Yes, you read that correctly, this smoothie tastes like a decadent chocolate-cherry cake.  I was blown away by this flavor combination.  I’m without words.  I first heard of this smoothie idea a few months back from Running with Spoon’s Black Forest Smoothie.  When frozen cherries went on sale at Costco I knew I needed to try this, and for dinner!  I took the recipe I had found and modified it a bunch to get my version.

I won’t make you wait any longer, here it is…go make yourself a cake in a cup for breakfast or lunch or dinner with out any guilty feelings about it!

Black Forest Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 1 cup frozen cherries
• 2-3 tablespoons dark cocoa
• 2 tablespoons ground flax
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1 handful of almonds (about 6-8 almonds)
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 3/4 to 1 cup of cashew milk
• Optional: 1 scoop protein powder (I used vanilla Vega protein powder)
• Optional: 1/2 cup spinach

Directions:

1. If using protein powder, pour scoop into a small bowl and mix with 1/4-1/3 cups of water until a paste forms (this stops the protein powder from clumping in the smoothie).
2. Place all ingredients into a blender, and blend on high until well combined.
3. Drink right away, or put smoothie in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to allow chia seeds to thicken the smoothie consistency.

I hope you make this Black Forest smoothie, so we can share a moment together understanding the pure deliciousness of it.