A surprising (healthy!) ingredient gives these Secret Ingredient Smoothies their creamy consistency and protein-packed twist.

When I tell you what the secret ingredient is in these healthy fruit smoothies, you may cringe, or cry, or yell, or worst of all, you may never come back here again. So, the secret ingredient is … cream cheese. Kidding! But remember how crazily awesome cream cheese is in that other secret ingredient recipe?

It’s not cream cheese. It’s not flaxseed. It’s not turmeric. It’s basically nothing you’d ever imagine tossing into a blender and whipping into a creamy frenzy of healthy fruit-filled fabulousness. It is none other than … cottage cheese. Seriously. But wait! Stick with me here, cottage cheese haters. (We know who you are.)

Here’s the deal: The curd’s the word. Cottage cheese rocks, and for so many reasons:

1. It’s packed with protein. And I mean packed.
2. It has a relatively neutral taste when paired with the right complementary ingredients.
3. It makes one heck of a creamy smoothie, no additional yogurt or milk required.

Are you sold? Trust me on this one. I’ve suggested some pretty weird culinary combinations in the past, and I’ve lived to see another blog post. So do me a huge favor. Put all those pre-conceived cottage cheese notions behind you (But, oh! The texture!) and give these recipes a whirl. You can even take your pick from three flavor-packed options: Mixed Berry, Green Machine and Mango-Peach.

And what about that fancy-schmancy presentation? Tune in below to see these smoothies in action!

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