Healthy Cherry Cheesecake Protein Smoothie Bowl

This fresh cherry cheesecake smoothie bowl is the perfect refreshing summer treat! I always say the best cake flavors make the best smoothie bowls!

Hi, friends!  Two things I’m obsessed with right now: cherries and cold food.  You could call it a pregnancy craving if you want, but it’s more like a summer heat necessity.  I’m all about smoothies, and more specifically, smoothie bowls a couple of times a week. In my opinion,  smoothies are always better with a spoon. I basically rotate between smoothies and yogurt bowls all week.

After weeks of eating cottage cheese and yogurt like it was my job, I’m a little less enthusiastic about eating cottage cheese plain these days.  I was getting concerned about getting enough protein when I remembered that cottage cheese tastes GREAT in smoothies.  Paired with the right fruit, it gives it’s it a cheesecake-like taste that is hard to beat.

When I analyzed the nutrition stats, I realized this smoothie is a bit higher in carbs than I would usually make it.  A couple of notes here.

First I’ve relaxed some of the usual food guidelines I usually try to stick with out of necessity.  I’ve had a ton of food aversions, more so than most of my friends. I don’t consume artificial sweeteners anyway, but I can’t stand stevia right now.  So I had to use real sugar to offset the tartness of the cherries a bit here, but if you like stevia you could try afew dropsinstead of the honey to lower the carb/added sugar content if that is something you are concerned about.

Second, I’ve eaten this several times for dessert. It’s sweet enough to be dessert, but I still feel healthy eating it. Carbs plus slow acting protein, like the casein found in cottage cheese promote restful sleep.  Which as the third-trimester approaches I could use all the help with fighting insomnia as possible.

Another time that would call for a higher amount of carbs in a smoothie would be post workout.  Plus, cherries also have several phytonutrients that promote recovery, fight inflammation, and decrease soreness.

Here is your PSA for the day, because it seems like many of my nutrition counseling clients recently fear carbs or unfairly place blame on them.  Carbs aren’t evil, pregnant or not. (See why your hormones need carbs and are bananas bad for you?)

You can be smart about your carb intake by timing it to your advantage such as post workout or to promote restful sleep. Or when using fruit to satisfy a sweet tooth while trying to get in nutrients.  Make sense?  Okay good, now enjoy some cherries because they are DELICIOUS this time of year!

This #healthy #cherry #cheesecake #smoothie bowl is the perfect refreshing #summer treat! I always say the best cake flavors make the best smoothie bowls! #glutenfree #cake #hungryhobby Click to Tweet

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