Creamsicle smoothie

The thoughts running through your mind at the moment may be along the lines of "baked smoothie? eww". I assure you, the recipe below does NOT involve any baking but it is so delicious I just had to share.  Our campus welcomed the addition of a new smoothie joint this year, a nice 'healthy' addition to the many not-so-healthy options available to us.  The problem is, they only sell their smoothies in one size, a practically-need-both-hands 24oz size (though still not as large as the new 31oz Trenta) for about $6-7.

Ideally, they would just sell them in smaller sizes for less money, but that's no way to make a profit now is it? Which leads me to my creation this afternoon post-gym pre-running for the bus to get to class on time: The Creamsicle smoothie!  Although I never liked that fluorescent orange coated vanilla frozen treats as a child, I started to really like the combination of vanilla and oranges recently. Maybe it was the highlighter hue or unpronounceable ingredients that turned me off. . .

Creamsicle Smoothie
Yield: 1 smoothie; ~16oz

• 1/2 navel orange (frozen and separated into wedges)
• 1 cup soy milk
• 1/2 cup fat-free plain yogurt (it doesn't need to be fat-free but make sure it's plain, the flavoured stuff is full of sugar)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon ground flax seed (optional if you don't like omega-3's and fibre)
• a bit of cold water to adjust consistency

1. Blend all ingredients until smooth
2. Add more water if necessary
3. Serve immediately

Per smoothie:

235 calories | 24.3g sugar | 5.3g fat

compare that to the >90g sugar $6 version!