Few smells evoke my teenage years like the smell of smoky, cheap hotdogs and fried onions. Not, as you might think, because I loved hotdogs, but because I spent a great deal of time at the mall with my friends, and that is what the mall smelled like. The mall in my small, northern Canadian town had approximately 10 stores. Compared to the West Edmonton Mall, which was 5 hours south, which had over 1000 stores, an ice rink, movie theatres, a waterpark and fairground inside, our mall was embarrassing. Despite providing the valuable public service of containing a cesspit of teenage hormones safely away from the rest of society, we all knew it.
But, what it lacked in waterparks and pretzel shops, it made up for in Orange Julius.
Orange Julius was the source of the onion and hotdog smell. And although that might not have been their best quality, to their credit they did embraced the smoothie well before it was popular. Their signature drink was something akin to a blended orange creamsicle. The special memory of drinking an Orange Julius while shopping with my Mom or friends punctuates my youth.
And while I haven’t had an Orange Julius in well over a decade, I can still remember the taste of it.
Given that my stomach problems are continuing which is putting a wrench in my Eat to Live and Vegan Mofo plans, I’m sticking with the blended drinks for a while until things settle. Despite loving my standard green smoothie, it can get a bit dull.
What better thing to liven it up than a frosty, creamy orange drink to perk things up?
- 2 oranges, peeled (or 1 cup orange juice)
- 1 TBSP orange zest
- 2 TBSP porridge oats
- 1 cup vanilla soy (or almond) milk
- 1 cup of frozen banana chunks
- 2 cups of spinach
- Blend everything together until you reach your desired consistency.
- Best enjoyed with a greasy vegan hotdog and onions cooking in the background.
