Menu Musings of a Modern American Mom: Orange Julius Smoothies

The other day I woke up with a craving for an Orange Julius. Do you all remember going to the mall many years ago as a teenager and having these? Where I grew up, they were hard to miss. It's the perfect "eye opener" in the morning with the bright sunny flavor of orange juice, but yet creamy and frothy all at the same time. - really they are just one step away from being like an orange sherbet in a drinkable form.

Anyway, I happened to be gearing up for my morning run, and needed something to get me going without being heavy enough to weigh me down. I have only recently been able to run with ANY thing in my stomach at all. So I decided to give this a try as a pre-run "meal." To get to the bottom line, I've done this a couple of times now, and decided that it is perfect for me before a run. Each time, I've shaved off a minute from my run time. Now whether it was all in my head or not, these are great!

In less than 5 minutes, you can have one, too! Lots of vitamin C to bolster your immunity (here in the flu season), lots of calcium, and a secret ingredient to increase the protein count!

Print this Recipe!

Ingredients:

1 (8oz) Silk, Very Vanilla Soy milk*
6 oz orange juice concentrate
1 Tbsp egg white powder**
1 - 2 cups ice, depending on how thick you want it

Step-by-Step:
Add all the ingredients into your blender and combine. The amount of ice you add will determine how thick the drink is. Serve immediately.

1 (8oz) box of Very Vanilla Soy Milk + 6 oz orange juice concentrate.

If you choose to use regular milk, you will probably want to add some sugar and vanilla, but the Very Vanilla Soy milk has both in it already, in addition to having twice the calcium of dairy milk. If you've never tried this product, give it a whirl... it's quite yummy! And the fact that it's sold in individual portions that do NOT have to take up space in the refrigerator is a big plus.

This el-cheepo brand of orange juice concentrated was fairly sweet, so in the end I did NOT add any additional sugar. Other brands may differ in taste. Do not throw away the other half of the container. Just put it back in the freezer.... you'll be making more of these!

1 Tbsp egg white powder + 1 - 2 cups of ice cubes

Feel free to use a plain egg white in this drink if that is your preference. I have done that before, as well. (The chances of getting salmonella are like 1 in 30,000.) Neither the egg white or the egg white powder changes the taste at all, they help to make the drink frothy, and they definitely increase the amount of protein in the drink. The egg white powder is pasteurized, and comes in a can that is shelf stable for a long time, and can be added to other drinks or baked goods.

Enjoy immediately!!
Now even if you aren't lacing up to go for a run, I'd be willing to bet you are running around trying to get kids ready for school. These would be perfect to mix up, divide among the kids, and take "on the go" as you drive them to school in the mornings, or to their practices and recitals in the afternoons.

Cheers!!

I hope you enjoyed this recipe! Why don't you pop on over to my Recipe Index to see what else I've been cooking up?! You are sure to find something to get you and your kids up and going! You can also visit my new page, Filmstrips for Pinning, where you can see whole recipes at a glance. I'm still working on adding existing recipes to this collection.

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