Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Creamsicle Smoothies (Dairy Free)

It's been hot. Real hot.

Hotness has a way of getting me dreaming of Creamsicles. 

Creamsicles make me think of the zoo. 

The zoo makes me think of my mother taking my brother and I to see the monkeys every week on Tuesdays throughout the summer (Tuesday was free day). 

Weekly free days at the zoo makes me think of growing up in the eighties (they don't do weekly free days any more). 

Growing up in the eighties makes me think of Creamsicles (and Def Leppard). 

And thinking about Creamsicles makes me want to eat one right now.

Despite the fact that National Creamsicle Day was last Sunday, August 14th, sadly for me, I dare not indulge in a popsicle with such a divine creamy center encapsulated by orange flavored ice. Dairy, even in its cheapest of forms, does not do well for my body.

All summer long I've had a strong urge to recreate everything I remembered a Creamsicle to be. Considering how many smoothies we've been having lately, I decided to recreate the flavor in smoothie form. 

Finally, I can properly transport myself into my dear memories of watching the monkeys at the zoo on a hot Tuesday afternoon in the mid-eighties with a Creamsicle dripping down my chubby little hand.

Creamsicle Smoothies

serves: 4
prep time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Vanilla Almond Milk (I love the Almond Breeze brand)
1 1/2 cups orange juice, use the frozen concentrate and dilute only by half the recommended water*
4 frozen ripe bananas

*(Usually the can of frozen orange juice asks for three cans of water to dilute the concentrate. For this recipe, dilute the frozen concentrate with only 1 1/2 cups of water instead. This is an important consideration. It won't taste quite right with fully diluted orange juice. It needs to be strong to get the full Creamsicle effect.)

The Preparation Method:
Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend on high for a couple minutes until the smoothie is smooth as silk.

Go ahead now, transport yourself back into all those sweet memories of yourself indulging in summer's finest!

Note: Frozen bananas make this drink perfectly cold and smooth. Using fresh bananas will result in the drink you see modeled here by Bubba.


More frothy and less thick. 

Another note: Pay no mind to the dirt and grime on the hands of this little man. Here he's modeling the ever popular "rough-and-active-little-boy-on-a-mid-summer's-day" look. 

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Def Leppard - Hysteria

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