How fun are these No-Bake Berry Yogurt Cheesecake Bars? Who doesn’t love a no-bake dessert, especially in the heat of the summer? What about one that’s (kinda) good and good for you?
This recipe is as simple as can be – a buttery, lightly sweetened graham cracker layer is topped with a triple creamy combination of Neufchâtel, Greek yogurt, and rich mascarpone sweetened with powdered sugar.
Mascarpone is a fresh, soft cow’s milk cheese with a lightly sweet, rich flavor, originally from Northern Italy. (If you can’t find it, you can always double up on the Neufchâtel.)
Cup for cup, mascarpone is higher in fat than heavy cream; however, this recipe requires less of it, so we are effectively coming out ahead. Sneaky! Another bonus is that mascarpone sets up firmer than whipped cream, which is very important with a no-bake refrigerated dessert. Lastly, the lemon tanginess of the mascarpone leans into the “cheesecakeyness” of it all.
This No-Bake Berry Yogurt Cheesecake is a winner!
This issue also shares
- The Best Life Living Tip: Crowd Pleasing Starts with You 🙌🏻
- The Self-Care Strategy: Soak Away Stress🛁
- Ideas and Inspiration: Green Cleaning Vibes 💚
Thank you for your time! I hope this short read gives you a little boost. If you are reading this, it tells me you care about your time and how you spend it. I see you and am grateful you are here!
Keep reading for a 5-minute read with tips, strategies, and inspiration, plus a healthy recipe.
And, if you are new here or if this newsletter was forwarded to you, welcome!
Please read on for more, including this simple recipe for No-Bake Berry Yogurt Cheesecake Bars.
Best Life Living Tip
Picnic and cookout potlucks are popular in the summer. It’s customary for the host to provide the main and the guests to offer apps, side dishes, and desserts. And, it’s rude to show up empty-handed, but that doesn’t mean you need to drive yourself crazy.
If you don’t feel like channeling your inner Martha Stewart, then don’t! Go with your bandwidth.
Ice is nearly always needed at parties. You can offer to bring drinks or wine. Pick something up at the store.
Having an easy dish to take to a potluck is important because it reduces stress and ensures you’re contributing without being overwhelmed. Simple, crowd-pleasing recipes ike these No-Bake Berry Yogurt Cheesecake Bars mean you’re ready with something shareable without overcomplicating things.
Many no-bake cakes are made with highly processed whipped non-dairy topping, instant pudding packed with chemicals and stabilizers, or heart attacks on a plate, pounded with heavy cream. Not these No-Bake Berry Yogurt Cheesecake Bars!
This recipe for No-Bake Berry Yogurt Cheesecake is not health food by any stretch, but it’s certainly healthier with whole graham crackers, reduced-fat dairy, and antioxidant-rich berries.
Self-Care Strategy
I am a bath-taker. I love a hot bath. Sure, a shower is an efficient clean, and can be reinvigorating, but a bath is an experience.
Taking a tub bath can offer a range of physical, mental, and emotional benefits:
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Relieves Stress – Soaking in warm water can help lower cortisol levels and calm the nervous system, promoting relaxation and reducing anxiety.
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Eases Muscle Tension and Joint Pain – The heat helps increase blood circulation and relax muscles, making it beneficial for soreness, stiffness, or minor aches.
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Improves Sleep – A warm bath before bed can raise and then lower your body temperature, which signals the body it’s time to sleep.
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Promotes Skin Health – Adding ingredients like Epsom salts, oatmeal, or essential oils can soothe skin conditions, moisturize dry skin, and promote healing.
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Encourages Mindfulness – A bath offers a moment to unplug and be present, making it a restorative form of self-care.
Ideas and Inspiration
Speaking of rub-dub-dub… how about green cleaning?
Dr. Bronner’s is an iconic soap of the countercultural 60s and leaders of the organic and fair trade movement. Still family run, the company ethos is, “In all we do, let us be generous, fair & loving to Spaceship Earth and all its inhabitants. For we’re All-One or None! ALL-ONE!”
Dr. Bronner’s was founded in 1948 by Emanuel Bronner, a third-generation German-Jewish master soapmaker. Still family-owned and run, Dr. Bronner’s honors its founder’s vision by making socially & environmentally responsible products of the highest quality – and by dedicating its profits to help make a better world. All-One!
The company makes castile soap. Castile soap is a vegetable-oil-based soap, that is known for its versatility and gentle cleaning properties. It’s a popular choice for personal care and household cleaning due to its natural and biodegradable composition, free from animal fats, and synthetic ingredients.
I have used their products for decades! Give them a follow on Insta @drbronner and sign up for green cleaning tips from granddaughter, Lisa Bronner at LisaBronner.com
Good and Good for You™Living Spotlight
I’m taking Good and Good for You™ on the road again! Please join me at the Hambidge Center for the Arts and Sciences this fall with a multi-faceted approach to health and wellness. The weekend will include:
- Daily hands-on cooking classes with healthful recipes and include tips for maintaining healthy eating habits, mindful consumption, and recipe makeover techniques. Menus include Brain Food and Real Life Healthy Eating Fundamentals.
- Explore nature in a variety of walks and hikes, divided into levels of ability.
- Discover ways to create a sanctuary with best-life tips and self-care techniques, make art, and DIY with Self-Care Crafts and Gifts: Salves, Sugars, and Skin Care.
- Have opportunities for open and honest discussion about whole-body wellness, mindful eating and drinking, healthy aging, inspiration, resources, and more.
Please visit hambidge.org or my events page for more information.
Make it Count
I hope you love these No-Bake Berry Yogurt Cheesecake Bars. You can use any berries or sliced fruit, just make sure the topping is not too wet. I love the look of this red, white, and blue, perfect for summer.
This recipe can be sliced to serve 12 3-inch portions and then halved again to make 24 smaller bars. The nutritional information is for 24 servings, but even at 12 portions, it’s still only about 400 calories!
Thanks so much for reading. Please follow me on IG @virginiawillis for more best life tips, self-care techniques, ideas and inspiration, and healthy recipes. As long as you’re doing what’s Good and Good for You™ more often than not, you’re on the right track. 🙌🏻 You can do it!
Bon Appétit Y’all!
Virginia Willis
No-Bake Berry Yogurt Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs about 2 cups
- ½ cup unsalted butter 1 stick
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 8- ounce block Neufchâtel
- 1 8- ounce container mascarpone
- 1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 pint blueberries
- 1 pint strawberries sliced
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Stir the graham cracker crust ingredients together. Pour into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and pack in very tightly. Use the flat bottom of a measuring cup and an offset spatula to flatten. (The tighter it’s packed, the less likely it will fall apart when cutting the cheesecake.) Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove to a rack to cool completely.
- In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the Neufchâtel, mascarpone, yogurt, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Scoop the cream cheese mixture into the cooled graham cracker crust. Top with berries.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.
- To serve, place in the freezer for 10 minutes before slicing. Warm a utility knife or a metal bench scraper under hot running water. Slice and serve immediately.
Nutrition
