Protein is an important part of helping your body feel satisfied with the food you eat. Personally if I have a regular fruit smoothie I'm hungry again in no time. However, I wanted to make a protein smoothie without protein powder, because: (1) I honestly don't know much about it, (2) I know that the quality of protein powder can vary wildly, (3) it sometimes contains added sugar and (4) it can make drinks chalky. I'm a big fan of using whole foods whenever possible (ESPECIALLY when feeding my kiddos!) so I stated experimenting with cottage cheese and plain yogurt and I love the result! This article from Healthline also mentions that this can be a good strategy for weight loss.