Orange You Glad? Smoothie

I have gulped down many attempts at this orange creamsicle-inspired smoothie. The first one was made with orange juice, ice and vanilla protein powder and was far too sweet. On top of that, the lack of fiber made that smoothie stick with me for a hot minute – I was hungry about a half hour after I finished it.

So I had a brainstorm – why not use a real orange? That way, the sweetness will be toned down and it’ll have more fiber for satiety. So I cut up an orange and added it to my blender cup.

Only one problem – in my zeal for zest, I put the entire orange, rind and all, in the smoothie. Mind you, I love me some citrus rind but this was too, too much.

I dutifully downed my orange rind smoothie in the name of recipe development.

The third time was a charm.

For this recipe, I peeled the orange and added it to the blender cup with vanilla whey protein powder, half a cup of almond milk and some ice. Perfection! I did add a small piece of the rind, just for kicks but you can omit it. It adds a little extra orangey intensity.

Orange you glad I kept trying?