Feta cheesecake bars are a great healthier dessert that can be a great protein starter with cheese, egg, and yogurt protein
Crumbly feta is a popular cheese that you don’t expect in a cheesecake. It’s lighter (less creamy), delicious and more healthy than traditional cheesecake ingredients.
And in fact, feta cheese has more protein, calcium and probiotics, and is lower fat than most cream cheeses. It has lower lactose and is usually easier to digest.
Both the probiotics in the yogurt (or Greek yogurt) and feta supports gut health.
And the best part is… this is such a a simple cheeesecake bar recipe!
You can make this feta cheesecake in the same baking dish or cup you will be using in the oven. So it’s less than one-bowl easy!
In just a few mixing spoon strokes, and then baked in the oven… it’s made from start to finish in less than an hour.
Tip: use a white ceramic, light color, or glass baking vessel to keep it baking slower (and not as likely to burn sides).
If you have dark or metal pans, turn down the temperature and bake for a few additional minutes.
The feta cheesecake bar prep steps:
I added the egg, and whisked the egg to break it up first. You can also do this with a fork or spoon that would be just as easy.
Then I added the Greek yogurt (or plain yogurt), the feta cheese crumbles, and a drizzle of honey.
Then combined together with a few spoon strokes.
And a few dollops of strawberry (or raspberry) jam that’s a delicious pairing with the slightly salty feta and tart yogurt… oh, and the chocolate that will be added.
I remember when I was a teen and I worked at an Italian restaurant in the pantry, and I would take a bamboo skewer to make swirly designs with the dotted chocolate syrup in the dessert before it was carried out to the table.
And in modern times, I did my Jackson Pollock with melted chocolate. That was the art mood I was in. And you can use your creative mood into your cheesecake masterpiece. This is the batter before it’s baked.
It was all made in this baking vessel, so it’s not one-bowl easy, it’s no bowls simple bake and clean up.
The lines will work well with a presentation of cheesecake bars that this will turn into.
…And you’re probably wondering how square bars will be made out of an oval dish?
First bake in the magical oven.
Let cool.
You could serve your cheesecake in your baking vessel with no extra effort, but the squares or bars are nice to share.
So cut out a big rectangle.
Looking at the oval dish as a clock, with a knife, draw a cut from 2 o’clock to 4 o’clock, 4 o’clock to 8 o’clock, 8 o’clock to 10 o’clock, and 10 o’clock to 2 o’clock as corners). Then cut/divide into squares.
Lift up the squares with a small spatula (palette knife).
You’ll have extra sides to nibble on. 😋
And since feta cheese is less creamy, you get cheesecake pieces that could be guiltless picked up by hand.
Fruit pastry tart is so easy to make. And such a tasty dessert that can be made light with just a little butter. They’re pop in your mouth friendly for any occasion (and especially brunch gatherings).
You’ve probably seen fruit pastries at bakeries or French pastry shops yesteryear. They’re vintage. But not these on the plate that were just made.
These homemade ones are inspired by those past turn of the century desserts…
And I first saw them at a gourmet food market called Sutton Place Gourmet that’s now branded as Balducci’s. “Gourmet” was the word we used for foodie today.
The bakery section had the fruit desserts with strawberry, kiwi, and blueberry on a curd pastry base (that I now know how to make and you can too!).
Besides fruit colorful, they were one of the few individual desserts out there… as in, no need to share. So they stood out!
Plus, the desserts also had a shiny glaze ontop, even more than the one in my strawberry gaze plate. 🍓🍓 They looked like shiny food magnets you’d stick to your fridge.
Those were the days that I worked in hotel catering.
And never back then did I think I would make these fruit pastries at home.
Each can get her own tart.
Also, below I’ll tell you how you can make a fruit pastry tart and keep this dessert recipe, low-sugar… with sweet and sour-tart tastes.
Basically, a tart tart. And a sweet tart (for the sweethearts 💕).
Oh, and you can also make these low-fat. I already pointed out the little butter than can be added.
…It’s a myth that you need a lot of butter to make pastry. I think we learned buttery habits from pies that are a kind of pastry.
It’s true you need a little butter (as in a pat or two, but not a whole stick). Measuring is not so important with butter in this application.
And unlike cake, neutral oil will not work well the same in taste or texture in a sweet pastry. If you’re a cake girl 🙋🏻♀️, see my butter vs. oil notes.
The less butter in pastry gives it a less buttery taste, but the compromise is well worth it if you want to keep it more healthy. The hint of butter tastes are definitely still there in moderation.
And you can still work with the dough to make pie and pastry shapes.
You can even make these checkered pie design (with you know the country cross hatch pastry pie-style 🥧)… or simply just place them on a checkered napkin 😊for a homemade effect.
The obvious simpler way (like the open-face fruit tart photo’d above) can be done easily with 5-10 minutes of total prep time, 35 minutes baking time, and 5 minutes or less curd (stove) making time.
There are 3 simple steps for a dozen or half-a-dozen fruit pastry tart: make the tart shells, curd, and arrange the colorful fruit (the fun-nest part!).
The prep steps are: bring out the ingredients (including the butter first to not forget like I often do) for the pastry, preparing fruit you’ll use, and separating an egg yolk from egg white for curd (easier to do when an egg is cold).
For the butter, since it’s a modified smaller amount used in this recipe, you can set it ontop of the stove while the oven is preheating. If you’ve got a standard kitchen appliance setup like mine, one or more of the stove burners turns warm when the oven is turned on (even though the stove itself is turned off).
Heat rises.
And as that happens, you can make the curd on the stove. They work great in mini fruit tarts too.
Like these (cute?) ones! I paired strawberry with tart rhubarb on a lemon curt tart that I’m taking to a picnic. Two tarts in one. 😋
They look like little dessert sushi. 🍱 And they make great catering dessert adds.
…Oh look, one extra for moi!
It looks a bit craggy, haha. Like a wheel that won’t go far!
But truth is, I never aim for perfect shapes. Good is good enough. Because I know they’ll get gobbled up in nanoseconds.
I kinda like that they’re rustic, as there’s no mistake that these are home made!
And make no mistake they are as delicious (if I may say so) when you pop them in your mouth.
…Did I already mention they have no added sugar (as a bonus)?
I kept mine without added sugar (besides the sweetness in natural fruit).
But on that note, for a glazed look and to keep it low-sugar, you can add a healthy drizzle of honey that pairs well with the fruit flavors and especially well with pastry buttery flavors. This keeps the dessert bite sweet and in good balanced taste proportions…
The small amount of lemon curd goes exceptionally well with strawberry.
This is a simple dessert that makes for a great catering table. This will make 6 mini tarts or 2 hand-size pastry tarts.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American, French
Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets
Ingredients
1/4cupall purpose flour
1Tbspsoftened butter
1Tbspwater (plus more)
lemon curd (instruction below)
fruit of choice
honey (optional)
Instructions
Cut the softened butter into small pieces and incorporate (fully coat) into the flour. Use just enough water to bring the butter and flour together. The water will make up for the small amount of butter that will adhere to the the flour. Make a pastry disc. Cover and refrigerate for a few minutes.
Shape pastry in muffin tin. Bake at 350°F for about 35 minutes or until edges and bottom are golden brown. Let cool at room temperature.
Make the lemon curd. On low heat, combine 1/4 cup flour, 1-2 Tbsp butter, 1 egg yolk, and 1/2 tsp lemon juice or zest. Add the egg yolk last. Stir constantly so egg doesn't cook. Once the mixture comes together, remove from heat. Refrigerate for a few hours.
Add a small amount of curd in pastry tart shells. Add fruit of choice on top such as as seasonal berries.
For a glaze look you can drizzle a small amount of honey ontop.
Butter vs oil is a question I have in many sweet bakes. And maybe you too?
…And so I tested this fun debate in a cake (cupcake 🧁), which is a great application way to test in case you’re curious.
…Plus I LOVE cake!
And it’s not difficult to make basic moist cake with 4 ingredients you may already have on hand in your refrigerator and pantry: flour, egg, milk, and a fat (…plus you want to add a rising agent and sweetener for an elevated cake experience).
…Ah, but which fat to use?
My difference between butter and oil cake notes are below…
Btw, can you guess which is which?
…The muffin or cupcake (depending on your perspective) on the left is baked with butter, and the one on the right is baked with canola oil.
But that could have been any type of edible cooking oil, like healthy light olive oil. And it includes coconut oil (one of my fave oils to bake with).
Depending on what final effect you want to have on your cake, you will want to ask yourself and consider: should I use butter or oil?
Some things I tested with both were: taste (of course! 😋), size, and texture.
But all things are not created equal because butter has water.
Oil does not…. remember, the old saying that oil and water don’t mix (as they’re opposites and oil repels water).
Because of this fact, butter will need less liquid in the final cake batter. And also less flour for the butter batter to get a similar texture batter to the more liquid oil batter, before baking.
For moist cake texture modification (for 1/4 cup butter or oil), you can use:
3/4 cup gluten/all purpose flour with butter (or 1 cup flour for oil)
3/4 cup milk of choice with butter (or 1/2 cup milk for oil)
And so… you can see a slight butter vs oil variation changes a recipe.
Where you have your choice of fat.
If you have both available, choose wisely!
…It’s a matter of preference (or what you have in your kitchen).
And if you can’t remember which to use, use the path of least resistance (aka easy) as your guide… that’s what I do!
Think of store-bought box cakes as a standard model in this case…
Most the box cake ingredients on the back of the box list adding (your) oil.
It yields a more consistent cake.
It’s also easier overall as most people have an oil bottle handy and ready to go, that’s sitting at room temperature in a cabinet.
Unlike butter, that needs to be creamed for a cake batter, but only when conditions are favorable.
Butter needs to be softened, which means it needs to be out at or warmed slightly in some way to room temperature.
…So the baker has to remember to bring out butter of the refrigerator in time or heat it up as an extra prep step. You can do this if you have a pep in your step!🦶But not all of us do… or by the end of the week.
…And that prep in butter vs oil difference alone is a BIG difference that can delay a cake being made and baked. 😊
I know it would be for me as I don’t usually think to take out the butter and eggs (🧈+🥚) in advance.
…And I bake a lot! So oil is more practical for that reason alone.
And for a taller final cake, oil turned out better in my simple cupcake test.
But before you determine oil as the winner for moist cake!… see the notes below (because you could change your mind 💭).
Size – Butter vs oil
For size, there’s a HUGE difference. The cupcake on the right is oil and the muffin looking one on the left is made from a batter with butter. They came from the same baking pan out of the oven (and only the slight modifications above).
Taste – Butter vs oil
Butter vs oil don’t make a big taste difference in a cake if you use a mild tasting oil.
In cookies, pastries, and other sweet bakes, butter vs. oil can and will make a big taste (and other) difference.
But for cake… if you have both butter and oil on hand, think easy cupcake or easy cake! 🎂
Texture – Butter vs oil
So then, the other important question is about texture. You would think since an oil cake is taller, it would have a nicer texture.
And before it goes in the oven, the batter I made looks slightly different. The butter one on the left has more of the pretty “ribbon effect.” The oil one on the right reminds me of sourdough starter 😁
But they look similar in amount of water/flour (from above quantity modifications).
But out of the oven is what matters… AND surprise!
The cakes look similar, but the butter one on the left is slightly better with more of a pronounced crumb if that is important to you.
And as you saw above, the exterior (before you slice into) will look about the same except for height difference.
So if you want more of a homemade-style traditional cake, use butter. And for a southern cake, use butter 🧈
But for an easier, sky-high taller cake, use oil.
Modern, easy cakes = oil.
So there you have it!… butter vs oil in a cake.
I pick oil almost ever time for a cake, but there’s one other point to consider in my low-sugar baking world…
It you want to use a sweetener that’s not granulated or brown sugar, such as honey (that also I tested for this butter vs oil cake test)… butter and honey are a sweet pairing.
They go hand-in-hand in taste.
And if you’re using coconut milk (vs other milks) like I like to use, it goes well with oil in cakes.
Regular milks will be better with butter. They are slight preferences but the more you bake from scratch, the more you recognize them.
Ricotta dessert with meringues, that’s a (no-bake) frozen semi freddo dessert I can eat any day. Especially hot summer days!
And if you like the 2xx protein (ricotta and egg whites) combo, you’ll love this low-sugar healthy dessert.
I added a lemon custard because that’s the fruit tasty season we’re in. And some toasty coconut vibes that pairs well. It’s light. And it looks light.
The lemony color and egg white color is so pretty.
Btw, lemons are citrus and are actually a winter fruit. 🍋
But they are enjoyed in desserts in summery, so you can enjoy lemons year round like you can bananas.
And if none are at hand, this would be delicious with simply raw honey or a vanilla extract. Or your blue or red berries. You decide!
And you can make this dessert so easy, and as easy as you can put together food layers in a breakfast parfait.
Here, with a dollop of smooth ricotta and pillowy light egg whites combined, you’ve got a summery low-fat dessert to enjoy!
And when you freeze your dessert, then you can a delightful frozen (semi freddo) dessert good for balmy hot days when you want to peel off layers and jump in the water.
I first heard about the half cold dessert when I was consulting with an Italian restaurant in Capitol Hill where the food was freshly prepared daily by a Tuscan chef.
And I had seen half spoon decorative (and tasty) smears on dessert plates… in lieu of ice cream. The semi freddo held up better (after all it’s half cold!) and didn’t slide off of a plate like ice cream does, when the melty temperature hits.
But if you’re not near authentic Italian eats, then making this frozen dessert can become your new home gelato flavor wheel of choice.
This is a gelato wheel I saw out and about..
And using a wheel as inspiration, the best part of this ricotta semi freddo recipe is you don’t need an ice cream machine or special gelato maker to make this semi freddo ricotta dessert! You just need a freezer and some basic kitchen tools.
Gotta love that this is one freddo you don’t need to be ‘fraidy of!
Beat the egg whites on a mixer into a fluffy meringue about 3-4 minutes on medium-high setting. This is a low-sugar recipe so there is no sugar add to the egg whites (if you choose). You won't get peaks but you will get a fluffy meringue cloud that will work well in this meringue dessert.
Add ricotta by hand and combine fully. Add to a freezer safe bowl or glass.
Freeze for at least 30 minutes and then add curd if adding. Freeze again for a cold elevated dessert experience or enjoy!
Healthy proteins belong on the new food pyramid. Starting 2026, it’s an inverted triangle funnel shape with a heightened focus on healthy proteins and dairy at the top.
This is a printable protein grocery list you can use for inspiration and good for anyone who is following a healthy diet like the Mediterranean diet.
One other food category that has been a constant is Vegetables & Fruits (healthy carbs). They’re still a top priority as nature’s produce in a garden.
V&F are also store affordable, and have a lot of value add to the body with all its vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants (to fight free radicals in cells).
Unlike packaged foods, V&F grocery labels are PLU stickers that need no list of ingredients to dilute. They are whole and healthy.
I remember the original food pyramid that started in the previous century from the New food pyramid. It was a controversial 23+ servings, coming from the 4 basic food groups.
In simpler times, the rectangular 4 basic food groups kept it inside-the-box basic. Dairy was already one of the main food groups. Meat was another that represented healthy proteins.
Plant-based proteins have been around since B.C. times, but hadn’t cropped up on the table scene for the Western diet yet (…and maybe why a food pyramid was built 😊).
But amino acids have been with us for for-EVER, even though it’s more technical…
And amino acid profiles give more protein details… where some surprising foods (besides meats and eggs) have all 9 essential amino acids that the body can’t make: foods such as amaranth, nutritional yeast, and buckwheat.
Those just happen to be a few of my food loves to subtly add-in, and they’re naturally gluten-free (and easier to digest).
A few ideas... you can easily sprinkle in nutritional yeast like a healthy spice. In case you haven’t discovered yet, nutritional yeast is a dairy-free cheesy alternative. It’s a flaky powder that doesn’t melt well, but is as good as a final zhugh topping to pastas (and any foods you want a cheesy umami taste). 🧀
And you can spread some cooked amaranth into the dough of a homemade whole grain roll that rolls fresh out of the oven.
And many dairy foods have healthy proteins. Like real cheeses, that are mostly made of water, milk fat, proteins (casein and whey), lactose (milk sugar), and minerals. You can easily add into a breakfast meal like with a cottage cheese blueberry peach smoothie.
Below is a list of healthy proteins and dairy (along with tips, ideas, and inspo) on how you can get more food value with more healthy proteins and combining (…2 proteins together?). This helps your body win healthy points, alongside a loose guideline-based diet like in the new food pyramid.
What healthy foods are high in protein for the new food pyramid and a healthy diet?
You can use a printable healthy protein source food list like this one to decide for yourself, or when you’re making choices grocery shopping:
Generally, women can loosely stick to eating about .7 to 1 gram (or slightly less) per pound of body weight. I use 1 gram for easy math. As an example, for a 135 pound woman, that’s 100-135 grams per day.
And to get those points, here are a few point-based healthy protein comparisons. Keep in mind different proteins have different types and amounts of amino acids that’s important. I learned this unconventionally and out of curiosity.
…Because I wondered why on occasion when I ate something that didn’t agree with me, why I always felt better eating beef than other sources of protein, after being on the simple to digest BRAT diet or not eating for a day or two. And it turns out, it’s more than just familiarity and that I grew up eating meals with beef.
It has a lot to do with the different and different amounts of amino acids that describe the differences in protein sources between say chicken, fish, and beef that affect the digestive system.
So like most healthy foods, it’s good to diversify and not put all your eggs in one basket… but starting with an eggs is not a bad idea either.
And a good place to start on here…
Eggs -There is more protein in egg whites, but 6-7 grams for a large egg in liquid form. Keep in mind grams change for wet and dry ingredients (and before or after cooking an egg).
Chicken breast, skinless – If you want to get to your daily protein grams count quicker, chicken is a good healthy proteins answer. It has 30-31 grams per 1/2 cup (100 grams/3.5 ounces). 2 liquid eggs is about 3.5 ounces, so that’s less than half the protein than chicken. Lunch recipe idea: try an easy chicken salad.
Lean beef – This was mentioned already… but f you’ve ever wondered why after you feel sick from something you ate, when you’re recovering and you eat ground beef and feel better, it’s because beef is specifically high in glutamine and glycine (amino acids). It also has more leucine (muscle building benefits). 100 grams or 3.5 cooked ounces that is used for comparison with all the proteins named here (in this article) have about 25-30 grams.
Sardines and anchovies – Using the same 3.5 ounces, a sardine can have about 18-20 grams. Anchovies can be even higher in the 30 grams range, but always check the labels.
Wild salmon – This is the healthy fish protein choice, but more known for the Omega-3 content that’s good on a healthy fat list especially for heart, anti-inflammation, and on a Mediterranean diet. You can also find about 20 grams of protein in salmon filet. A salad recipe to try!: salmon salad
Quinoa, btw, and other pseudo grains like amaranth and buckwheat (already mentioned) are complete proteins. Quinoa has about 4 grams per 100 grams, but is high in lysine amino acid, so it can be good to include for those who only eat plant-based proteins. Oh, and get this… black quinoa you don’t hear about as often, has a higher amount of 15-20 protein grams!
Rolling them into your cereal is a good idea along with a rolled oat bowl. Rolled oats is a good balanced protein with 13-17 grams. Sometimes I like to add my daily oats, just shy of a cup, to make a low-sugar oatmeal raisin cookie that’s also got Greek yogurt (with about 10 grams of protein per 100 grams/3.5 ounces).
How’s that’s for double healthy protein inspiration?
And, moving into plant-based protein sources:
Tofu – has about the 7-10 grams of protein per 3.5 ounce, closer to an egg. And like an egg, you can make a tofu scramble. I like to add some nuts and seeds to give some texture, and additional healthy proteins. Some other healthy recipe ideas to try: Tofu pepperoni and tofu chil.
Nuts – Peanuts have about 26 grams per 3.5 ounce/100 grams. And most nuts have about 18-25 grams. These days nuts are deemed healthy and a healthy handful makes a good snack.
Seeds – Seeds have 16-31 grams with pumpkin seeds and hemp seeds/hearts. We only see a few varieties in grocery stores but there are many thousands of seed types in the world. You can find more seeds in spice aisles such as celery, poppy, and sesame seeds.
Beans – Beans are another fascinating protein food with 7-9 grams per 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of cooked beans. Cooking dry beans is a great way to get into cooking, and make the beans easier to digest (removing the complex sugars – oligosaccharides). Try a turmeric soup with 15 beans or an Italian bean salad.
Lentils – about 9 grams per 100 cooked grams. And of lentils, green lentils win the fiber count. Most lentils cook quicker than beans. You can try an easy mushy green lentils peas.
And one healthy protein may not be familiar with is spirulina powder that’s off the charts, in the 50-70 grams range. You can make a healthy virgin blue curaçao beverage with the spirulina blue-green algae. You just need a smidge to get the ocean blue colors. It’s the wave of the future! 🌊
And finally we can look at healthy foods that have protein and dairy! Meat and plant proteins don’t have dairy, but most dairy have proteins.
On the new food pyramid, 3 servings of dairy are recommended that varies on the food. For yogurt a serving is about 1/2 cup, so that’s still around the 3.5 ounces (we used to compare proteins). Grams change by weight for wet and dry ingredients (or before or after cooked).
Greek yogurt – 7-10 grams of protein per 3.5 ounce (or a dairy serving). I can’t say enough about Greek yogurt as it can be used for desserts, a savory pita bread dip, and for many breakfas-y and even waffle brunch recipes.
Goat or sheep cheese – less processed has 21-22 grams of protein!
Buffalo mozzarella cheese – True buffalo mozzarella can even be eaten by some people who are dairy sensitive. Because the milk comes from water buffalo, that is lower in lactose than most cow milks. Buffalo mozzarella also has sirtuins (“longevity proteins”). I believe we’ll be hearing more about sirtuins in the future as helpers to cellular health, aging, and metabolism.
Buffalo mozzarella is very meltable and especially delicious on a Neapolitan-style pizza crust you can make from your home oven!
And last but not least…
Cottage cheese – Cottage cheese about 11-13 grams of protein, but check the labels as with all the other labelled foods. Cottage cheese is high in casein, that helps you feel full especially if you’re trying to lose weight.
Looking for some healthy dessert recipes? I got you. Try these low-sugar dessert sweets. Some of them are no-added sugar (Greek yogurt) or could be made delicious with low or no sugar. 🍥
