Orange Julius

When I was in junior high, we had an elective called MASH.  It was made up of four subjects that we would rotate through over the year, one per quarter.  I can’t remember what the first two letters stood for (how pathetic!), but the “S” was for shop and the “H” was for home ec.  The reason I remember these is because they were the most impressionable.  I’d never touched a sanding machine and I had no clue how to sew before those classes. 

In shop I made a jewelry box and a door knocker (so useful). 

And in home ec I made a ladybug print apron (that my parents still use), an omelet, and an orange julius.

Yes, one of two “meals” we learned in my junior high home economics class was an orange julius.  I will never forget it either because the recipe included a raw egg, which I thought was the most disgusting thing I’d ever heard of. 

Who eats raw eggs?  My 12 year old brain just couldn’t comprehend the logic behind this [to be fair, my 29 year old brain isn’t much closer to getting the concept either].

Anyway, despite the fact that I refused to include a raw egg in my blended drink, I got an A (and never forgot the recipe).  It was actually really good!

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Here’s a frosty thick smoothie version of the recipe of my childhood.

Orange Julius Smoothie

[vegan, gluten free]

  • 1 orange, peeled and frozen in wedges (or 2 cuties)
  • 1/2 cup vanilla soy yogurt
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 4 ice cubes
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup

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I’ve had these in the freezer forever.  No flavor is lost if fruit is frozen at it’s prime.  They taste like orange popsicles.  🙂

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Blend everything in your blender until you have creamy orange bliss.  The photos really don’t do it justice.

Variations:

  • Swapping soy yogurt for frozen bananas and more almond milk will work.
  • Adding vanilla protein powder will bulk up the caloric and nutritional profile.

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I’m really loving this vegan, gluten free mix right now by Arbonne.

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It’s stevia sweetened with protein from pea, cranberry, and rice sources.  Each packet has 20 grams of protein and it works great in oats, smoothies, and baked goods. 

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Comments (52)

  1. Ellie @ healthy belly ellie

    I’m always looking for new protein powders! I’ll have to check this one out! I currently use Vega One (which I love) and pumpkin seed protein powder (which I also LOVE)!

    Orange Julius’ so remind me of my childhood! The raw egg part freaked me out too! I wonder what it adds to the ‘Julius’…?

  2. Katie

    Probably Music and Art!

  3. lynn @ the actor's diet

    my dog loves this post, for obvious reasons!

  4. Jasmin

    yay, I love the blend of oranges with vanilla! sounds like a winner! I have a question though. does your vanilla yogurt contain sugar? and what do you think about sugar in yogurts and stuff?
    oh, and that protein powder sounds awesome! [hello? this baby has ginseng in it!] never spotted anything like that here… meeeh.

  5. Courtney

    I have frozen just about every fruit, but it never occurred to me to freeze citrus! I always thought it would not work well…I am glad it does. I used to love me an Orange Julius, so now I can’t wait to freeze some oranges and give this a try! Genius, Elise 🙂

    Courtney

  6. Laurasplanet

    Music appreciation and Art. Duh 🙂

  7. Tt in nyc

    This is soooo similar to my bedtime shake i make! I am totally hooked on amazing grass “cremecicle” flavor, and i mix it with vanilla protein powder and orange/carrot juice…. Crazy delicious and full of a ton of nutrients! Im freezing some cuties right now though, brilliant idea-

  8. Amy

    That’s too funny — in my home ec class in middle school (but it was called something different… I guess “home ec” was politically incorrect then) we learned how to make orange julius’ too! Though they didn’t have an egg they had loads of sugar and orange juice concentrate. I still thought they were good, haha!

    And maybe M of MASH stands for music?

  9. Lou

    I have never heard of this drink… citrus + milk in a smoothie always kind of freaks me out…. ew raw egg? I suppose it would thicken it up and make it creamy though.

    LOVE the sound of that protein powder 🙂

  10. Abby @ Abz 'n' Oats

    This brings back such great memories of home ec. I remember having that class during 1st period. My group drew the meal of canned tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, and a salad. Our homemade portion of the meal was making a homemade salad dressing. I remember just being appalled that we had to “cook” canned soup and eat it for breakfast. The other group got to make blueberry pancakes and orange julius. I was so jealous! lol.

  11. Elise (Post author)

    hi julius!!

  12. Elise (Post author)

    maybe i cant remember taking those in mash because i took them as full electives? i seriously have no recollection of those classes. how weird that i took them in addition to being in band and art.

  13. Elise (Post author)

    youre so right…it does sound gross…and i wasnt even a picky eater as a kid! my instincts said no and i stood my ground.
    i much prefer your alien poo 🙂

  14. Elise (Post author)

    im watching mad men and i laugh at the 60s and what eating/cooking/baking was like then. home-ec is so silly. i love that canned soup is considered cooking. what was in the salad dressing? oil and vinegar? anything complicated?

  15. Elise (Post author)

    i looove that creamsicle flavor!!

  16. Elise (Post author)

    in an ideal world, id prefer the yogurt to have less added sugar, but its one of those things that i just choose to enjoy in moderation. sometimes i use plain greek yogurt in it’s place, but it’s not lactose free, so it depends on lots of other variables (like what other fodmaps I’m eating over the course of the day and what other fodmaps are in the smoothie).
    the reason i chose the soy yogurt in this case is because the protein powder is partially sweetened with fructose in addition to stevia. fructose increases the fodmaps load so i wanted it to be minimal otherwise.
    hope that helps!

  17. Elise (Post author)

    no idea. so bizarre.

  18. parker

    what the HELL did we learn in music appreciation? and who taught it? popquiz: what did 6th grade SMART stand for? all i got is:

    S
    M
    A
    Roads to foreign languages (really?)
    T

  19. Elise (Post author)

    is that for real? roads to foreign languages? wow. kinda a stretch stanley…they should have picked the “T” to be “translations” or something, rather than the “R” crap.
    i have no idea about the other s.m.a.r.t. courses, but now im on a mission to find out.
    i also have no idea about who taught music appreciation. athayde?

  20. Elise (Post author)

    ok i just started googling stanley stuff and wound up on the pta website…next week is the hunger lunch…remember that?!?!
    how pathetic that our parents paid for us to get shitty rice in an effort to teach us about world poverty. i feel like watching the hunger games would be more effective.

  21. Jasmin

    hey thanks a lot!

  22. Laurasplanet

    I wasn’t allowed to take smart bc I had to do band! So lame. Also, mrs wasco taught music appreciation, mrs miller taught art (remember her bodybuilding??), and I don’t know the rest…

    P.S. I LOVED the hunger luncheon! Turkey dinner all the way!!

  23. Elise (Post author)

    did you get the turkey??? i got rice all 3 years. laaaame.
    of course i remember the body building. i took art from her all year. thats why it seems so redundant that i took art and music in mash, but whatever. was SMART the 7th grade one and MASH the 8th grade one? and btw, who is mrs wasco? was she the osterich one you and lar were always talking about? or was she the computer teacher? COMPUTERS! that was a course too. was mash spelled with a “C”?

  24. Courtney

    OMG–Thank you! I froze a bunch of oranges and just made a variation of this…I made it into a sorbet/ice cream in the vitamix and it was fabulous! Thank you for turning me on to freezing citrus!! I need to get to the store to buy more oranges ASAP 🙂

    Courtney

  25. Elise (Post author)

    ooo, sorbet sounds awesome. except its cold and rainy here…but once the weather remembers its spring and warms up im all over it.
    btw, have you ever tried using vodka (or any other alcohol) in home-made ice cream? ive heard it prevents that icy hardening effect, but have yet to try it.
    im thinking champagne or white wine could be good in a citrus one.

  26. Courtney

    Haha–it is rainy and a little cool here today too, but I made a cup of tea and put the heating pad in my lap before sitting down to eat my sorbet. You gotta do what you gotta do, right ;-)?!?

    I have not tried it, but now I am going to! You are right–champagne would be awesome with oranges. I don’t usually freeze my ice cream after making it. I just make it in a single serving in the vita mix and then eat it straight away. Since the vita mix is so powerful I can put frozen fruit and just a little tiny bit of liquid in it and it blends up all thick and ice cream-like without freezing, so I don’t have to worry about the icy hardening. But that doesn’t mean I am not going to consider boozing up my next batch!!

  27. Lisa

    Haha oh goodness, this is 2 posts I’ve read about orange julius this week! I actually used to work there, it was my first job, and oh my I could tell you some bad things about it. Yah, lets just say you would not want to go back there ever 😉 This sounds much better! Have a great weekend

  28. Melissa A. Reede

    You should try Visalus Sciences® Body by Vi™ Vi-Shape shake mix, it is delicious, and very versitile – can be mixed into 100s of flavor creations! Visit my website, watch the video and contact me for more information! I would be happy to mail you a sample pack too if you email me your mailing address!

  29. Michelle Murphy

    Hi Elise — yum! Thanks so much for sharing this awesome recipe for the Orange Julius. Like others, I had also never thought about freezing orange segments … but why not? I freeze other fruit! Great tip.

    I also loved the variation that included the Arbonne protein powder. Can’t wait to make this for my teenage son and his friends, who are always looking for delicious ways to sneak extra protein and nutrients into their diet … and as an Arbonne consultant, I’m indebted to you for a great recipe to include with my sales repertoire!

    If you or any of your followers would like to try the protein powder or any of Arbonne’s other great products, I’d be happy to be your sales rep — let me know (hoya81@aol.com) or simply place your order on-line at arbonne.com and use my ID number: 18917198.

    Thanks again!

  30. Elise (Post author)

    thanks michelle!! thats awesome. ill definitely keep this post starred for future orders 🙂

  31. Elise (Post author)

    whoa! ive never seen an actual orange julius – i thought they were a thing of the 70s and since disappeared.
    i worked at jamba juice…i loved the place but OD-ed on smoothies in general…it took a few years to finally crave one again.

  32. Elise (Post author)

    thanks for the info! heading over to your website now…

  33. Elise (Post author)

    just checked out the nutritional label…unfortunately it has dairy (which i dont tolerate) and soy protein isolate (which i try to avoid).

  34. Colette

    Hi Elise! I love your orange julius recipe. I am an Arbonne consultant and use the powder as well. When I make my version of an orange julius, I just use orange juice, vanilla powder, ice, and a banana. Your recipe sounds much more delightful- will do it for breakfast! Thanks so much! 🙂

  35. Tiana

    Gotta love this recipe – so many more where this comes from! My son LOVES Arbonne’s chocolate protein shake mix version in brownies & pancakes. If you haven’t tried the chocolate or vanilla, contact me via email tiana.mustin@gmail.com or my website http://www.possibilities.myarbonne.com for 35% off your purchase! Your whole family will love these products and Elise will get free goodies if you mention her website.

  36. Roni Watson

    Ellie – if you would like to try a sample of the Vanilla Arbonne shake you can send me a message with your address via Facebook and I will get a sample out to you. I’ve been on these shakes since December and just love them.

  37. Roni Watson

    Elise – the same thing. If you would like to try a sample of the Vanilla Arbonne shake you can send me a message with your address via Facebook and I will get a sample out to you. I’ve been on these shakes since December and just love them.

  38. Ellie @ healthy belly ellie

    Yeah that was my same concern!

  39. anne mcandrew

    Hi Elise! Love this recipe and since I have a yard full of clucking chickens, there is always a fresh egg around. If anyone would like a free sample of Arbonne’s protein shake, just email me. Arbonne skin care and nutritional products are botanically-based and vegan, don’t test on animals or include animal by-products. Contact me for any further information. anniemac@myarbonne.com for email or anniemac.myarbonne.com for website.
    Happy Day!

  40. Diane Huntington

    I am confused over your comment that you checked out the label and unfortunately it has animal in it. Arbonne is all certified vegan and formulated without gluten also. These product have no animal products, by products or animal testing done in any of the over 450 products. The protein shakes are the best tasting I have had and enjoy one every morning for breakfast with unsweetened almond milk, frozen berries, ice, Arbonne’s fiber boost (12 gms per serving), and sometimes I use greek yogurt. I make it thick like a smoothie. There is an entire weight loss program to follow if looking to lose weight or add a shake to your current diet to gain.

  41. gina

    I believe she was refering to the other protein someone wanted her to try… body by Vi.

  42. Elise (Post author)

    hi diane. like gina said, i was answering the other person’s comment above (melissa’s). obviously i know arbonne’s products are vegan.

  43. Roann Keeven

    Elise…… check the fructose in the Essentials Shake formulation……it’s from sugar cane….. used initially for the fiber value with a sweetening benefit. All “unprocessed” in it’s natural form as a botanical ingredient.
    For those unaware, a botanical ingredient can be from every and any part of vegetation and plants….leaves, foliage, stalk, root, ect.

    Elise, thank you for the great article!!

  44. Elise (Post author)

    thanks roann.

  45. Elise (Post author)

    thanks anne!

  46. Elise (Post author)

    i love it in pancakes too!

  47. Heather J Magray

    Hi Elise!
    Great article. Thank you for sharing. I was reading the comments and someone mentioned the sugar in yogurt and using yogurt. In my Arbonne protein shakes I have substituted the yogurt with almond milk and 1/2 frozen banana. That seems to give the creamy affect that yogurt has in a smoothie. I don’t even miss my yogurt anymore. The idea of freezing oranges is brilliant and thank you for sharing your recipe so that I can have another one to share with my customers.

  48. Elise (Post author)

    happy to share!
    aren’t frozen bananas amazing?
    i worked at jamba juice in my teen years so i started freezing fruit on my own…bananas are my fave though. so smooth and creamy!

  49. Roanb Keeven

    We actually cleanse then freeze our bananas and our berries. It’s an added benefit that berries are in a group of very few that increase in nutritional and antioxident value when chilled

  50. Diane

    I feel so stupid. I was at work and trying to sneak in a peak at my email which brought me to your site. It doesn’t pay to comment without reading thoroughly. I realized what I had done but couldn’t find a place to delete my post. Sorry but I have been enjoying the information posted on here. This is great!!! Very Sorry 🙁

  51. Elise (Post author)

    no problem. we all have those moments (or days – ha!) 🙂

  52. Sheena Ewing

    The egg is supposed to give it the frothy texture.

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