, or milk, or wheat, do the same. I don't see why low-carbers should have the added burden of warning everybody that a food is sugar-free when sugar substitutes have been proven to be safe.
All of your comments are very interesting. I have read the same things about fat needed in the diet. I think we're all on the same page, mostly.
Jimmy, I think you've pretty well explained the situation with the cheesecake. It was a successful event. That's cool.
lowcarb.about.com has a low-carb pie crust recipe with almond meal. I have never tried it, but you can go there and check it out.
I think one can do low-carb without a lot of sugar substitutes. I drink water and avoid sweets. When I order iced tea I drink it plain. I've lost most of my sweet tooth. It is very easy to avoid sweets. I have found when I have indulged, I didn't really enjoy it. One or two bites was all I really needed.
I enjoy hot tea with some sweetener. I mostly use agave nectar due to the glycemic impact. I'm not sure how well it works on this diet, though. I have just discovered erythritol and I'm pleased with it. That's just 2-3 cups of tea a day. I am not making desserts with it.
Jimmy, I made your cheesecake recipe last night and finally had a piece tonight. You, sir, are a genius. It was a totally awesome dessert.
Thanks,
-darrel
Jimmy, I made your cheesecake last night and finally had a piece tonight.
You, sir, are a genius. It is an awesome dessert.
Thanks, and keep the recipes coming.
-darrel
Jimmy, did you figure in the sugar alcohol in the form of malitol from the Flax Z Snax granola? Malitol is said to knock people out of ketosis because it has 2-3 calories per gram, calories that act just like sugar. I know it does for me. There are 6 grams of malitol in a serving of the granola, and six servings per container, making 36 grams per bag. You'll have to add about 4.5 grams of net carbs per slice (if there are 8 slices like you said in an earlier comment) for a net carb count of 10.5 if you want to be totally accurate. I'm sorry to say that this recipe is a bit too high in carbs for me, but I'll try it when I'm on pre-maintenance or maintenance. :-)
It'd be nice if Flax Z Snax made their granola with the good sugar alcohol erythritol (only .2 calories per gram plus no gastrointestinal distress) like they do with their "Sweet Nut'ns" Product, that I've bought and tried and deemed excellent.
Thanks anyway. :-)
You can make it without the crust. :)
I am going to make this on Mother's day for my mom, she has diabetes also (like me) and I know she will love it!! Thanks for sharing the recipe..
What about stevia as an alternative to sugar? I found one called Stevita that uses erythritol to make it spoonable. Not too bad tasting. The thing is, we humans love the taste of sweet things. We just eat too much of a good thing. Since I cut out refined sugar and flour, my craving for sweets has been cut. I still want some, it just takes less to satisfy me. Same for salt.
Erica
You can certainly use Stevita stevia in this recipe if you'd like. I've tried that brand with the erythritol and it's not too bad. THANKS for writing!
Making cheesecake crust is literally "a piece of cake"!
When I make a baked cheesecake in a 9" springform pan, this is the perfect amount of crust. If you make it in a disposable foil pan, as Jimmy does, it will be a smidge thicker, which is fine.
1 cup almond flour or other nutmeal
3 tbsp butter, melted
1 packet of Splenda, opt
a dash of cinnamon, opt
Mix all and press into the pan. For Jimmy's cheesecake, which is non-baked, I would toss the crust into the oven for 8-10 minutes and then let it cool before adding the batter.
Rani
FOODMagic@aol.com
THANKS Rani! I'm perfecting another cheesecake that I bake and it's turning out GREAT! Coming soon. :)
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