I was surfing around on Pinterest this afternoon when this gorgeous photo stopped me in my tracks. And while it’s true that well done food photography has a way of making just about anything look tasty, honestly, have you ever met a smoothie that you didn’t like?
Now me, I like oranges.
Give me a nice, hot summer day and a big, juicy orange and probably 8 times out of 10 I’m going to be a very happy camper. Pre-pregnancy, I even bought the occasional jug of orange juice to enjoy with Brad’s Saturday morning french toast.
But Baby Rogers… well, that’s a different story. Baby Rogers absolutely LOVES oranges. At about 14 weeks in, I have lost count of how many oranges I’ve consumed during this pregnancy. There was a period of about 3 weeks straight were I was eating at least 3 oranges a day. When I ran out, I went to the store just to buy more (or Brad brought some home for me!) and would occasionally find myself drinking orange juice while I was eating an orange.
Needless to say, this photo got that little fetus’s heart pumping. I had to investigate! For the baby, of course… not me. ;)
The recipe and photo come from the blog “Love Veggies and Yoga” and boasts a vegan and gluten free tag.
Bonus: According to the author, it tastes exactly like an Orange Push-Up. Remember those? Read on for a big, orange dose of nostalgia!
Orange Push-Up Smoothie (Vegan, Gluten Free)
Ingredients:
1 can orange juice concentrate, slightly thawed
1 cup milk (half and half, cream, nut milk, soy milk)
1/2 cup sugar, or to taste (you can reduce the sugar or use an alternate sugar substitute such as stevia but it won’t taste as close to classic Orange Push-Ups)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups ice, or to taste
Directions:
Combine all ingredients, except ice, in a large blender or food processor and blend until smooth and creamy, taking care the sugar has dissolved and is well incorporated. If desired, add a splash more water or more milk. Add the ice and blend until smooth.
I’ve got a grocery trip to town scheduled for Wednesday this week and I’m going to make a point to pick up a couple cans of orange juice concentrate specifically for this recipe! The other ingredients (milk, sugar, vanilla extract, and ice) are all things that I always have on hand anyway. My Magic Bullet food processor that Brad’s parents got for us will be the perfect tool for this smoothie and make quick work of blending the ingredients.
Southern Illinois is still rather frigid but I just can’t wait until summer to try this one.
Pregnancy bonus: no more calorie guilt. I’m probably going to drink this all in one sitting and then make it again when Brad gets home from Chicago and then proceed to fight him for a sip of his half. ;)
Happy blending, readers! Enjoy…