Thankful, blessed, and obsessed with our Creme Brûlée Pumpkin Cheesecake! This semi-sweet dessert has a graham cracker base, filling made with our probiotic farmer cheese, and sugar torched on top for crunch. We swear your guest’s plates will be clean of any crumbs. After your Thanksgiving meal, spread kindness by donating the leftover ingredients to your local homeless shelter.
Your Gut Matters
Eating habits also play a role in mental health. Research has shown that probiotic-rich foods decrease anxiety and boost the mood. That makes kefir a great wellbeing tool because it contains 12 live and probiotic cultures. Psychiatrist James Greenblatt explained that “‘the gut is really your second brain. There are more neurons in the GI tract than anywhere else except the brain.’” As research continues to develop, it’s becoming more and more apparent that there is a link between the gut and the brain. What was once suspected as one-way communication (brain to gut) is now understood to be more of a two-way system. Thus, the health of our gut may directly impact the health of our minds.
Prebiotics + Probiotics = a Healthy You
Prebiotics are non-living, non-digestible carbohydrates naturally found in a variety of foods. Your body actually can’t digest prebiotics, so they’re what probiotics feed off of to remain actively working in your digestive system. They help the digestive system by promoting the growth of good bacteria. Prebiotics and probiotics work together in balance to make sure our digestive system stays on track and regular. Research has found that consuming a variety of prebiotic and probiotic food sources may improve your body’s natural functions, including both your immune and digestive system.
With increasing research linking the correlation between probiotics, gut health, and immunity, it’s no secret that the integrity of our gut is vital to our health. Although additional factors such as stress, antibiotic usage, and individual health conditions can contribute to the condition of our gut, a focus on healthy food choices is one of the easiest ways to support the microbiome.
Several studies have shown a strong association between the gut-brain-microbiota. Probiotics introduced to the gut have been found to support immunity, improve allergies, and improve digestion.
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups or 2 sleeves graham crackers pulsed to crumbles
- 1 tsp pumpkin spice
- 5 tbsp melted unsalted butter
Filling
- 4 cups (or 2 packages) Farmer Cheese
- ½ cup Organic Plain Whole Milk Kefir
- 2 eggs
- 1 ¼ cup pumpkin puree
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 2 tsp pumpkin spice
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Topping
- About 1/3 cup superfine sugar
Directions
- CRUST: pulse gram crackers and butter into the food processor to get 2 cups of crumbs to place on the bottom of your pie tin.
- FILLING: With an electric mixer beat farmer cheese on medium till smooth and fluffy, add sugar and then mix again, continuing mixing as you add eggs one at a time. Add pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice, and Kefir, and mix till everything is well combined.
- Turn to a lower speed as you add in cinnamon and corn starch. Pour the cheesecake batter into the pan with crust.
- Pour the batter into the springform pan, wrap the bottom of the pan in foil, place in a larger pan with a small amount of hot water and bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for about 60 minutes. You can let the cheesecake cool and put it in the fridge.
- Once cheesecake has cooled, top with sugar and blow torch until top is nicely browned.
- Cut and serve!
