ArcaMax

Whether you’re on Plan Z (or any other diet), the holidays can be difficult. Even if you have solid discipline, your relatives and friends can try to sabotage you. Most of us don’t have great discipline, so a combination of both can be fatal to dieting success.

I’m going to get right to the list of options that I have found successful in straying from a diet for a day. This won’t be successful if you try to do it a whole long weekend but if a day will help you feel more like part of the celebration, then these are strategies you can employ and usually “get away with it” without much damage when you step on the scale the next morning.

First, let’s talk alcohol. For most, feeling out of the celebration comes from not drinking an alcoholic drink. Or your friends and family push it on you. I have had many dieters who insist on their glass of wine when they get home from work. Let me tell you flat out, that if you do this daily, you’ll lose about 60% less weight than you would have if you didn’t; and that’s if you do it in moderation. Drinking alcohol regularly while you try to diet just doesn’t work. Another complication is that those who start to drink often can’t stop at one. If that’s you, skip to the next part of this article because if you start and don’t stop, it usually leads to a large piece of dessert. Enough said.

If you feel you can be disciplined in your consumption of alcohol, there are a few things that will work...

Read the full column at PlanZDiet.com

Eggnog Cheesecake with Gingerbread Crust

This will be my contribution to dessert at our family dinner party this year. Most often a cheesecake like this has a crust made out of gingersnaps. I’m making mine this way and you’ll swear you’re eating a gingerbread crust without all the sugar. This cheesecake is sort of a production because you also have to make the Zola double cream eggnog. It doesn’t take much time and the decadence is well worth it. Besides, you’ll have leftovers to drink on another night. (You can make the eggnog with our without the booze).

Ingredients:

For the Crust

coconut oil or butter for greasing the springform pan
4 tablespoons butter (or coconut oil), melted
2 tablespoons molasses
1 tsp of Truvia
2 cups super fine ground almond flour/meal
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp of ground ginger
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup of chopped walnuts (optional)
pinch of salt

For the Cheesecake

3, 8 oz packages of full fat cream cheese (softened to room temperature)
1 cup of ZSweet sugar substitute
2 tsp of ground nutmeg
2 tsp of vanilla
3 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 cup of Zola’s double cream eggnog
2 Tbl of flour

Instructions:

Oil or butter the inside of your 9-inch springform pan. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

In your food processor whiz all of the crust ingredients to combine. Press the mixture across the bottom of the pan and slightly up the sides.

In your mixer bowl add the cream cheese, ZSweet, nutmeg, and vanilla for about a minute, until smooth. On low speed mix in the other ingredients.

Pour the batter over the crust. Smooth it out.

Bake one hour at 325 degrees. Turn off oven. Crack the door and let it cool for another hour as the oven cools. Then cool on rack until it’s completely room temperature. This helps to reduce the likelihood of your cheesecake cracking the in the middle.

Cover and chill overnight. Cheesecake always tastes better on day two.

You can spread sweetened whipped cream over the top of the cheesecake to serve or alternately spread Truwhip over the top. (Truwhip is like Cool whip without all the chemicals and sugar). Or you can serve your cheese cake with no topping. It will be good any of these ways.

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola