Cherry Chocolate Shake Recipe

I ALWAYS do a little dance of joy every summer the first time I see organic cherries for sale in the market (if anyone sees me and gives me the derogatory “you’re a weirdo look” I try to catch their eyes and then hold up a bag of cherries and point and give a huge, open mouthed smile and usually I can get them to smile back, if not join in my little dance :) ).

Since cherries are in fact one of my all-time favorite summer fruits, it will come as no surprise to find this ingredient in my new Cherry Chocolate Shake Recipe! Sweet or sour, these little stone fruits are bursting with flavor and beauty nutrients!

They also have some pretty surprising benefits. Read on!

Cherries Help You Have Zzzz’s and NOT Have Belly Fat (!)

These red gems are packed with antioxidants that offer many health benefits, including help with insomnia, belly fat and aging.

One study shows how cherries are an excellent source of melatonin. By increasing their intake, you increase your melatonin levels— which leads to better beauty sleep. Something to note: there is a higher level of melatonin in tart cherries compared to sweet cherries. But still, it’s contained in all of them!

As for the belly fat, researchers have found that when rats had received whole tart cherry powder mixed into a high-fat diet, they didn’t gain as much weight or build up as much body fat as rats that didn’t receive cherries.

Whoa! That’s pretty awesome, for all of us that want to avoid belly fat, which is pretty much everyone on the planet (except maybe some beautifully full bodied belly dancing champs somewhere?).

As for aging, cherries are also our friend, as they contain high levels of antioxidants.

What are antioxidants? They help our bodies fight free radicals that make us look old and haggard. If we want to slow down the aging process than we need to up our cherry intake, and this afternoon smoothie will help you do just that! Don’t worry, I got your back. :)

Plus… you’ll get the skin-smoothing beauty fat from the avocado and memory-improving, energy-increasing power from the raw cacao powder. So let’s do it!!

Prepare your ingredients.

Start by adding the coconut milk to the blender.

Next, add the cherries, banana, avocado and cacao powder.

Starting the blender on a low speed, blend until smooth. If needed gradually increase to higher speeds and blend until smooth.

Don’t forget to keep this recipe Pinterest-handy— create your smoothie board today!

Let’s get blending! Check out the full recipe below…