Power Chocolate-Covered Cherry Smoothie

'Tis the season for glitzy, eye-catching retail candy displays. You all know, the kind that make you want to buy enough candy to kill an army of elves in one sitting. Everyone has their one holiday candy they can't resist, and for me it's chocolate-covered cherries. I'm not talking about some preciously expensive, fancy things from the Godiva store that I can only afford to purchase and savor one at a time. I mean the kind available for $1 a box at the Menards checkout counter. The kind that NEVER go bad, ever, thanks to a million preservatives. The kind with 70 calories per piece. The kind I buy and promptly devour at least once every December.

This smoothie is kind of an homage to my favorite candy. It's got all the necessary elements: cherries, chocolate, cream, and a rich vanilla sweetness that seem to be satisfying my candy needs for the short term. It's made of all power foods except the cocoa powder, which only adds 15 calories and probably saves me from eating about a million calories in chocolate later in the day so I don't worry about it too much. Any type of berries could be substituted here, but cherries will always be my favorite.

Power Chocolate-Covered Cherry Smoothie

1 cup frozen sweet cherries

1/2 cup fat free plain Greek yogurt

1/2 cup skim milk (may need more)

1.5 T unsweetened cocoa powder

1 t vanilla

1 packet Splenda (or more to taste)

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Add more milk if mixture is too thick to blend.