At the beginning of the New Year, I got sick. Not just run-of-the-milk sick, but stay-in-bed-for-four-days sick. I really didn’t feel like myself for 2 weeks. But one of the strangest things occurred during this time: my taste changed.
Nothing sounded good except for citrus-y types of food. I craved pineapple and oranges. That’s when I got the idea of making an Orange Julius type of smoothie. I wanted to add kefir (cultured milk) to give my immune system a boost. According to the National Kefir Association, it has 3 times the amount of probiotics as yogurt.
I tried a few versions of the recipe with orange and kefir but it wasn’t until I added banana that it really tasted good (Hubby and Big A confirmed this). Another perk of bananas is they are considered prebiotics, fuel for good bacteria. So with this drink’s probiotics and prebiotics, honey and vitamin C, it’s quite the immune booster.
You could always add whole oranges instead of juice. I tried this first but without a high-powered blender, it was too pulpy. I’m still waiting for Santa to bring me one of those.
This is also good to serve with breakfast instead of juice or for the child who no longer drinks milk.
Anyone making something like this?
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1 cup kefir (or plain yogurt)
- 1 small banana or half of a large one
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 cup ice
- Blend everything together in a blender and enjoy!
I used to love Orange Julius! Bought them at the mall in the 80s of course! 🙂 This looks like a great recipe–pinning it for later. Thanks Maryann. And glad you’re feeling better.
Thanks Sally. It was a brutal sickness but now I appreciate feeling good so much more. I too loved Orange Julius when I was growing up!
Oh no! I hope you feel better.
Funny because I’m sick now… spent the last 3 days in bed and all I want is oranges!! Our bodies are communicating with us!