Homemade Healthy Orange Julius
Dairy-free and healthy, this homemade Orange Julius is a delicious and nutritious treat!
Whenever I visit a new spot, try a new restaurant, or whenever someone else cooks something and I get to eat it, I’m inspired to try out a new recipe or flavor combo. All of the things I ate at CR yesterday were things I’ve had before (the gf chocolate chip cookies are what dreams are made of), but two things inspired me: freshness (everything is made fresh on site) and summery/springtime meals.
So this morning, when we were out of OJ, I remembered the bag of mandarins we had,
and made some healthy Orange Julius copycats to go with breakfast.
(For the record, I made this to photograph later, long after breakfast. During the actual breakfast ritual, it’s survival of the fastest: I’m frantically pouring, scrambling, chopping and slurping coffee while I get our food ready to eat and morning snacks packed up.)
Healthy Orange Julius
For Liv’s, I blended two peeled oranges with a cup of whole milk, 1/2 cup of ice and drizzle of honey.
Mine was made with two peeled oranges, one cup of almond milk, 1/2 cup of ice, some fresh mint (for a fresh zing!), two tablespoons of hemp seeds (to add some protein/fat since almond milk is fairly low), and some honey.
Blended on high for about a minute, and it was a refreshing and lovely morning treat with our eggs and waffles.
It TOTALLY reminded me of an Orange Julius, which I loved when I was a kiddo. I think it’s been years since I’ve had one, but I think I like the ingredients in this one better 😉
Homemade Orange Julius Recipe
Here’s the recipe if you’d like to give it a try!
PrintHomemade Healthy Orange Julius
Ingredients
- 2 mandarin oranges, peeled
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1/2 cup ice
- fresh mint
- 2 tbsp hemp seeds
- honey, to taste
Instructions
- Blend all ingredients together at high speed for about one minute.
Natural Air Freshener
Our entire house smells like orange and mint now, too!
Whenever I chop up fruit and/or herbs for photographs, I simmer them on the stove in some water (<– an idea I saw on Pinterest). The key is to make sure there is always water in the pot… otherwise the fragrance quickly becomes “charbroiled herbal death.”
Hope you have a wonderful day <3
See ya later on the Fashion page!
xoxo
Gina
33 Comments
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Looks delish.
refreshing! i definitely need to replenish my hemp seed stash.
OH WOW! Orange Julius are my FAVORITE. can’t wait to try this out. perfect for this springy weather.
What a great idea! I need one or more of these in my life pronto. Thanks for another great post.
mmmmmmmm <3 sounds so refreshing!!!!! i get inspired like you when i go to new places and try new things 😀 <3
I worked at Orange Julius when I was in high school, and now looking back, I think it’s a bit suspect that they wouldn’t tell us what was in the product (at least the two random powders that we dumped in). I’m sure I was pumping my body full of disgustingness on a fairly regular basis. Ew.
yiiiiikes
That is such a good idea. I could so use one of these right now!
That looks amazing! I’m a bit confused about the simmering/stove thing, do you drink the water as a kind of tea? Or is it just for fragrance? 🙂
just for fragrance!
You make me laugh…”charbroiled herbal death”..ha!!!
Looks yummy!
I love that idea of orange and mint together. Sounds very refreshing. I really should use my blender more often.
Looks so good! Love trying new things.
Yum! I have a bag of TJ’s mandarins and a new carton of almond milk at home that are just waiting to be transformed into this smoothie 🙂 Might have to also try substituting a frozen banana in for the ice too 🙂
I used to love Orange Julius! I haven’t had one in years and I’m sure this recipe is much healthier than the real one 🙂
This sounds so good! Oranges are one of the main products around here, so I’ll keep this in mind!
I need to try this at home!
Having an orange Julius was such a great when I was a kid. I love the orange flavor but love your addition of mint and hemp. I’m sure this one is a bit better in the health department, too!
Oh I LOVED orange Julius as a kid…I forgot about OJul …thanks for the reminder, I will have to try and make some fresh!
just curious…how come Livi drinks a different milk? Does she not like almond milk?
she’s always had cow’s dairy and the whole milk is an easy way for her to get in a good dose of fat and protein. she likes almond milk too, but i usually supplement mine with protein powder for smoothies. i’m not comfortable giving her protein powder
oh gotcha! =)
Looooved Orange Julius as a kid! I was always a fan of the pepperoni pizza hot dog.
Once I let the water boil out when I was boiling beats. We had to throw out the pan. Beet stink only comes second to broccoli/brussel sprout/cabbage stink.
Hi Gina, This is a totally unrelated question. Did you read any pregnancy magazines when you were pregnant with Livi? I’m looking to get a subscription and was wondering if you had any faves. I’m looking for something that will give me exercise ideas, healthy living ideas, nutrition, etc. Thanks so much!
i LOVED fit pregnancy. i didn’t subscribe, but should have– it’s a much better deal! 🙂
That’s what I was leaning toward. Thanks so much!
Hey Gina, I wasn’t sure where to post this question that is unrelated to this post lol, I was looking at your Turbofire review, which I have, and wondering if you’ve tried and what you think of following the actual “schedule”? I have done the workouts here and there, but am looking for something fresh and to motivate me and I am considering doing the program as suggested. It seems like I should be supplementing strength training.. but I won’t have time for double work outs… I will still do yoga a few times a week. Would love to hear your thoughts on the set program!
Also with a dairy allergy I never got to try an orange julius growing up! Maybe I should give your almond milk version a go 🙂
i don’t like the set schedule just for that reason: it skips out on strength, and it’s not realistic to do two-a-days.
i would do 3 days of turbo fire, 2 days of easy steady state and strength, and one day of yoga. hope that helps a little!
We have so many oranges from our CSA box lately, and this is the perfect way to use them up!!! Especially when I have that little sweet tooth in the afternoons 🙂
This sounds like sucha refreshing drink. I never thought of mixing citrus fruits with almond milk – great idea!
I always make my 20 month old’s smoothies with whole milk too. She is a peanut and needs the extra fat.
I made a similar smoothie this weekend and added a little bit of vanilla extract. Makes it taste kind of like a creamsicle!
That looks really yummy! I love the adaptation for those of us who can’t have milk. And, after a week of traveling, I am looking forward to actual fruits and vegetables:)