Name: Tasty Tangerine Smoothie
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 1
Ingredients: 1 tangerine, peeled; 1 small banana (6") (frozen is best - see notes); 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk; 1/4 cup natural orange juice (no sugar added or fresh squeezed); 1-2 scoops (20g) collagen protein or 1 scoop (30g) your favourite vegan vanilla protein powder (I used Vital Proteins collagen peptides); 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract; 1 tablespoon unsweetened coconut flakes or shredded coconut; 3-4 ice cubes

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This delicious and healthy tangerine smoothie is dairy free, gluten free, creamy, packed with protein, and so delightful!

Tasty Tangerine Creamsicle

A few months ago I came up with this tasty tangerine smoothie recipe and shared about it on my Instagram stories as I made it probably every morning for a good two weeks! I had several people ask me to share the recipe so it’s finally here, and ladies and gents…it’s so simple, super yummy, and seriously rich in nutrients!

When I was a kid I would frequent the local mall and made it a common occurrence to stop by the Orange Julius to pick up a sweet orange smoothie. Little did I know those sweet orange smoothies were so sweet for a reason…86g of sugar per pop! Now, I haven’t been able to track down the ingredients lists but I would take a good guess that all that sugar isn’t coming just from oranges.

Balancing Out The Sugars in Smoothies

One thing I’ve always made sure of when making meal plans for clients, creating smoothie recipes for the blog, or just making a smoothie for myself at home, is to include a balance of ingredients, not just fruit in my smoothies. It’s important to balance natural fruit sugars with proteins and healthy fats.

Fruits are not unhealthy by any means, as there are a plethora of nutrients in fruits and the sugars come in the form of fructose which releases half as fast into the blood stream compared to glucose/refined sugars.However, an excess of fruit sugars on their own can cause digestive issues for some individuals and can still negatively impact blood sugar levels.

Consuming healthy fats and proteins along with those carbohydrate rich foods (fruits in this case) helps to slow the release of sugars into the blood stream even more, and of course brings in the additional nutritional benefits of protein and fat!

Tangerine Smoothie Ingredients

To make this delicious smoothie you’ll need a handful of healthy (and balanced!), easily found ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need:

Whole tangerine
Frozen banana
Unsweetened almond milk
Natural orange juice
Collagen peptides (or plant vanilla protein powder for vegan)
Pure vanilla extract
Shredded unsweetened coconut

Health Benefits of Tangerines

Tangerines are a wonderful fruit and have many health benefits as they contain many important nutrients. Here are a few reasons to enjoy this tangerine smoothie often!

They contain flavonoids (plant compounds) that help fight against cancer
Flavonoids in tangerines also help to promote heart health and blood flow
They are a great source of folic acid which is beneficial during pregnancy
They contain loads of vitamin C which helps to boost immune function

With winter well on it’s way out of here and Spring coming into full bloom, this smoothie makes the perfect lightened up breakfast, snack, or treat to enjoy in the day. Feel free to play around with different orange variations by swapping out the tangerine for other options like clementine, mandarin, blood orange, valencia, cara cara, or even grapefruit.