Banana Breakfast Cheesecakes

 
Every afternoon before the sun sinks too low, I lace up my old raspberry red running shoes and slip my keys into my pocket. I turn left at the end of the driveway, sticking to the sidewalk until it stops at the end of the street, before cutting straight through the park, past the playground, and popping out at another street on the other side. I continue strolling along until the bike path appears, turning right to loop back around and pause at the mailbox to collect the Safeway circular, Comcast bills, and free catalogs addressed to our house’s previous tenants.  

Some might say I’m a creature of habit.
 

 
I usually dial my mom to talk while I walk. With my only other conversation companion during the day being a 15-pound Chihuahua, my extreme introverted self takes a vacation during those phone calls, and I babble on for nearly 20 minutes straight about the science of instant oats, my “penguin”-perfect date night, and setting aside enough “me” time for a lively sports-watching dinner, all while Mom’s patient ears turn numb.

But on the rare occasion where I feel particularly brave, I break out of my comfortable routine and turn right instead of left, tracing a route towards the other side of town that takes me past one of my favorite family’s houses, where I drop off containers of cookies, cake, and monkey bread. We chat in their kitchen, quickly losing track of time as we laugh, and I always leave feeling like a real person again. Not just one who talks to dogs.
 

 
Just like my predictable afternoon walking routine, I established one for breakfast too: I always start my day with a banana. I store my stash on the countertop next to the sink, replenishing it with a trip to TJ’s whenever it dwindles down to 3. (TJ’s normally stocks very green bananas…) As the perfectly tasty nutritious treat, I never thought I’d deviate from it…

Until a crazy idea flashed through my brain during my morning run. What about a banana cheesecake… For breakfast?
 

 
Modeled off my other breakfast cheesecakes, these individual-sized Banana Breakfast Cheesecakes are smooth and creamy—and still secretly skinny! Packed with protein and bursting with banana flavor, they’re naturally sweetened and contain NO refined sugar. With less than 200 calories, these luscious treats are the perfect healthy, guilt-free way to start your day!

The easy crust consists of just two ingredients: instant oats and unsweetened applesauce. Do not substitute regular old-fashioned oats; they’re thicker and cannot absorb liquid as quickly, which results in a tough crust. But good news: you can make your own instant oats! Add the same amount of old-fashioned oats (or gluten-free oats, if preferred) to a food processor and pulse 5-8 times until coarse. So simple!
 

 
I added ¼ cup of mashed banana to the creamy cheesecake filling. The banana actually plays 3 roles: (a) flavor {obviously!}, (b) binder {instead of an egg—so you can lick the spatula!}, and (c) sweetener. Brown speckly bananas contain more natural sugar than their green or plain yellow counterparts, so pick the spottiest one you can find! To round out the sweetness, I added a touch of honey too.

These low fat cheesecakes also require a little cornstarch. The cornstarch helps the filling thicken and set; without it, the cheesecakes would be too liquidy. Although many recipes call for flour, I opted for cornstarch instead to keep these cheesecakes gluten-free.
 

 
Bake the skinny cheesecakes for 19-22 minutes—no more! The centers should still jiggle a bit when you gently wiggle the pan. Because we leave the treats in the muffin cups, the warm pan continues to cook the centers as they cool; baking them longer would result in tough gummy cheesecakes. Nobody likes the taste of those!
 

 
Loaded with fruity flavor and a whopping 13.6 grams of protein, these creamy Banana Breakfast Cheesecakes still taste like a sinfully sweet treat. Each smooth bite easily slides down your throat, and their luxurious texture fooled my taste testers. Nobody believed they were a skinny, low fat morning meal!

After licking the fork (and plate) clean, I immediately started reevaluating my precious banana stash… So if you’re anything like me, get out of your breakfast rut and bake these for a healthy treat to start your day!
 

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