Nutritious Strawberry Cheesecake Shakes

This afternoon, the kids and I decided to try something a little different for lunch. I'm almost at the end of my first trimester with our newest baby, and eating healthful, protein-rich foods is really important to me (not only for the sake of my health and the baby's, but also because light proteins help with my pregnancy sickness). And of course, 3 young children need all the good, nutritious food they can get! So we mixed, and we fiddled - and we came up with this absolutely delicious and energy-packed milkshake that tastes just like a strawberry cheesecake... in fact, my oldest son's reaction was, "HOLY COW! WOAH - that's deeeeeLICIOUS!!!!" All 3 drank it right up... even my picky 2-year-old, who told me that it was "Yummy!" And - it settled well in this new mama's tummy, too. :) A recipe like this is easy to adapt to your own family's tastes and needs, as well as the ingredients in your fridge... but here's what we did, to get you started:

1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla (or to taste)
1 frozen, ripe banana
1-2 cups frozen strawberries (or you could just use 2 bananas... or strawberry preserves... or whatever other fruit suits your fancy and goes well with a cheesecake flavor!)
A splash of milk if necessary, if your blender needs help mixing the frozen fruit

Blend all ingredients at medium speed in a blender until very smooth. Adjust sweetener and flavorings to taste. If you have only fresh fruit, just use that and add 1-2 cups of ice cubes to make a nice, cold milkshake. It won't be quite as creamy that way, but it will still be good.

Amazingly, the cheeses blend quite well together and this milkshake is luxuriously smooth, without feeling TOO creamy in your mouth. With so many possibilities for variations... chocolate, blueberry, cherry, etc. etc... I have a feeling this is going to be a lasting family favorite!