Healthy Treats Sorted: Raspberry Lemon Cheesecake Bites

A wonderful alternative to an ice-cream dessert, these creamy frozen nuggets are light and fruity and perfect if you are craving pudding. Freeze-dried berries provide a colourful topping to these delicious protein bites.

Makes 10

Per bite:
Calories 108kcal
Fat 8.6g (saturates 6.6g)
Carbohydrates 4.9g
Sugars 0.8g
Protein 1.9g

Ingredients
100g cream cheese
zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp xylitol or granulated stevia, to taste
1 tbsp freeze-dried raspberries (optional)
60g fresh raspberries
60g desiccated coconut or vanilla or berry protein powder

For the decoration
30g desiccated coconut
1 tbsp freeze-dried berries, crushed
50g dark chocolate

Method
Place the cream cheese, lemon zest, xylitol or stevia, raspberries and coconut or protein powder in a food processor and blend until smooth. Spoon into a bowl and freeze for 1-2 hours until firm.

Place the coconut and crushed freeze-dried berries on a plate. Take bite-sized pieces of the frozen mixture and roll into balls. Roll in the coconut mixture and place on a sheet of greaseproof paper.

Heat the dark chocolate in a glass bowl set over a pan of simmering water and stir until melted. Transfer the chocolate to a squirty plastic bottle or use a spoon and drizzle the chocolate over the tops of the balls to decorate.

Place the bites in the freezer until required. Eat straight from the freezer.

Extracted from Energy Bites by Christine Bailey (Modern Books, approx €10.30).