The hot and sticky air continues to hang around here in Wisconsin and I probably complain about it at least five times a day. I also complain about the temps in the winter months, but I promise this blog is not about my frustration with Midwest weather. I’ve been trying to embrace the heat by cooling off with new smoothie recipes.
Smoothies are a great way to enjoy fruit or even use up fresh fruit that’s starting to look not-so-fresh. My latest smoothie muse includes fresh cherries and cacao powder as the two main stars of the show. Vitamin C-rich cherries pair perfectly with the cacao powder, which adds a velvety-smooth chocolate flavor. The below recipe rivals the taste of chocolate-cherry ice cream, and I promise I wouldn’t make such a claim if I didn’t stand behind it (I don’t mess around when it comes to ice cream). Take this recipe on a test drive for yourself and see what you think!
Ingredients
- ¾ cup fresh cherries, pitted
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
- 1 tablespoon cacao powder
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- ½ cup ice
Directions
Add all ingredients to blender and blend until smooth. Add a splash of water if too thick.
Nutrition Information
Per serving: 424 calories (133 from fat), 15 g total fat (5 g saturated fat), 85 mg cholesterol, 254 mg sodium, 36 g carbohydrates, 10 g fiber, 13 g sugar, 43 g protein.
Exchanges: ½ fruit, 1 starch, 1 milk, 3 protein, 2 fat.
While this isn’t a low-calorie smoothie, it can be modified by skipping the protein powder if you’re looking for something a little lighter. This will save anywhere from 130-160 calories and 30 grams of protein. You can also feel free to experiment with adding ingredients like flaxseed oil (a great source of omega-3 fatty acids) and fresh blueberries.
Which smoothie combos keep you cool in the summer?
Anything to COOL OFF right now! 🙂 Love ice cold almond milk w/ cocoa. I have a jar marked for 8 oz. I fill it with 4 oz. unsweetened plain almond milk, 4 oz of ice cold water, one stevia packet, and put in a little cocoa. Shake well!
Enjoy!
That sounds delicious, Esther!
Thanks for this recipe. I’m always on the lookout for new smoothies to try. I opted for the lower calorie version and found it to be quite tasty. I recently purchased the frozen pop molds and am going to try freezing this smoothie so I can have a wee taste every once in awhile.
Love that idea, Carol! If you’d like, feel free to send photos of you using the frozen pop molds to mthorison@tops.org. If not, that’s okay too! Thanks for reading 🙂
Hi Maggie, Thank You So Very Much for the recipe. Look forward to making this. Sounds good. Debbie – Chapter 1261 🙂
If you do make it, let me know what you think 🙂
So could you leave out the peanut butter to eliminate some calories?
I wonder how it would be with Almond Butter? I think I made too many PBJ lunches for my kids.
Probably still pretty tasty 🙂 Let me know if you try it!
Absolutely! Removing the 1 tablespoon of peanut butter would eliminate around 90-100 calories.