As mentioned a few times now (ok, maybe a lot of times!), I am craving sweets in this second pregnancy.  I’m happy to report that I’m now twenty-two weeks along, the baby is healthy, and I’m getting all the sweets I want, the Fresh Formula way.  (Don’t worry, I’m still eating a boat load of veggies, whole grains, beans, and nuts, too.)

If you’ve been tuning in recently, you’ve seen my peanut butter and jelly smoothie, homemade jam formula, and an epic cherry pie, all working together to satisfy my sweet tooth with little to no added sweetener.  Today’s cherry cordial dessert smoothie incorporates elements of one of my favorite candies, the abundance of cherries I am still consuming from my latest Bountiful Basket victory, and a whole bunch of nutritious deliciousness that will leave me satisfied and guilt-free.

Traditionally, the cherry cordial is a cherry and sweet syrup inside of a dark chocolate shell.  If you’ve never had one, at some point, splurge and please do.  They are so so so decadently yummy!  Could I sit down and eat the better part of a box right now?  You bet…but I won’t.  With my latest dessert smoothie concoction (the first being my chocolate peanut butter version), I get all there is to love about the classic cherry cordial without the added sugar.

With babies on the brain, I’m also thinking about two-year-old Nolan when I come up with one of these recipes.  I totally let Nolan dig in to a traditional dessert on occasion—the boy hasn’t met an ice cream he didn’t like—but by “on occasion” I mean I can literally count on less than two hands the number of times he’s eaten a dessert with animal products in it.  Because he rarely sees or consumes something like ice cream, he knows it’s a special treat and honestly, would be even happier with one of my dessert smoothies any day.  In our house, he doesn’t beg for ice cream, hot dogs, and chicken nuggets; he wakes up shouting “Chocolate smoothie!” instead.  🙂

Even these dessert smoothies are a “special treat” compared to the super food smoothies we make regularly.  As much as a two-year-old can, Nolan has developed quite the sophisticated palate and definitely knows the difference between routine healthy eating and special treats, like this one, that are often super healthy, too, especially when compared with other varieties.  I mean, look at the ingredients:

The point is, this is “dessert” I feel excited about feeding my toddler and unborn child, so it’s definitely a-ok for me, Travis, and you, too.  Enjoy!

FORMULA BASE:  DESSERT SMOOTHIE

Serves 2-3

• 2 frozen bananas (or fresh bananas and ice)
• ½-1 cup specialty ingredients –> I’m using ¾ cup pitted sweet red cherries* and ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder.
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tbsp ground flax seeds
• 1 tbsp hulled hemp seeds
• ¼-½ tsp extract of choice (optional, and amount depends on flavor intensity) –> I’m using ¼ tsp almond.
• Pitted medjool dates as needed for sweetness –> I’m using 3.
• Juice or plant milk until desired consistency (start with 4 oz) –> I’m using the minimum in almond.

*After I made this, Travis said he wanted more cherries.  Can’t go wrong with that.  Make it a full cup if you really like ’em!

Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth, adjusting specialty ingredients as necessary.