Indulge Without Guilt: Unraveling The Hype Behind Nutrition-Conscious Healthy Cheesecake
Even the most health-conscious can crave a melt-in-your-mouth serving of creamy cheesecake. A new demand for healthier cheesecake has driven innovation. However, many of these guilt-free efforts try unsuccessfully to match the sweet indulgence of traditional cheesecake without compromising health. Until now: Enter Wonder Monday, the healthy, delicious cheesecake offering a variety of flavors and nutritious benefits that have generated quite a buzz. This journalistic report delves into the science, taste, and texture behind Wonder Monday’s superiority.
The history of the New York-Style cheesecake so many of us love begins in Manhattan in the 1940’s and 1950s, where Lindy’s, a popular Broadway restaurant, became world-famous for its distinctive creamy, crumbly-textured cheesecake. Celebrities were spotted lingering over their Lindy’s cheesecake desserts late into the evening, and many recipes for the “authentic Lindy’s cheesecake” were published.
However, recently, the New York-Style cheesecake has had difficulty standing up to contemporary health guidelines due to high-calorie levels from sugar and fat content. In response, many efforts have been made to create a healthy, guilt-free, great-tasting cheesecake made with nutritionally responsible ingredients.
Traditionally, these efforts have fallen short. Removing sugar, lowering fats, and using artificial sweeteners and flavors may reduce the calories but tends to diminish the rich taste and crumbly yet creamy texture that characterize a great cheesecake.
Some who dream of the original cheesecakes may question why sugar and fat are so bad. Let’s look at the science underlying the concerns.
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Indulge Without Guilt: Unraveling The Hype Behind Nutrition-Conscious Healthy Cheesecake is an original (BetterNutritionNews) article.
Why we need to control our sugar intake
We’ve heard the warnings about too much sugar in our diets, with desserts being singled out as “bad for us.” The reality is that refined sugar, and any form of sugar, even in the raw, contains lots of calories that nutritionists call “empty” because they lack nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
Too much sugar can lead to serious health issues, as Time Magazine concludes that the case against dessert is open-and-shut. The sugar that makes treats so sweet has been linked to weight gain and chronic diseases, from heart disease and type 2 diabetes to cancer. Dr. Frank Hu, professor of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, says that added sugar intake can cause higher blood pressure, inflammation, obesity, diabetes, and fatty liver disease, linked to an increased heart attack and stroke risk.
Sugar is the primary reason dessert can have a hefty calorie count, Eat This Not That! asserts. Indulging your sweet cravings with sugar-laden foods and beverages daily can have disastrous effects on your health. The American Heart Association (AHA) suggests that women consume no more than 24 grams and men no more than 36 grams of added sugar daily. A single serving of popular brands of so-called ‘healthy cheesecake’ contains around 33 grams of sugar, about 132 calories.
Keeping fats under control
Sugar is not the only culprit where desserts are concerned. Time notes that an abundance of fats, especially saturated fats, potentially harm the heart and add empty calories. The 2015–2020 dietary guidelines for Americans recommend that no more than 10% of total daily calories should come from saturated fats, as found in desserts such as ice cream, cookies, doughnuts, and cheesecake. Traditional cheesecakes are high in saturated dairy fats from cream cheese, sour cream, and butter. The AHA notes that decades of sound science have proven these fats can raise your LDL ‘bad’ cholesterol and risk for heart disease.
The creation of a healthy and delicious cheesecake
After denying themselves the dessert they were passionate about, cheesecake lovers Candace Wu and Jonathan Weinstein decided it was time to do something. They committed to creating an “impossibly delicious,” lower calorie, sugar-free, lower fat, high protein, gluten-free cheesecake. Candace left her product manager job at Weight Watchers. Jonathan left Stitch Health, healthcare communication platform startup he created, so they could devote full time to creating a healthy cheesecake with notably sweet, delicious, taste-bud satisfying flavor.
In facing this challenge, Candace and Jonathan resolved not to compromise. “Now, if there’s one thing you should know about us, it’s that we care a lot about the quality of our food,” the Founders state. This refusal to compromise quality meant no second best on every ingredient in their new healthy cheesecake.
“Everyone loves cheesecake, and we’re no exception,” Jonathan says. But just like everyone else, the last time he and Candace had cheesecake had been years ago. That’s because even so-called healthy cheesecakes are filled with sugar, fats, grains, and a long list of artificial additives. The key was to start with real, natural ingredients the team could stand behind.
They spent over a year crafting an ‘impossibly decadent’ and nutritious cheesecake. Wonder Monday is the result. The brand they co-founded was launched in late 2021 and has already shipped over 1 million individual servings.
Wonder Monday achieved what no cheesecake had done before- a truly nutritious, delicious, well-textured cheesecake. It’s sweet without added sugar or artificial sweeteners, low in carbs and calories, and well-textured without many fats. There’s no grain or gluten due to using almond flour instead of wheat flour. Each serving provides over 20% of the daily protein requirement and is suitable for keto diets, curbing cravings, and keeping you satisfied longer.
Indulge Without Guilt: Unraveling The Hype Behind Nutrition-Conscious Healthy Cheesecake is the (BetterNutritionNews) report.
Traditional cheesecake taste and texture achieved
Candace and Jonathan’s mission to create a healthy cheesecake faced further challenges of achieving great taste and texture. Wonder Monday’s healthy and delicious cheesecake uses only the highest quality natural, premium ingredients: cultured milk and cream, eggs, almond flour, lemon juice, lemon oil, coconut oil, and cinnamon.
To replace the taste of refined sugar, Candace and Jonathan refused to take the shortcut of using artificial, chemical sweeteners. Instead, Wonder Monday’s sweetness is achieved with allulose, a naturally occurring “rare sugar” found in foods such as figs. It tastes and bakes like refined sugar but isn’t metabolized, so it has virtually no calories. Nutritionist Lisa Moskovitz, R.D., notes that allulose adds sweetness without spiking blood sugar.
Stevia, a natural plant extract, is added to round out the sweetness without adding a single calorie. The AHA recommends stevia for those looking to avoid added sugar in their desserts. There are no artificial flavors, sweeteners, or colorants; nothing to contaminate the rich tastes of pure, natural, wholesome ingredients.
A crumbly, creamy texture atop a lovely graham cracker crust is another essential element of a great cheesecake. Wonder Monday cheesecake wasn’t ready until the right texturing process was found by handcrafting in small batches exclusively. Anyone who has tasted an authentic, traditional cheesecake will immediately recognize the fantastic results that Wonder Monday has achieved.
Wonder Monday cheesecakes are freshly produced in the U.S. under Candace and Jonathan’s supervision. “Biting into one of our cheesecakes is like sinking into a dream.” It’s everything a cheesecake should be: Rich, creamy, perfectly crumbly, and baked not a minute past done. Like the original cheesecakes, every flavor features a rich, creamy filling with a sweeter, slightly crumbly, more “grahamy” crust.
Wonder Monday cheesecake can be enjoyed directly from the freezer for an ice cream-like experience or by letting it thaw for 15 minutes for the classic cheesecake experience. Individual packaging allows single servings and portability.
A choice of flavors
Wonder Monday healthy cheesecakes are available in snack-sized Strawberry Bliss, Key Lime Pie, Double Chocolate, Classic Plain, and Espresso flavors. They’re shipped deep-frozen in packs of 12, 24, or 48 individual cheesecakes in an insulated package that arrives quickly.
Further reading for additional knowledge
LIVESTRONG: How Bad Is It Really to Eat Dessert Every Day?
National Library of Medicine: A review of recent evidence relating to sugars, insulin resistance and diabetes
National Library of Medicine: Anti-Cancer Properties of Stevia rebaudiana; More than a Sweetener
Important Note: The information contained in this article (Indulge Without Guilt: Unraveling The Hype Behind Nutrition-Conscious Healthy Cheesecake) is for general informational purposes only, and should not be construed as health or medical advice, nor is it intended to diagnose, prevent, treat, or cure any disease or health condition. Before embarking on any diet, fitness regimen, or program of nutritional supplementation, it is advisable to consult your healthcare professional in order to determine its safety and probable efficacy in terms of your individual state of health.
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