Try This!

I have long felt badly about my Low-Carb Smoothies book. Why? Because the recipes rely heavily on Carb Countdown carb-reduced milk, which has since become unavailable in much of the country. (If you live near Hood dairy, on the East coast, you may be able to find it under the name Calorie Countdown. Same stuff.)

But just this weekend I tried a new way of making a smoothie -- after all, summer is here, and a cool and yummy smoothie sounds like a perfect breakfast -- and it worked out better than I dreamed. What did I use? Cottage cheese.

No, really. Cottage cheese. And I got a delicious smoothie with a creamy texture to die for. Here's the recipe:

Mocha Latte Smoothie

3/4 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar-free chocolate coffee flavoring syrup (like DaVinci or Torani)
1 teaspoon instant coffee crystals (regular or decaf, your choice)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ice cubes

Combine everything but the ice cubes in your blender, and run till it's smooth and frothy. Add the ice cubes, and keep running till you can't hear the ice anymore. Pour into a tall glass and enjoy.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

1 serving with: 169 Calories; 3g Fat ; 23g Protein; 8g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber, 8 grams usable carb.

This is such a huge success that I'm going to start reworking my whole smoothie recipe collection. Expect more recipes before the end of the summer.