Almond Berry Mini Cheesecake Smoothies

 

Well this is awkward. You know, the day between a weekend and a Holiday. What do I even do, say, post? Do we work, not work? LOL! I feel like I’m standing in a room with tons of people waving my hands “hey look at this!” yet no one notices. Yes, I’m awkward so I think I will break the ice with a mini cheesecake smoothie recipe. Mmmm k?  And if you are still reading beyond this point, I commend you for putting up with my humor on July 4th Holiday Eve. Haha!  Okay okay, we are all distracted, busy, and enjoying Summer today, hopefully! So let’s just go with it.

Okay okay. So today I am sharing (yet again) and updated oldie but goodie low carb-ish smoothie recipe. I don’t know how I collected so many smoothie recipes, but I did! Anyway, this NEWER version is PERFECT for when you need to clean out your fridge and need to put all those berries to use. But also…  this time I updated the recipe with a tasty VEGAN option and crunchy almond topping  YAY! I love it when I can do that. So sit back, do a little reading, eating, while I do a bit of gluten free crowd pleasing (corny rhyme included).

Ahemmm… healthy gluten free mini cheesecake recipe,  does that exist? Well, it does in smoothie form!  A delicious and nutritious mini cheesecake smoothie recipe that’s protein packed,  full of antioxidants, vegan friendly, and gasp… even has a way to make it lower carb!  It’s basically cake in a cup with a whole lotta goodness!

Berries, cottage cheese, cashews, coconut milk, almonds…. these are all things left in my fridge before we headed out of town. Uh oh. These cannot be thrown away or go to waste. After all, they are practically SUPERFOOD!  Should I throw it all in my freezer (amongst the rest of my food I’m saving?) Should I turn it into a no churn ice cream? You get my dilemma, right? First world problems. Extra food. Extra good food.

Luckily my mother instilled a “resourcefulness” gene in me and I came up with on heck of a tasty solution. A protein rich smoothie sans protein powder. Oh my heavens, these Almond Berry Mini Cheesecake Smoothie Cups  are delicious! And yes, it does taste like cheesecake, but I will get to that in a minute.

First, let’s talk about the options that make it “cheesecake-y,” Cool?

• Option 1 –> Cottage cheese. We love an organic cultured brand. It’s one of our favorite cottage cheese brands that digests well due to the natural fermentation. Consider it the kefir yogurt of cottage cheese! It’s tangy. It’s rich. It’s my favorite.

Looking to make this cheesecake smoothie recipe vegan or dairy free? no prob!  Option 2 has that covered!

• Option 2 –> Vegan cheesecake using soaked cashews (that will make a cashew cream later) and chilled coconut cream. YEAAAA! Bring on the healthy fats and coconut buttery goodness. This is one combo that makes for a sweet creamy “cheesy” taste without the dairy.  Plus soaking the cashews for a bit also breaks down the phytates, phytates interfere with nutrient absorption. So you see, by doing this whole soaking seed thing, you actually get more bang for buck, nutrient wise. Hoooooray!

And you know what? Both versions of these  berry mini cheesecake smoothie cups have a good source of  protein, even without a protein powder. But don’t worry, you’re totally allowed to add more if needed. If you’re wanting the real deal low carb cheesecake, check out All Day I Dream About Food Low Carb Cranberry Cheesecake Pie!

p.s I made these into mini cheesecake smoothies because of how nutrient dense the ingredients are. In a VERY good way! This means a little goes a long way and provides you with great energy! Gotta love full fat coconut,  cottage cheese, and cashew cream goodness!

Almond Berry Cheesecake Smoothies Cups

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★★★★★

4.2 from 5 reviews

• Author: Lindsay Cotter
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 10 minutes
• Yield: 2 small cups
• Category: snack, breakfast
• Method: no bake
• Cuisine: American

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Description

Berry Mini Cheesecake Smoothies packed with protein, wholesome ingredients, & vegan option. No protein powder needed. A tasty breakfast or healthy dessert!

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Ingredients

• 2 cups frozen mixed berries
• 6 – 8 ounces chilled coconut milk or almond milk
• 1/2 cup organic cottage cheese or (1/3 cup soaked raw cashews for vegans. See notes)
• dash of cinnamon (extra for topping)
• 2 tbsp coconut flour or almond flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp creamy almond butter
• To make Creamier add in 1/4 c chilled coconut cream or coconut milk (remove excess water if needed if it’s solidified). This optional but helps make it thick!
• toasted crushed nuts/almonds to top.
• Optional stevia/xylitol sweetener to taste. Or Add in honey if you are not wanting it low carb
• Optional add ins -> hemp protein, vanilla whey, pitted dates, etc).

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Instructions

1. Note -> if you want to add in the coconut cream for extra thickness, be sure to place a can of coconut cream or coconut milk in fridge to harden overnight. Vegans, see in notes for making cashew cream.
2. Place fruit and milk in blender. Blend until creamy.
3. Scoop in cottage cheese or vegan cashew cream and blend again.
4. Add in cinnamon, vanilla, coconut or almond flour, almond butter, extracts, blend one last time until a thick smoothie is form.
5. Taste to see if you need to adjust sweetness. Add stevia, xylitol syrup, or honey if needed. If you are not watching carbohydrate intake or sugar, feel free to add in 2-3 dates or a banana and blend again.
6. Pour into dessert cups. Top with cinnamon, crushed toasted almonds, coconut sugar, etc.
   Enjoy!

Notes

• If you want to add in the coconut cream for extra thickness, be sure to place a can of coconut cream or coconut milk in fridge to harden overnight.

1. Vegan option – Soak your cashew in purified water for at least 2 hrs or longer. Place cashews in blender or food processor with 1/4 cup water or nut milk and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Blend until a cashew creamy is formed. Stop and scrape sides if needed. This add this to smoothie in place of cottage cheese.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1
• Calories: 165
• Sugar: 10g
• Sodium: 176mg
• Fat: 8.6g
• Saturated Fat: 2.8g
• Trans Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 16.8g
• Fiber: 4.4g
• Protein: 7g
• Cholesterol: 3.8mg

Keywords: smoothies, low carb, protein smoothie, cheesecake smoothie, vegan

Alright, enough dairy or lack of dairy talk, go make these mini cheesecake smoothies! And while you are it, go buy yourself some more berries.

Enjoy some downtime during this holiday week! Sit back, relax, and berry smoothie it up!

What’s your favorite smoothie combo sans protein powder?

Cheers!