Smoothies don’t really need recipes, just guidelines :). I often go with whatever fruits, veggies that I have in my fridge (and sometimes what I need to finish up so it won’t go bad!), mix and match the with a base such as yogurt, milk, water, juice etc. and adjust the quantities until it tastes good. Recently I bought some beautiful cherries at a farmers’ market - only to realize later that those were sour cherries. Given my aversion to anything sour, I was in a pickle as to how I’d get through all of those cherries. Adding them (along with a bunch of sugar!) to a baked treat such as pie was my obvious choice, but that takes a bit of effort and I was feeling quite lazy that weekend. A fairly heavy Sunday lunch called for a smoothie dinner, and the first thing I saw in my fridge was the carton of beautiful bright cherries. I decided to brace myself and make a sour cherry smoothie - hoping I wouldn’t need to sweeten it too much with sugar/honey or other fruit. I used yogurt to thicken it and get my protein fix, and added cocoa powder for additional flavor. Surprisingly even with the yogurt and sour cherries, I was able to get by with just a little bit of honey.
This sweet and slightly tangy smoothie was so delicious that I ended up using all of the cherries making variations of the same recipe! The basic recipe is given here, but it works well with the addition of several other ingredients including protein powders, flaxseed, almonds and chia seeds. So, go crazy with your favorite add-ins but do give this refreshing smoothie a try this summer. I’m sure I’ll be buying more cherries just to make more smoothies!
Ingredients: (Serves 1)
½ cup pitted cherries (I used sour cherries)
½ cup thick yogurt (I used 2% Fage yogurt)
1-2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (depending on your chocolate liking and quality of cocoa)
½ - 1 tsp honey (optional)
Ice cubes or water as needed to get the desired consistency
Blend all ingredients and adjust quantities to taste if necessary. Serve chilled!
~Gayatri
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