No Bake Chocolate Strawberry Un-Cheesecake! Sweet Summer!

DR POWELL'S NO BAKE UN-CHEESECAKE

This cheesecake, which has no cheese in it, is so easy, and so tasty you will be making this for every social event you go to or arrange. It requires no baking, but does requires some advanced preparation: 1 hour to soak the cashews and 2 hours in the freezer. Let it thaw slightly before serving. This is a real hit!

This recipe can be made GAPS friendly for those of you who are doing GAPS and have not yet controlled all the inflammatory symptoms. For some people, it can take years of eating GAPS, or there has been an insult to the bowel and one has to start GAPS "level one" all over again. 

To make it GAPS friendly or if you are avoiding cocoa, maybe because you are allergic to chocolate, you can replace cocoa with more organic strawberries and it will still taste fantastic.

Ingredients:
Crust
1 cup raw walnuts
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup pitted Medjool dates
Filling
2 1/2 cups raw cashews
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup maple syrup 
1/3 cup water
2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sliced organic strawberries - or 1 package Swanson's Organic Strawberries soaked until soft.
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
1/4 cup cocoa powder or 1 cup sliced organic strawberries if avoiding cocoa.

Instructions
Place cashews in a large bowl and cover it with cold water. Soak for 1 hour. Drain.
Grease 8 inch spring form pan with coconut oil
Place walnuts, shredded coconut, and salt in blender and pulse to combine. Drop dates in one at a time. Make sure to take the pits out of the Medjool dates. Continue processing until the mixture holds together when pressed between your fingers. Press the crust firmly into bottom of the pan.

Filling

1. Combine the cashews, coconut oil, maple syrup, water, vanilla and salt and process in the same blender without cleaning, until smooth and creamy.
2. Divide between 2 bowls
3. Pour half back into the blender, add strawberries and lemon juice and process until smooth.
4. Stir the cocoa powder into the other half of the filling
5. Drop 2-3 tablespoons of the filling into the crust, alternating between the strawberry and chocolate in a checkerboard fashion. Tap the pan on the counter from time to time to keep it level. Continue until all the filling is in the pan. If you like, insert a butter knife into the filling and give it a quick swirl.
6. Place into freezer until cheesecake is set for about 2 hours. 
7. Remove from freezer, remove the ring from spring form pan and store in refrigerator before serving!

For true GAPS, avoid cocoa:  Ignore step 2,3,4 and 5. After step 1, add 2 cups of organic strawberries, blend and pour the blended mixture into the prepared pan. Proceed to step 8 and 9.

I hope you enjoy your no bake strawberry un-cheesecake as much as I did!

To Your Health.
Dr. Barbara