Sometimes drinking my breakfast just doesn’t cut it. When I’m in the mood for something cold and sweet in the morning but I need to “beef it up,” I find that smoothie bowls do the trick.
All I’m doing is decreasing the amount of liquid that I would normally put in a smoothie, then topping with things that add texture, crunch, and satisfaction.
Plus, eating something with a spoon that I’m forced to sit down and pay attention to vs. slurping something from a cup in my car leaves me feeling more full and satisfied.
I’ve learned that the key to a good smoothie bowl is frozen fruit, especially frozen banana. That’s what makes a smoothie bowl thick enough to hold up all the toppings I like to pile on. The addition of cottage cheese gives this Blueberry Cheesecake Smoothie Bowl an extra creamy consistency and makes it taste *a little like* cheesecake.
I know not to skimp on protein in the morning or I’ll be ravenous all day. Anyone else?
This smoothie bowl is full of protein from the cottage cheese, greek yogurt, protein powder, and the Silk Vanilla Protein Nutmilk I used. I enjoy the taste of almond and cashew milks, but I don’t love the minimal amounts of protein that most have. I decided to try out the new Silk Vanilla Protein Nutmilk, and was pleasantly surprised. It has pea protein added, which provides 10 grams of protein per cup. Fortunately, I didn’t notice any funky after-taste from the pea protein. See below for more milk tips.
You can swap out the cottage cheese for more yogurt. Honestly I’m not a huge cottage cheese fan but it really works in this recipe. The blueberries can also be traded for any other frozen fruit.
Whatever you do, don’t forget the toppings!
Blueberry Cheesecake Smoothie Bowl
Makes 1 smoothie bowl
¼ cup full fat cottage cheese
¼ cup whole milk greek yogurt
¼ cup milk of choice*
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
½ banana (frozen)
½ cup frozen blueberries
Optional toppings (my favorite part!): fresh blueberries, KIND granola, sliced banana, walnuts, chia seeds, cacao nibs, hemp seeds, or crushed graham cracker.
Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour smoothie into a bowl and add toppings. Add more milk if you don’t like the thickness.
*Milk tips:
Most coconut, almond, and other nut milks do NOT have protein. Many nut milks are also lacking a significant amount of fat (we want that fat to help send the satisfaction signal to your brain!). Pea-protein based milks like Ripple do have protein but I think they taste like dirt. My favorite nut-based milks are Elmhurst walnut milk (or anything by Elmhurst) or the Silk Vanilla Protein Nutmilk I mentioned above.
If you’re drinking regular dairy, just skip the fat-free stuff.