Cherry Chocolate Smoothie

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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Kale Yogurt Dip

Crunchy veggies, crackers, chips etc. always taste more delicious when accompanied with a creamy spread or dip. Some of my favorites are warm delicious spinach-artichoke dip, and a creamy garlic, egg and cheese dip. But a creamy dip doesn’t necessarily mean you have to use cheese, mayonnaise or other sometimes unhealthy fats. A great example of that is hummus - with a chickpea base, it is rich in protein, and there are a lot of flavor combinations to choose from. Another low fat but creamy ingredient is yogurt. Indian food is often accompanied by yogurt salad, and the same can take the form of a dip based on the ingredients and consistency of the yogurt. For this particular recipe I used kale, carrots and corn - simply because that’s what I had in my refrigerator at the time. You could use any greens and other vegetables that have a low water content. It’s best to use thick yogurt since the addition of vegetables could make it a bit thinner over time as they release moisture. This dip can be served with crudités, pita bread, crackers or tortilla chips. It also works great as a spread for sandwiches or wraps, or as a yogurt salad on it’s own.

Ingredients:

1 cup finely chopped kale leaves

¼ cup finely chopped/grated carrot

¼ cup steamed corn kernels

2 Tbsp finely chopped pecans (or other nuts)

1.5 - 2 cups thick yogurt (can use low fat as long as it is not runny)

2 tsp garlic powder

Salt

Ground black pepper

Honey (optional)

Mix the veggies and nuts with the yogurt. Add salt, pepper, garlic powder and adjust the seasoning to taste.

If kale is not your favorite leafy vegetable, you could use spinach or some other greens. You could also add some honey to cut the bitterness of the kale.

Chill until ready to serve.

~Gayatri

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Kale Yogurt Dip - creamy, garlicky, delicious!http://cooksofcakeandkindness.blogspot.com/2016/04/kale-yogurt-dip.html

Posted by The Cooks of Cake and Kindness on Friday, April 8, 2016