Sweet Cherry Kefir Shake

This Sweet Cherry Kefir Shake is thick, smooth, and creamy with a balanced sweetness and delicious real cherry flavor. It makes a terrific THM E lunch or snack and only requires 6 ingredients!

The kefir adds 18 grams of protein! Since the shake has 34 grams of net carbs already, keep any additional carbs in your meal/snack minimal to stay under the recommended 45 grams for a THM E meal. (Those carbs are calculated for regular low-fat kefir, so double fermenting may lower them. It’s hard to quantify by how much, though.)

I just get my dark sweet cherries from Walmart or a local grocery store. I love that they’re so readily available, and I’m a huge fan of dark cherries as well as tart cherries (although the tart ones are harder to get ahold of, at least down south) so I really need to create more recipes using them.

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Variations

I love this kefir shake as-is, plain and classic, but you can change it up or dress it up as much as you want. Here are some ideas:

• As always, feel free to increase the sweetener if you so choose! Or if I somehow over-sweetened for once in my life, feel free to decrease the sweetener as well. I thought this amount of THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder was great, but you’re more than welcome (nay, highly encouraged) to use your favorite low-glycemic sweetener to your desired sweetness. I find that stevia pairs really well with kefir and fruit, so I used it in this shake because it’s budget-friendly.
• Substitute other frozen fruits for the sweet cherries!
• Add some cocoa powder for a chocolate-covered cherry shake! (You may need to increase the sweetener.)
• Try a dash of almond extract? I think cherries and almond go together? I think…
• I love to add a handful of fresh spinach to my shakes for extra veggies, but doing so will change the color of the shake and I wanted to keep it pretty and pink for pictures.

If you try this shake with any of these tweaks – or if you just tried it and loved it as-is – I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!

What’s all this about kefir and double fermentation?

If you’re not familiar with double fermenting kefir to reduce the carbs and increase nutrients, you can just use plain low-fat kefir. I like to use double fermented kefir in this recipe because there are already quite a few carbs from the cherries. To double ferment kefir, you basically just leave it out on the counter in a sealed container for 24 hours, then store it in the fridge. (You can do this with storebought kefir or homemade kefir after the first ferment. Remove the grains before the second ferment.) For more info on kefir and double fermentation, check out THIS VIDEO by Trim Healthy Mama.

I follow the same basic process as Serene does to make my kefir, but I use far fewer kefir grains than she does and I use skim milk so I can use the resulting kefir in any fuel setting. Making your own kefir is so easy! I got the kefir grains from my sister, who got them from a friend, but if you don’t have any fermenting friends or relations there are probably some online sites from which you can order some grains to get you started. You’ll keep reusing the grains so a one-time purchase is all it takes. Kefir grains are surprisingly resilient and I haven’t killed mine yet, so don’t be afraid to give it a try.  😉

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As always, check out the Notes section of the recipe for extra info. Check out the links in and below the recipe to see the products I use and recommend. Some of the links included in the recipe and blog post are affiliate links, which means that if you make purchases through these links, I make a small commission (but your price doesn’t change).

My cookbooks Necessary Food and Convenient Food contain about 400 low-glycemic recipes each, separated by carbs and fats and free of refined sugar and flour (like all the recipes here on my website). I grew up on my momma’s good cooking, and the recipes in these books are mostly just old family favorites made healthy! Now that I’m married, I’m gravitating even more toward quick and easy, and my newest cookbook definitely reflects that! CLICK HERE to check out my cookbooks in more detail and purchase.

5.0 from 2 reviews

Sweet Cherry Kefir Shake

 

Author:

Briana Thomas

Recipe type: Shakes & Drinks

Cuisine: THM E

Serves: 1

Prep Time: 5 mins

Total time: 5 mins

Print

 

As written this kefir shake is very simple, but you can feel free to add things in and/or swap other frozen fruit for the cherries! I like it plain and classic like this. It's a thick, smooth, creamy shake with a balanced sweetness and delicious real cherry flavor. The kefir adds 18 grams of protein! Since the shake has 34 grams of net carbs already, keep any additional carbs in your meal/snack minimal to stay under the recommended 45 grams for a THM E meal. (Those carbs are calculated for regular low-fat kefir, so double fermenting may lower them. It's hard to quantify by how much, though.) | THM E, low fat, no sugar added, gluten/egg/nut free

Ingredients

• 1½ cups double-fermented low-fat kefir
• 1 cup frozen dark sweet cherries
• 6 ice cubes (or more, for a thicker shake)
• ⅛ teaspoon THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder (or more, to taste)
• Dash vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon glucomannan (scant)

Instructions

1. Add all the ingredients to a high-powered blender and blend until smooth. (Add the glucomannan right before blending so it doesn't clump.) Taste and adjust the sweetness as desired, and feel free to add another ice cube or two if you want the shake to be thicker. Enjoy!
2. VARIATIONS: Feel free to substitute other frozen fruit for the cherries! I'm partial to dark cherries, though. Add some cocoa powder for a chocolate-covered cherry shake! A dash of almond extract might be good! I love to add a handful of fresh spinach to my shakes for extra veggies, but doing so will change the color and I wanted to keep it pretty for pictures...

Notes

If you're not familiar with double fermenting kefir to reduce the carbs and increase nutrients, you can just use plain low-fat kefir. I like to use double fermented kefir in this recipe because there are already quite a few carbs from the cherries. To double ferment kefir, you basically just leave it out on the counter in a sealed container for 24 hours, then store it in the fridge. (You can do this with storebought kefir or homemade kefir after the first ferment. Remove the grains before the second ferment.) For more info on kefir and double fermentation, check out THIS VIDEO by Trim Healthy Mama.

Calories: 239 Fat: 3 g Carbohydrates: 37 g Fiber: 3 g Protein: 18 g

3.5.3251

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