Intense Orange Julius

Photo: Wildrosekitchen

Years ago when my friend, Cara Sue, married I hung out at her house most weekends. I think I'm the one who started us on Orange Julius drinks, one of our many snacks. Ahh youth, we were thin as rails, and I remember making them with 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream and 1/4 cup of sugar! Once in a while I added some rum or Bourbon, but mostly not. Without the alcohol, the drink tastes like an old fashioned orangesicle ice cream treat. Remember those? Packaged in a round paper cylinder on a stick, you ate the sherbet-like dessert by pushing it up beyond the cylinder and licking it as it melted. In those days, we ate ice cream without a thought. Nowadays I make a reduced calorie Julius.

Here is the still rich, organgey, creamy and delicious recipe:

Orange Julius

Ingredients:

1 cup skim milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 ounce can frozen orange juice concentrate (I buy orange juice with pulp. Why pulp free?)
1-2 tablespoons sugar or Steevia (Sweeten to taste. I can drink it without any sweetener. Try it plain first.)
About 1 1/2 cups ice

Directions:

Toss everything into a blender using about 1/2 of the ice. Blend, then add the rest of the ice and blend until the ice is crushed.

A refreshing icy drink in the summer. An infusion of vitamin C in the winter.

Extra tip: Feel free to use 6 oz of pineapple concentrate to make Pineapple Julius also. For parties, you can serve both! 

Single serving: If I make an Orange or Pineaple Julius for one, I scoop out only 1/3 of the concentrate from the can (return the rest to the freezer), then reduce the milk to 2/3 of a cup and ice to about 1/2 of a cup + eyeball a couple of drops of vanilla. Enjoy!


You may also enjoy:
Refreshing Bourbon Slush  
Homemade Vanilla Extract 
Easy Homemade Lemonade
Know Your Body Mass Index This Holiday Season