Single Serving Chocolate Cheesecake (Protein, No Bake)

This cheesecake is SO GOOD. I felt kinda bad as I was devouring it cuz it's so pretty! But only kinda. It's also incredibly filling cuz it has a whopping 26 grams protein, and also pretty low in calories, at only 215!
This would be a stellar pre or post-workout snack, cuz as my Crossfit mother says, you need carbs, protein, and minimal fat before and after you work out.

Or, of course, you could eat it for dessert like I did. 

I took my inspiration for this cheesecake from two fantastic recipes. 

One is the super awesome  Ridiculously Easy Chocolate Pie Crust from Chocolate Covered Katie that I made in like 30 seconds. Seriously, you need to try it. You just throw in some almonds, unsweetened coconut, cocoa powder, and a date in your Vitamix or food processor and press into a container.

The second recipe is for my cheesecake filling from Food Faith Fitness' Chocolate Peanut Butter "Cheesecake". The first time I tried this I was out of (spoiler!) cottage cheese, so I used regular low fat cream cheese... BIG mistake. The cottage cheese in this recipe actually tastes sooo much better than the real unhealthy cheesecakes that use cream cheese. Also, the texture of this stuff is perfect!!

So, out of these two extraordinary recipes, a delicious new one was born. It's called... No Bake Single Serving Protein Chocolate Cheesecake.

Whew. That's a mouthful.

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Single Serving Chocolate Cheesecake (No Bake, Protein) 

For crust:

• about 3/4 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp cashews, or almonds, walnuts, pecans, or macadamia nuts
• 1 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 small, soft, pitted date

For cheesecake filling:

• 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/4-1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder
• 1 tbsp nut butter of choice (You don't taste it so it's mostly for texture)
• extra stevia, if needed

In a Vitamix or food processor, blend all the pie crust ingredients together then smush into a small container (I used a small Tupperware) in one layer on the bottom. 

Next, blend all the cheesecake filling ingredients in the same Vitamix/food processor until smooth. Pour/spatula the filling into the small container and freeze for 2-3 hours, or until very firm. Once frozen, use a knife to get all edges of the cheesecake unstuck from the container, carefully flip over so the pie crust is now on top, and flip once again so that your cake is right-side up. Top with chocolate sauce, chocolate chips, shredded chocolate, or whatever your chocolate-craving heart can imagine!

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