Sunshine Orange Creamsicle Smoothie

This Orange Creamsicle Smoothie is my life right now! It’s orange-y. It’s banana-y. It’s icy, icy cold. And it’s what I am snacking on today.

It’s kind of like sunshine in a cup… which in February, is exactly what I need.

I struggle so much with smoothies sometimes.

Not to make them, of course. The blender really does all the work when it comes to actually making them. But to get creative with my smoothies. 

Usually, I find one flavour or variety of smoothie that I like and it will be the only smoothie I drink for weeks and weeks and weeks until I get so bored and completely turn myself off of smoothies for a couple days. And then I find one I really like again and the cycle continues.

Like, for the past 2 weeks it’s been this dreamy Orange Creamsicle Smoothie. Mostly because YUM and partly because it’s been kind of spring-like around here for the past couple of days and all I want is for it to be full-blown summer already. Winter, we are soooooo over you!

But before this bright beauty, it was my Chocolate Banana Smoothie. It is so much more than wonderful and oh-so-chocolatey. Seriously. Try it! And before that, I was all about the green smoothie. 

My point being… I really need to work on being more creative and less obsessive when it comes to my morning cup of goodness. And adding super citrusy and vitamin-packed oranges is a great start.

This smoothie is also super easy to whip up for a quick afternoon snack or refreshing breakfast on the go. I LOOOOVE frozen ripe bananas for all things smoothie in this kitchen. They give the perfect creamy texture without too much banana flavour. I find bananas that are still a little green give the worst starchy and almost bitter taste to smoothies and baking. So I always make sure my bananas sit out on the counter for an extra day or so to make sure they are good and ripe before putting them in the freezer.

Then I use a large navel orange that I’ve peeled and roughly chopped, I find it makes things a little easier on the blender. I’ve also used 3-4 clementines or mandarins instead of a whole orange and it still turned out great. And to make this smoothie a little lighter I normally use half milk (whatever is your favourite – almond, coconut, soy, rice, cow, goat, etc) and half water but you can definitely use all milk if you’d like.

But the secret ingredient in this smoothie is definitely vanilla. Vanilla is everything! And a little goes a very long way. Vanilla brings the creaminess from the banana and the sweet orange flavour together into one pretty tasty afternoon snack that kind of tastes like your eating a much better for you version of a popsicle.  

And this tall cup of sunshine is naturally gluten-free, vegan possible and totally delish… which is definitely the best part!