Lemon Cheesecake Bars

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It's springtime, so can someone please tell me why I still have four cans of pumpkin lying around??

Seriously.  I am so behind.

But I definitely made up for it with these Lemon Cheesecake Bars.

Every bite is like a wave of freshness--so tasty, so fresh, so lemony!

You would never actually guess that this is good for you, though.

I mean, they're too sweet and flavorful to be nutritious...

and they're definitely too rich and creamy to be diet-friendly...  right?

Wrong.

The ingredient list of this cheesecake is much healthier than any storebought kind!

And that's the thing I love about healthy food--it can taste great!

Lemon Cheesecake Bars:  [low sugar, high protein, GF]
(makes 9 large bars)

   Almond Crust:**
       350g (2+1/2 cups) Raw Almonds, roughly chopped (measured after chopping)
       40g (1/4 cup) Brown Rice Flour
       1/2 tsp Cinnamon
       1/4 tsp Salt
       14g (1 tbs) Coconut Oil, soft

   Cheesecake:
       16oz Fat Free Cream Cheese
       16oz (2 cups) Plain, Nonfat Greek Yogurt
       84g (1/4 cup) Honey
       24g (3 tbs) Arrowroot Starch (or cornstarch)
       1 tsp Lemon Flavor
       1 tsp Stevia Extract
       64g (2 scoops) Vanilla Protein Powder
       1 tbs Lemon Juice

   Blueberry Compote, for topping

**You can certainly use the typical graham cracker crust.  Here is a whole wheat recipe and gluten free recipe.  I was just trying to get people to eat more of the almond superfood  :)

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a brownie pan with tin foil (I'm sure parchment paper will work)
2.  In a blender, blend the almonds until it looks like this:

3.  Add the brown rice flour, cinnamon and salt and blend again.  Transfer mixture to a bowl and mix in the coconut oil (I used my hands).  Transfer to the pan and flatten.  Bake for ~15 minutes, or until fragrant.  Cool in the fridge while you make the filling.
4.  In a large mixing bowl, whip the cream cheese with the yogurt.  Add the honey, starch and extracts and whip again.  Finally, add the protein powder and lemon juice and whip one last time.  Pour this over the crust and bake for ~38-42 minutes, until center is firm and edges pull away from the sides of the pan.  Let cool to room temperature.  When completely cool, slice and top each square with blueberry compote.