Ingredients
- Frozen Dark Sweet Cherries: 1 ½ cups, pitted
- Cottage Cheese: ½ cup (full-fat or 2% recommended for creaminess)
- Milk of Choice: ½ to ¾ cup (dairy, almond, oat, or soy milk all work well)
- Rolled Oats: 2 tablespoons (optional, for added fiber and thickness)
- Chia Seeds or Ground Flaxseed: 1 tablespoon (for omega-3s and thickness)
- Pure Vanilla Extract: ½ teaspoon
- Sweetener (Optional): 1-2 teaspoons of maple syrup, honey, or a few drops of stevia, to taste
- Pinch of Salt: Just a tiny pinch to enhance the flavors
Instructions
- Add Liquids First: Pour your milk of choice into the bottom of your blender. This helps the blades spin freely and prevents the thicker ingredients from getting stuck. Add the vanilla extract and any liquid sweetener you’re using at this stage.
- Add Soft and Small Ingredients: Next, add the cottage cheese, rolled oats, chia seeds or flaxseed, and the pinch of salt. Placing the softer ingredients on top of the liquid helps create a vortex that will pull the harder, frozen ingredients down.
- Top with Frozen Fruit: Finally, add the 1 ½ cups of frozen pitted cherries to the blender.
- Blend Until Smooth: Secure the lid and start blending on a low speed, gradually increasing to high. Blend for 45-60 seconds, or until the mixture is completely smooth and creamy, with no remaining chunks of oats or cherry skins. If you have a high-powered blender like a Vitamix or Blendtec, this will be very quick. For standard blenders, you may need to stop and scrape down the sides once or twice.
- Check Consistency and Taste: Once blended, check the consistency. If it’s too thick for your liking, add another splash of milk and blend for a few seconds. If it’s not sweet enough, add your preferred sweetener and give it a quick pulse to combine.
- Serve Immediately: Pour the smoothie into a chilled glass and enjoy right away for the best texture and temperature.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: One Normal Portion
- Calories: 380-450