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I love all my recipes, but every once in awhile I find one that’s extra exciting for some reason or another. This refreshing fruit smoothie is one of those that I’m really excited to share with you. This is yet another recipe that was inspired by one of my sister Katelyn’s concoctions, and I first made it after coming inside from working four horses in the hot South Carolina sun. After being outside and sweating so much, this shake was a perfect pick-me-up. It has enough protein to be used as a snack (but it doesn’t use protein powder), contains some fruit for energy and healthy carbs, and has a great fresh flavor! It sure doesn’t taste like diet food.
A common misconception about the Trim Healthy Mama lifestyle (which you can find out more about here) is that fruit is a no-no. That’s definitely not the case! Fruit is welcomed, so long as you a) eat the natural fiber with the fruit and not just the juice, b) add protein to stabilize your blood sugar, and c) don’t over-indulge, especially in fruits high in natural sugars.
Yes, bananas and melons are fairly high in natural sugars, but they are approved on the Trim Healthy Mama plan in small amounts (like I used in this recipe). Feel free to substitute other fruits, but I really enjoy this combination of flavors. The cantaloupe adds a fresh flavor, the banana isn’t overwhelming, and the blueberries add a nice tang.
Trim Healthy Mamas, you can use this yummy shake as a snack or as a dessert after an E or FP meal. If using this as a dessert after an E meal, be sure not to overdo your other carbs too much. For example, I would not drink this shake after eating a whole sweet potato with my meal. If you need other E dessert ideas, check out this page!
This shake uses cottage cheese for protein as well as creaminess. Want to see other unique cottage cheese uses? Click here! Using cottage cheese for protein means that it’s not necessary to add protein powder (unless you want EXTRA protein, like after a workout), which is great for the budget-conscious people. There really aren’t any special ingredients in this shake (I consider a special ingredient one that can’t be purchased at a normal grocery store) except for sweetener. And speaking of sweetener…
I’ve found that E desserts (low fat, healthy carb) supplemented with natural fruit sugars (using bananas or applesauce in cakes, for example) taste pretty normal. If you find that you can taste stevia a mile away, try a recipe that uses a combination of fruit and a low-glycemic sweetener and you might find that you enjoy it! Using the right brand of sweetener really helps, too. THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder (which can be purchased from the Trim Healthy Mama online store) really has a great, well-balanced flavor that doesn’t taste bitter. A little goes a long way!
Question of the day: what’s your favorite fruit?
You can find this recipe in my cookbook, Necessary Food.
- ½ cup crushed ice
- ½ cup frozen mixed berries (I used blueberries and strawberries)
- 2 inches banana
- 3 1" cubes fresh cantaloupe
- ½ cup low fat cottage cheese
- ½ cup unsweetened almond milk (or carton coconut milk for a nut free version)
- 2 doonks THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder (a doonk is 1/32 tsp.)
- Blend all ingredients together until smooth. Enjoy!
- The cottage cheese adds 10 grams of protein, which I consider fine for a snack. This shake could also be used as a dessert for a FP or E meal, Trim Healthy Mamas. Just don't overdo the rest of the carbs in your E meal.
Suggested products:
- I use the single-serve cups that came with our Ninja blender set to make this shake. They’re the perfect size and don’t take up as much room in your dishwasher.
- THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder can be purchased from the Trim Healthy Mama online store.
Tried this today, amazing! I’m not usually a smoothie person because I hate the icy texture. This was perfect. Creamy and the perfect amount of sweet!
Hi Briana, Your heading ‘Ice cold fruit smoothie’ caught my attention immediately. I’ve been having one each morning for over a year now, thanks to THM. I use a cup of whatever homegrown fruit is available. My favorite at the moment is sweet persimmon. We have been picking hundreds of the lovely orange fruit from the big ole tree out front.
The THM stevia extract is just great. One hint that saves me money is that I buy coconut cream (with only a little stabiliser in it) and then water it down with … water. If I’m feeling extra hungry I use a little less water in my smoothie.
Btw, stevia can be grown outside in some places. Mine dies down in winter, then perks up in spring. I scissor a few leaves into a cup and let it steep 10 minutes before adding coconut milk, boiling water, and unsweetened cocoa powder. The little stevia aftertaste doesn’t bother me.
Thanks for the ideas!
This sounds so wonderful! We love coming up with smoothie concoctions. We mostly use yogurt as a base…I had never thought of using cottage cheese, and I didn’t know about the protein factor needing to be added. Thanks so much for every bit of information you share here! 🙂 You are a blessing.