Today is National Cheesecake Day, I was told by All Things Edible. Ironically, the day I had my interview with them, I had just made a white chocolate, raspberry cheesecake for an open house I was invited to, and it was by far one of my best. I became inspired to recreate it and share it with you.

I find this food fascinating. All of my life, I have made traditional cheesecakes and loved them. When I lived in Switzerland and visited Germany often, I found a lighter and healthier version called “Quark Kuechen.”

When I look back on my path towards becoming healthier, it is like unveiling layers of understanding. In Yoga we identify these as “koshas,” layers leading toward self –realization.

I realized that I was intolerant to dairy and that my frequent ear infections as a child were most likely linked to my daily consumption of dairy. I read this on my quest to find long–term, sustainable solutions as western medicine continued to fail me time and time again.

Reducing and eventually eliminating dairy was amongst one my first revelations. My systemic acne reduced and went away. My skin rashes reduced, and I was no longer becoming sick when others around me were falling ill during cold season. Not eating dairy was serving my highest good, I could finally see.

If you do choose to eat dairy, and for some reason still have renin, an enzyme needed to digest lactose usually absent from most humans after age 5, please do choose organic, grass fed milk, cheese and yogurt. Trust that there are other, more absorabable sources of calcium.

This white chocolate raspberry cheesecake was a creation in celebration. It is my intention that you make a raw, vegan cheesecake to celebrate your day or some one else’s day. Each ingredient, in moderation, strengthens the eyes, skin, heart, lungs, teeth, bones and cells. When you consume ingredients into your life which are health giving, a transformation happens inside of you. What do you choose?