“Eureka!” she exclaimed with glee.

Every once in a while, I have a Holy Spirit moment in the kitchen. You know the kind – when all the ingredients just magically work out to a perfect blend of culinary divinity. It’s a taste of heaven by shear happenstance. Tonight was one of those nights.

I made a smoothie.

(Hold on to your hats, I know.)

But this was no ordinary smoothie. You see, I never make the same smoothie twice. I never use a recipe and I never have a plan when I start. I just love foraging the refrigerator for whatever I can find to make a delectable treat that happens to be healthy, too. So tonight, I did just that and lo and behold, I came across a concoction that tastes virtually identical to an Orange Julius. You read that right – a healthy Orange Julius. If you know me, you know that an Orange Julius has been one of my favorite drinks since I was a little girl. But as of late I am trying to eliminate anything processed from my diet. Nothing out of a can, nothing out of a box, nothing pre-prepared. This severely limits what I can have at Dairy Queen and the Orange Julius is no exception.

But God is faithful and he hears the cries of our hearts, however petty. Thank you, Jesus. This is definitely a hallelujah moment! 🙂

So without further adieu, I give you The Healthy Orange Julius Smoothie. You’re welcome.

Healthy Orange Julius Alternative

Ingredients:

5 Clementine Oranges, peeled
1 Banana, peeled
1/2 c. Pineapple, diced (fresh is best but canned will work)
1/2 c. Plain Yogurt
1 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract
2 c. Milk
4-5 Cubes of Ice

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. (Note: the clementines will give the smoothie a slight texture. I personally like this but if you don’t, you can always separate the clementines before you add them, being sure to remove all the pith. But you might consider leaving it in there because the pith has some anti-cancer properties, antioxidants, full of fiber and provides you with virtually the same quantity of vitamin C as the flesh does.)