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Food hack of the day: a cheesecake cup with 22 g of protein.

Cheesecake is a dessert, and it can stay one. Greek yogurt, a little cream cheese and a graham crumb make a cup that tastes like it and weighs in differently.

Cover: the headline over a photo of a cheesecake with a slice cut out, beside a second photo of cheesecake with strawberry sauce and an app screen on a phone.
Cover photos: Martin van Dam on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) and Francesca on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0), cropped.

In short. The lighter version (per serving: one slice or cup) comes to about 293 kcal with 22 g of protein and 7 g of fat, against about 417 kcal, 7 g and 29 g for the classic. That is 124 fewer kcal, 15 g more protein and 22 g less fat. Figures are fitness estimates built from USDA FoodData Central entries.

Food photographs are illustrative; they do not show the exact lighter recipes or portions used for the nutrition figures below.

Why the classic is heavy

Cheesecake is cream cheese, cream and a buttery crust. It has little protein for the size and is easy to enjoy in large slices.

A slice of cheesecake.
Illustrative food photo; the ingredient quantities below define the nutrition comparison. Photo by Benoît Prieur on Wikimedia Commons, used under CC0 1.0, cropped.

The swaps, per serving

A slice of cheesecake: 130 g of commercially prepared cheesecake.

Greek yogurt cheesecake cup: 170 g of nonfat Greek yogurt, 30 g of low-fat cream cheese, 20 g of graham cracker, 80 g of strawberries and 8 g of honey.

One slice or cup, classic versus lighter
Per servingClassicLighterChange
kcal417293−124
Protein g722+15
Carbs g3337+4
Fat g297−22

Weights are raw for meat, fish, eggs and vegetables, and cooked for pasta and rice. Fat that cooks out into the pan is not subtracted from either version, and brands and portions change real numbers. These are fitness estimates, not medical or dietary advice.

1. Greek yogurt and a little cream cheese

Whisk the two together for tang and richness. Low-fat cream cheese is about 208 kcal per 100 g, and you only need a spoonful.

2. A graham crumb base

Crush a cracker into the bottom of the cup. A small amount gives the crust.

3. Strawberries on top

Fresh or macerated strawberries bring sweetness and acidity.

4. Sweeten to taste

A teaspoon of honey and a little vanilla lift the yogurt.

How to make it

  1. Crush the graham cracker into the bottom of a cup.
  2. Whisk the yogurt, cream cheese, honey and vanilla.
  3. Spoon over the crumb and chill for an hour.
  4. Top with strawberries.
A kitchen scale among avocado, berries and nuts on a wooden board.
Weigh the toppings too, because they add up. Photo by Leonardo Vazquez on Pexels, used under the Pexels License.

Log it so the numbers hold

Dessert cups are easy to scale. Save one as a recipe. In the app, open Add food, choose Create a recipe, add each ingredient by weight, then enter the number of servings. The saved recipe becomes one of your own foods.

Quick answers

  • Does it set? It is soft like a mousse, not firm like a baked cheesecake.
  • Can I use flavoured yogurt? Plain gives you control. Flavoured often has added sugar.
  • Can I use lemon? Yes. Lemon zest and juice make it taste more like cheesecake.
  • Where do the numbers come from? Each ingredient is a USDA FoodData Central entry, the same library the app searches.

More food hacks

Where One Fitness Hub helps

This post is general information, not medical or dietary advice. Calorie and macro figures are fitness estimates for adults 18 and over. Talk to a doctor or a dietitian before you change how you eat, especially if you have a health condition.

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