Raw Pumpkin Cheesecakes (Vegan + Gluten-Free)

Everyone’s favorite season is here and by everyone I mean me. Not because of the cold but because everything and everywhere has pumpkins and pumpkin flavors. October is definitely the best month because of Halloween and it’s also my birthday!  Not sure if that’s exciting at this point… getting old =)

What’s harder about this season is staying healthy, the cravings are so real, I literally want to eat everything! Carrot cake and pumpkin pies and pumpkin spice lattes… this is where you really test your self-control. As long as there is a balance with exercise, there’s no problem in having a treat here and there. I have struggled with self-control a lot but what I’ve learned is that keeping myself from all these foods I love ends up being worse, so I do treat myself a lot to prevent from binging on them later on. Every person is different but everyone has to figure out ways to deal with cravings and hunger 24/7 in general. If you feed your body enough healthy sugars throughout the day, you’ll be less likely to crave them at night. Fruits are a great source of healthy sugars and eating fruit throughout the day has helped me fight sugar cravings. Another great way is eating delicious treats like these. ONE treat won't affect your body in any way, the problem is when you over eat or eat too many of them... believe me it's gonna be hard! I'm not gonna lie, I definitely ate more than one... they're THAT good.

To celebrate fall and Halloween, I decided to make these delicious healthy, vegan, and raw pumpkin cheesecakes.

What I love about these cheesecakes is that they have no cheese! Instead of cheese I used cashews which give the cheesecakes that extra touch of creaminess and nutty flavor. I've been using cashews to substitute cheese in a lot of things, even pasta. Cashews are a good substitute not only because they are healthier than dairy, but a also a good source of your daily fats, if eaten in moderation. By making these into muffin sized bites, it's the perfect size to enjoy for dessert or even a snack. If you want to make them healthier you can use a sweetener with less calories like stevia or honey.

They’re really easy to make and definitely worth it as your cheat treat if you're used to following a strict diet. It’s important to keep them frozen because they’ll melt right away, but when they are frozen they taste even better… like ice cream!

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 ½ cups medjool dates

1 ½ cups walnuts

Pinch sea salt

Filling

1 ½ cups raw cashews (soaked in fridge overnight)

1 juiced lemon

¼ cup + 1 tbsp coconut milk

3 tbsp coconut oil

½ cup maple syrup or agave

¼ cup + 1 tbsp pumpkin puree

Pinch seasalt

¾ tbsp. pumpkin spice

1 tsp vanilla extract

¼ tsp cinnamon

Toppings (optional):

Pecans

Sunflower seeds

Coconut flakes

Instructions:

1. Soak cashews in water and place in fridge overnight.

2. Add dates in a blender, blend for a little. Remove and set aside.

3. Add walnuts and salt to the blender. Then add dates until dough forms.

4. In a muffin pan, add coconut oil. Then add dough evenly in each muffin hole and place in freezer.

5. Take cashews out of fridge and drain. In a blender, add all filling ingredients and blend until creamy mixture is form.

6. Take muffin pan out of freezer and add mixture to each hole.

7. Place in freezer, add desired toppings.

ENJOY