Is there anything in this world more refreshing than sweet, juicy tropical fruit?
One taste of that goodness takes me to a place with white sand beaches, turquoise water and life less hurried.
The sound of the crashing waves. The smell of the salty air. Frozen drinks with rum little paper umbrellas. Ahhhh, paradise.
Ooorrrr you could be stuck in Ohio and be trying to train for a half marathon in bazillion percent humidity weather, finding yourself in serious need of some tasty, revitalizing post-run recovery.
Sorry guys, that was the actual inspiration for this smoothie. No beaches.
This year I’m running the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Half Marathon again, courtesy of my little sister who twisted my arm to do it. And I’m dragging Derek along with us too. I’m glad to have some running partners this time instead of going it alone!
But the farther we get into training, the more I remember how the long runs make me ABSOLUTELY RAVENOUS. So in an effort to keep myself from shoving my face with everything in sight for the remainder of the day, this smoothie was born.
Let me introduce you to the lovely ingredients:
Welllll, kinda sorta.
Because this girl does not even have time to chop all that stuff – especially just to throw it in a blender.
So actually we’re gonna use frozen mango (from a bag), baby carrots (also from a bag), pineapple juice (yup, from a can) and the last remaining (and only legit) ingredient in the above photo, a banana. But that wouldn’t have made for a pretty picture.☺
And I know I said this was gonna be a protein smoothie, so….
We’re adding some cottage cheese. Strange but true. Because I’m kinda on the fence about protein powder. Seems kinda unnatural, ya know? How did 17 grams of protein get into that powdery stuff anyway? I know, the cottage cheese seems weird. You’re gonna have to trust me on this one. Cottage cheese + smoothie = practically a milkshake. Healthy. Tropical. Milkshake.
Make it. Add a little paper umbrella. Join me in paradise.
- ½ cup pineapple juice
- ½ cup 2% cottage cheese
- ¼ cup baby carrots (about 5-6)
- ½ cup frozen mango
- 1 medium banana (frozen for a creamier smoothie)
- Put the pineapple juice, cottage cheese and carrots in the blender. Blend until the carrot is completely chopped.
- Add the frozen mango and banana and continue blending until smooth.

So creative to put cottage cheese in a smoothie! I bet it tastes kinda like cheesecake too–bonus!
Cheesecake is ALWAYS a bonus in my book!
Definitely going to have to try this smoothie for my one year old. Sounds like a great way to sneak in lots of nutrients to her! Thanks for the idea of putting cottage cheese and carrots
Love it!
I’m totally not above sneaking in nutrients!
you are a GENIUS! (i already knew that)
Genius miiiiight be a stretch
Thanks for this. I too am not sure about protein powder! Looking for an after strength training smoothie, this might be a decent place to start
Give it a go, Bethany! I promise, even if you are not a cottage cheese lover, you really can’t taste it! And good luck with the strength training!
Hey Sarah!
Awesome website!
Great smoothie recipe.
Thanks, Raphaelita!