Orange Smoothie

A bright and fresh orange smoothie made with fresh oranges, a touch of honey, and a squeeze of lemon. It’s a quick and easy drink to start the day.

The other morning, I whizzed up a frothy, sweet orange smoothie that reminded me of the orange push-up pops and creamsicles I loved so much as a kid. The neighborhood ice cream man delivered the creamy orange ice cream that melted faster than I could slurp, leaving my hands sticky sweet, and most of my summer wardrobe stained with orange. And this smoothie is sort of like that except you make it yourself, drink it from a glass, and enjoy it for breakfast.

It’s a simple concoction requiring only five ingredients plus some ice. There are no new-age add-ins, like chia seeds, flaxseed, or any other seed that one might confuse with birdseed. There’s nothing green in it (although I’m not opposed to a handful of spinach in a breakfast drink for added nutrition). I kept it simple for this orange smoothie, but, like most recipes, it’s open to changes, so feel free to tweak it and make it your own.

Some Ingredients You’ll Need

And I should note that I can’t find the inspiration recipe for this smoothie. I stumbled across it online and forgot to bookmark it, so now it’s lost forever in the ether. I remember what struck me was the absence of yogurt and frozen banana.

Most smoothies these days seem to call for those things, but not here and what you get is a drinkable smoothie with a creamy texture, unlike thicker ones that move slowly down the glass only to suddenly speed up and smack you in the face like a milkshake might. I hate it when that happens.

• Start by zesting your orange until you have about a teaspoon of orange zest. This is totally optional, but the zest does add an extra zing of orange.
• It starts with oranges. If you have a high-powered blender all you need to do is peel one orange and break it into segments. If you have a regular blender, I recommend squeezing the orange juice from a couple of oranges. You only need a half a cup of juice or so.
• The first few times I made this, I used half and half, but since then, I use whole milk, but any milk will work, including almond milk, coconut milk, and other dairy-free milk options.
• I used honey as a sweetener.
• A squeeze of fresh lemon juice adds a pop of brightness, and 2/3 cup ice cubes make it nice and cold.
• Feel free to add an orange wedge or orange slices for garnish if you like that sort of thing.

This orange smoothie recipe is a fresh way to start the day or whiz one up for a nice pick-me-up in the afternoon. The bright orange flavor is like sunshine in a glass.

Happy smoothie-making!

 

More Smoothie Recipes

• Green Smoothie with Apple and Spinach
• Cranberry Smoothie
• Chocolate Banana Smoothie
• Pineapple Fruit Smoothie
• Blueberry Smoothie
• Strawberry Mango Smoothie Bowl – recipe from Tipps in the Kitch

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The nutrition for this fresh fruit smoothie is an estimate only. It was calculated using Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator.