Orange Julius

The senses make memories so poignant and tangible. Especially when it comes to food.  Stop and think for a moment of a favorite childhood memory, how about going to the fair?  Cotton candy, corn dogs, popcorn, funnel cakes and pickles are the memories of fair food, and admit it, the greasier the food at the fair the better it tastes.  Pizza, ice cream, hamburgers, even a cold coke taste better at the fair.

Ice cream is a national favorite for childhood memories.  A friend was describing her toddler eating a "red white and blue" ice cream pop with the blue liquid  running down his belly as it melted.  I immediately could see the rocket pop in my mind and remember the great taste of the frozen concoction and how it used to turn everything on a child red and blue.   How excited my brother and I would be hearing the bells of the ice cream truck, gathering change from mom and running out with the other kids in the neighborhood to purchase the frozen manna of  a child's heaven.  Rocket pops, drumsticks, ice cream tacos, so many choices.

My favorite was the orange and vanilla bar, the cold, hard orange Popsicle outside and the creamy vanilla ice cream on the inside.  It reminded me of my favorite drink as a child, an Orange Julius.  My dad used to make them for us, on rare special occasions. Orange juice, vanilla, ice cream, sugar, he even would put an egg in it.   I never understood the egg, but I so loved those drinks.

As an adult I had visited the Orange Julius stands in malls and shopping plazas but it just wasn't the same as home-made.  My memory had made dad's untouchable in flavor.

Then last year I got sick and couldn't find much that I could hold down without revisiting it again at the porcelain god.  So in trying to find things that my digestive track could handle in a one way fashion, I started craving the comfort of the orange drink memory.

But the sugar and fat were out of the question, so it took tweaking.

I made a few adjustments and now for breakfast I have an Orange Julius that is good for me and matches the memory of dad's concoction.

Let me share in hopes that you will find it a great addition to your taste buds' memories.

Take 5 oranges peel and put into a blendtec.

Add 1/2 cup xagave syrup.

Add 2 1/2 cups unsweetened Almond Milk

Add 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Add 1/2 cup lactose free regular kefir unflavored or vanilla flavored.

Add 1 cup ice.

Blend into a smoothie.  

For variety add one mango or one banana or both!

Enjoy with your kids and make a memory that will last.