Do you remember the days of wandering the mall with friends, eating at the food court and catching a movie in the late afternoon to prolong your independence from your parents? I know it wasn’t just me.
Now, I hate stepping foot in the mall without a plan of action to get me in and out in the shortest amount of time necessary. I think fondly back on days of meandering with an Orange Julius in hand- creamy, frothy orange juice blended with milk, vanilla, powdered sugar, and ice- the perfect sugar buzz to keep me alert while navigating Forever 21.
- 1 navel orange
- 1 and ½ frozen bananas
- ½ cup vanilla yogurt
- ¼ cup soy milk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon orange zest
- 4 ice cubes
- 1 cup packed spinach
- Optional: granola for garnish
- Cut the skin and the pith (white part under the skin) off of a navel orange. Save the skin and remove some orange zest. Picking a good juicy orange is vital to this recipe!
- In a blender, combine orange, frozen banana, yogurt, milk, vanilla, orange zest, ice and spinach. Blend until smooth and frothy.
- Taste and add a tablespoon of honey if necessary - I usually need to do this if the orange I used was not juicy and sweet.
- Pour into 2 glasses and garnish with an orange wedge and top with granola for crunch if desired.
This recipe was created out of a recent craving for that same sweet and frothy drink, but without all the sugar. Using a whole orange and some frozen banana adds texture (fiber!), and adding yogurt and spinach bulk up the nutrition of this smoothie so you can treat it as a real-food snack instead of a mall treat. Especially if you add some seedy & nutty granola on top.
Though I can’t remember the last time I had an Orange Julius (RIP to the original stand-alone restaurants in food courts, it looks like they are now merged with Dairy Queen), this healthy version ends up being more satisfying and filling: a win-win in my book.
Do you have a food that brings you back to food court memories? Maybe bourbon chicken samples, or Greek chicken gyros? Yum.
Marisa
Jessi Even says
haha Yes – this is exactly my mall memories – Except our was called “Fresh and Healthy” and it was the triple berry blend I’d grab 3 samples of before getting it in the 20oz like I knew I was going to get every time!
Marisa says
Oooh yes, I almost forgot about the samples. So funny that they would always give them to you when you were in line to buy something!
Cassie says
So I had this weird intuitive-eating period of my life where I would always get a slice of shitty villa pizza at the mall. I’ve never had an orange julius, isn’t that nuts?? I need to buy some oranges… ahh!
Marisa says
Pizza. Yum. Yes, get on it!
Dixya @ Food, Pleasure, and Health says
going to the mall is a lot of work these days…but have never tried orange julius before.
Marisa says
Now you can recreate it at home without the stress of the mall 😀
Farrah says
I love everything about this! *-* I wish I still had an orange in my apartment right now, because this would seriously be an awesome after-workout drink. :[
Marisa says
It would be so good to quench ya post-workout! Let me know if you try it!
Erin @ The Almond Eater says
Haha oh gosh…the mall back in the day was THE place to be. Not so much anymore.. unless I really feel like splurging.
Marisa says
Agreed – now I go to the stores that are on the higher end too (J Crew, Nordstroms, etc).
Laurel Schmitt says
Yum! Think you could make the “healthy” version of a Cinnabon?
Marisa says
OH my gosh yes. Challenge accepted 🙂
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
ooh this smoothie looks delicious.. love the recipe!
Marisa says
Thanks!
valentina says
This is gorgeous!
Marisa says
Thank you Valentina!