Hello my friends of Great Food 4U! Ask a lot of people what their favorite part of autumn is and they'll say "Pumpkin spice goodies!" And we're all about fall dessert favorites but we're also about healthy weight loss and weight maintenance. Part of how I lost 100 pounds with weight loss surgery or GLP-1 drugs is by recreating recipes with diet food swaps. So let's take on the pumpkin spice recipes, particularly the decadent pumpkin cheesecake. Here's how to make high protein, low to zero net carb, gluten-free pumpkin cheesecake.
Fat-Blasting Pumpkin Cheesecake🎃
- Low to zero net carb sugar food swaps: So obviously, added sugar is probably the biggest enemy of weight loss. A big part of how I lost 100 pounds with by using low glycemic, calorie-forward sugar substitutes and avoiding HFCS (high fructose corn syrup). You'll want on your weight loss grocery list, these items.
- 100% pure maple syrup 🍁--this is to die(t) for in pumpkin spice recipes, but not necessary in this one, because we're getting sweetness from the best sources possible--fruit.
- agave syrup--also low glycemic and nutritionally better than sugar.
- monk fruit--I'm not a fan of this sugar for its odd flavor, but it is a good substitute sweetener.
- Apples and bananas--here's where pumpkin cheesecake gets really nutrition forward. You can omit almost all sugar and substitute either mashed bananas or applesauce. Both bake nicely and act as binders.
- cranberries: seriously, cooked cranberries add a nice, uniquely piquant tartness to a very sweet recipe.
- raisins/dates--another unexpected add-in that boosts flavor and fiber for the low net carb balance.
- pumpkin spice--so the taste everyone craves is not the pumpkin part but the spice. And these specific spices also add a gestalt sweetness of their own:
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- allspice
- mace
- cloves
- ginger
- cardamom (used in Indian/southeast Asian cooking, this optional spice gives a nice bitey-spicy flavour)
- pure vanilla extract adds wonderful flavor with no calories
Panela / Rapadura: Essentially the Latin American and Brazilian equivalents of Sucanat. It is pure, unrefined cane juice that has been dried into blocks or granules, keeping all of the natural molasses and a rich, caramel-like taste.
Muscovado Sugar: A very dark, unrefined cane sugar from the Philippines that contains a high amount of natural molasses. It has a sticky, wet texture and an intensely deep, smoky-toffee flavor—perfect for robust autumn desserts.
Coconut Sugar: Made from the sap of coconut palm flower buds, it undergoes very minimal heating and evaporation. It has a pleasant, mild caramel flavor similar to brown sugar and a lower glycemic index than regular table sugar.
Jaggery: A traditional unrefined whole cane (or date palm) sugar popular in Asian and Latin American cooking. It comes in solid blocks, pastes, or granulated forms and has a deeply earthy, complex sweetness.
- Sucanat (less processed sugar with a nice brown sugar flavor)
- Molasses--so I love to make pumpkin desserts with brown sugar instead of white. To get the that signature "burnt sugar" flavor with a lower calorie load, use just a drizzle of light molasses.
Note: You'll notice I don't include Splenda (stevia) in my list of recommended sugar food swaps. That's because, while it's not an artificial sweetener, it tastes like one. The metallic flavor permeates the entire recipe and ruins the taste. Better to just use less sweetener and get used to a less sweet taste than to spoil the dessert. 🥧🎃
- High Protein Low carb, good fat Pumpkin Cheesecake food swaps:
- eggs: adding one or two extra eggs boosts the pumpkin cheesecake protein with adding a huge amount of calories.
- 1%-2% milk. I wouldn't use skim because you will compromise the taste and lose the some of the fat-soluble vitamin A and vitamin D.
- Protein Flax milk: This milk is superior to almond milk which is very high in calories.
- Soy milk--I prefer flax milk for women in pre, mid or peri-menopause as soy mimic estrogen which prolongs menopause and its symptoms.
- Greek yogurt: You can sub whole milk Greek yogurt for cream cheese in pumpkin recipes but my preference for taste is...
- Blended cottage cheese: this is my best kept high protein secret. Blend cottage cheese till smooth and swap it for heavy cream, evaporated milk and cream cheese. It still has that nice creamy texture, plus cheesy bite.
- Tofu: You can use tofu to make a vegan cheesecake but I am not sure how creamy it will be.
- Pumpkin Fiber Mojo: The weight loss kicker in pumpkin is that it is high fiber which reduces sugar impact and net carbs. If you want, you can substitute turban squash for a similar lower carb load. Apples provide a good source of fiber too.
- Gluten free crustless pumpkin pie and cheesecake. I quit preparing pumpkin pie with crust years ago and don't miss it. I make pumpkin cheesecake and pie more like a pumpkin custard.
- eggs: adding one or two extra eggs boosts the pumpkin cheesecake protein with adding a huge amount of calories.
- 1%-2% milk. I wouldn't use skim because you will compromise the taste and lose the some of the fat-soluble vitamin A and vitamin D.
- Protein Flax milk: This milk is superior to almond milk which is very high in calories.
- Soy milk--I prefer flax milk for women in pre, mid or peri-menopause as soy mimic estrogen which prolongs menopause and its symptoms.
- Greek yogurt: You can sub whole milk Greek yogurt for cream cheese in pumpkin recipes but my preference for taste is...
- Blended cottage cheese: this is my best kept high protein secret. Blend cottage cheese till smooth and swap it for heavy cream, evaporated milk and cream cheese. It still has that nice creamy texture, plus cheesy bite.
- Tofu: You can use tofu to make a vegan cheesecake but I am not sure how creamy it will be.
