Refreshing Blood Orange Smoothie
Switch up your smoothie game with this easy and healthy Blood Orange Smoothie recipe. It’s sweet, refreshing, and high in nutrients like protein and vitamin C. Kick start your day with this vibrant smoothie for breakfast or for an energizing pick-me-up snack.
What are Blood Oranges?
If you’re not familiar with them, blood oranges are a variety of orange with a dark red, almost blood-coloured flesh, while the skin remains orange. The red colour of the flesh is due to anthocyanins, which are a pigment (and antioxidant!) that are actually quite uncommon in citrus fruits.
According to Ask the Food Geek, blood oranges taste less acidic and slightly sweeter compared to regular oranges. Have you ever tried a blood orange? If not, this recipe is the perfect way to do so! I also use blood oranges in my Citrus Arugula Salad recipe.
Blood Orange Smoothie Recipe Ingredients:
To make this vibrant magenta smoothie recipe, you’ll need:
- Banana, preferably frozen
- Blood oranges
- Greek yogurt
- Chia seeds (pssst.. chia seeds offer a host of nutrition benefits!)
- Fresh lime juice
- Honey
- Almond milk (or another milk of your choice)
How to Build a Balanced Smoothie:
As a dietitian, I have a little formula I like to follow to build nutritionally balanced smoothies to ensure that they’re nutritionally balanced, filling, and satisfying. Oh, and of course delicious!
- At Least 1 Fruit. ALL of my smoothies contain fruit. Not only do they add sweetness and delicious flavour, fruits offer a variety of essential nutrients that benefit our health. I usually add at least one variety of fruit to my smoothies (banana), sometimes even up to three.
- A Source of Protein. Protein is what keeps us FULL! It takes longer to digest compared to carbohydrates and fat, so it helps to keep us full and energized for longer. Great protein options for smoothies include greek yogurt, protein powder, silken tofu, or a higher protein milk like dairy or soy.
- Fibre and Healthy Fat. Similar to protein, fibre helps to stabilize our blood sugar levels and keep us full. By adding fruit or vegetables to our smoothies we definitely get some fibre. I also like to add seeds like chia, hemp or flax for additional fibre and healthy fats.
Orange Smoothie Nutrition Benefits:
Nutritious smoothies are one of my favourite ways to start the day. Here are some of the key nutrition highlights of this Blood Orange Smoothie:
- It’s high in protein. As I mentioned, we want protein in our smoothies to make them more filling in addition to supporting our muscles and other important body processes. Each serving of this smoothie recipe contains 3/4 cup of greek yogurt which provides 16 grams of protein.
- It’s rich in vitamin C. Citrus fruits (like blood oranges) are a great source of vitamin C which is crucial for immune health and maintenance of our body tissues and bones.
- It offers 11 grams of fibre per serving. It is recommended that we consume 25-38 grams of fibre per day, so drinking this smoothie is a great way to get your fibre!
- It’s a good source of potassium. Potassium is an essential mineral that is important for maintaining proper fluid balance, blood pressure, muscle contractions and more. Lucky for us, both bananas and oranges (which are key ingredients to this smoothie) are rich in potassium!
Can You Make it Vegan?
This recipe is gluten-free and vegetarian. You can totally make it vegan or dairy-free by substituting the greek yogurt for a plant-based greek yogurt variety and switching the honey for maple syrup.
Note that if you do swap dairy-based greek yogurt for a plant-based yogurt, the smoothie may have less protein than one containing dairy greek yogurt.
Ingredient Substitutions/Additions:
- Seeds: I used chia seeds in this recipe, but you can feel free to swap these out for a different seed variety like hemp or flax seeds.
- Yogurt: I use plain greek yogurt as I find the fruit adds enough sweetness for me. If you prefer to use a flavoured or sweetened greek yogurt you can absolutely do so.
- Oranges: You can use regular navel oranges instead of blood oranges if you prefer! Just note that the smoothie will be orange, not pink!
- Frozen cauliflower: If you want to add some vegetables to this smoothie, frozen cauliflower makes a great addition! You can’t taste it, and it adds a creamy texture to smoothies.
- Additional fruit: Feel free to add other fruits like pineapple or berries in addition to the banana and oranges.
- Almond milk: You can use any milk (plant-based or other) that you prefer in this smoothie recipe.
Can You Meal-Prep This Blood Orange Smoothie?
This smoothie is best served immediately. However, you can make it the night before and store it in the fridge in a sealed container like a mason jar. The smoothie will keep well in the fridge for approximately 2 days.
Connect with Hannah Magee, RD!
I hope you love this recipe as much as I do. If you try the recipe let me know what you think by leaving a rating and a comment below. Oh, and be sure to take a photo and tag me on @hannahmagee_rd so I can see!
Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram and Pinterest so you never miss a new recipe or blog post.
Refreshing Blood Orange Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 medium frozen banana, can sub. with fresh*
- 2 small blood oranges, peeled
- 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt, (Greek yogurt *not regular yogurt)
- 1 tbsp chia seeds, (learn chia seeds' nutrition benefits)
- 1 tsp honey
- 1/2 lime juice of
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
Equipment
- 1 Blender
Instructions
- Add all smoothie ingredients to a blender. Blend until smooth and creamy, then serve. Enjoy!
