How To Make Cannabis Cheesecake Brownies

Here’s how to make cannabis cheesecake brownies, perfect for your next cheat day.

The Western diet is going through a crisis. North Americans are no longer eating healthy, nutrient-packed foods straight from the ground. Instead, we primarily eat processed, prepackaged and nutrient-void options. The industrial food industry has created an unfortunate diet health crisis, leading to one in five deaths worldwide. A return to home-cooked meals and fresh whole foods is warranted.

It might seem counterintuitive to talk about whole foods in the same breath as cannabis cheesecake brownies, but even health gurus need a dash or two of dessert. The key is to move away from store-bought extravagance and start making these things at home. Slowing down, using whole ingredients, and cooking at home are all the building blocks to a better diet.

As Mark Hymen, an American physician and now best-selling author, says, “The best advice is to avoid foods with health claims on the label, or better yet avoid foods with labels in the first place.” If you have cannabis cheesecake brownies on the mind, you don’t need the dispensary or a box of Betty Crocker. Instead, get out the whisk, preheat the oven, and make the following recipe with whole ingredients from your pantry.

The Value of Whole Foods for Health

In the book “What the Heck Should I Eat,” Hymen outlines the problems with today’s food industry, “In the 21st century our tastes buds, our brain chemistry, our biochemistry, our hormones and our kitchens have been hijacked by the food industry.”

Our current health crisis with chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and obesity, is thanks to a relatively recent change in diet. It was only at the turn of the 20th century that we moved away from our gardens and towards processed foods. As Hymen explains, “The very fact that we are having a national conversation about what we should eat, that we are struggling with the question about are what the best diet is, is symptomatic of how far we have strayed from the natural conditions that gave rise to our species, from the simple act of eating real, whole, fresh food.”

“Real” or “Whole” food means food without labels. Think fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and on occasion, meat and animal products from ethical sources (unless, of course, you are vegetarian or vegan). As Hymen details in his book, in study after study, diets based on real, fresh and non-processed sources of food mean healthier people, with lower rates of all the chronic diseases that have stricken the North American populace.

So what does that mean? The simplest explanation comes from Michael Pollan, another best selling American author who wrote The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto. He advises, “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” He suggests avoiding foods produced in a plant, foods advertised on television, and foods that make health claims. He also wants everyone to cook, “Cooking for yourself is the only sure way to take back control of your diet from the food scientists and food processors.”

Cannabis Cheesecake Brownies

But of course, sometimes you want a treat. Importantly, diets are only sustainable if they are flexible. If you restrict yourself from all indulgences, eventually it becomes impossible to maintain.

Build in the occasional treat into your dietary plan, like a cannabis cheesecake brownie. Make it better for you by avoiding the brownie premixes at the grocery store, or the baked goods at the cannabis retailer.

Make your own cannabis cheesecake brownies at home, with organic ingredients, grass-fed butter, and unrefined ingredients.

Ingredients for Brownie Layer

• Grass-fed butter for greasing pan
• ¼ cup Cannabis butter
• ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted grass-fed butter
• 4 ounces organic bittersweet chocolate
• ¾ cup cane sugar
• 2 large organic eggs
• 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ cup all-purpose flour

Directions for Brownie Layer

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line an 8inch square baking pan with aluminum foil. Grease the foil with butter.
2. Melt the cannabis butter, butter, and chocolate over low heat in a saucepan, stirring frequently. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool down.
3. Stir the sugar into the chocolate until well-combined.
4. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract and continue mixing
5. Mix in the flour and salt.
6. Reserve ½ cup of the brownie batter and spread the remainder into the pan.

Ingredients for Cheesecake Layer

8 ounces cream cheese

1 egg

1-tablespoon whipping cream

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions for Cheesecake Layer

1. Beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in the sugar, egg, cream and vanilla extract until smooth
2. Spread cheesecake batter evenly over the brownie batter in the pan
3. Spoon the leftover brownie batter over the cheesecake batter
4. Using a wooden skewer or the tip of a knife swirl circles into the cheesecake batter
5. Bake for 30 minutes
6. Let cool in the pan and slice

Eat Whole Foods, and “Treat Treats, as Treats”

As the New York Times explained from their 2010 Michael Pollan piece, you can still indulge in a whole food diet, but it’s essential to consider these as true treats. A cannabis cheesecake brownie is a perfect example. These are a delicious indulgence, even if they have therapeutic benefits. But when made for special occasions, or as a true dietary treat, they won’t do any harm.