It’s March, and I’m still having fun with blood oranges since today is all about this beautiful Blood Orange Mixed Berry Smoothie. I’ve tried blood oranges in recipes for cocktails, mocktails, salads, cakes, a tart, and even lamb chops. But one way I have never had blood oranges is in a smoothie, at least until today.
Blood oranges have a unique sweet-tart flavor that is so good, but that’s not only why I love them. I have to confess that it’s that gorgeous dark red color that I’m obsessed with! I buy them by the bag and have been making random blood orange recipes for the past couple of months, and I’m still not over them. So today I’m adding the to this smoothie that’s full of healthy goodness in a combination I never would have put together. I need to find out if it’s as good as it looks!
A delicious blood orange mixed berry smoothie smoothie that’s packed with lots of nutrients and the perfect way to start your mornings!
The Ingredients
My pre-shop refrigerator and pantry check for this recipe’s ingredients was very fruitful (pun intended!). Of course, I had blood oranges—I’ve had them on hand almost constantly since January.
My refrigerator had the last bits of a bag of golden flaxseeds. One door over, my freezer held frozen bananas, strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. And just across my kitchen, I found some raw honey in my pantry.
Naturally, I had water on hand, so all that was left on my shopping list was spinach. I chose pre-washed baby spinach since it’s more tender and has a milder flavor than mature spinach. The stems are also much softer and don’t need to be removed, saving lots of prep time.
The Process
Most of the ingredients can be measured and added right to the blender. My berries were frozen separately, so I added a 1/2 cup of each (strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries).
The last ingredient I added was the blood oranges. One of the things about this recipe that appealed to me was the blood oranges do not have to be juiced. This is a breakfast recipe for me, so it needs to be easy. I don’t want to drag out my electric juicer and wash it after I’m done.
Peeling and Seeding the Blood Oranges
The blood oranges needed peeling and seeding, so I used a knife to speed things up. It’s a super easy and fast way to remove the peel and bitter white pith between the peel and fruit. This was my first time trying this technique, and I’m using it from now on!
Tip: Peeling an orange with a knife really was just as easy as demonstrated in this How To Peel an Orange With a Knife video.
Here’s how to do it step by step for those who prefer reading:
- Cut away the ends (top and bottom) so the orange is stable when you set it on your cutting board.
- Hold the orange with one hand to keep it stable and run the knife from top to bottom to remove the peel in strips. Let the firm peel guide your knife along the curve of the orange so you don’t remove too much of the fruit.
- You can take the time to remove any stray bits of pith or leave them on and skip this step.
- If you need to seed the orange, turn it onto its side, cut it in half, and pick out the seeds.
Blending My Smoothie
Once the oranges were peeled and deseeded, I hit the blend button and let my blender do its thing. Most smoothie recipes say to put everything into a blender, blend, and pour, but they never seem to work easily for me.
I upgraded my blender because of this and still don’t always have an easy time with smoothies. There’s at least one scrape down of the sides and stir of the ingredients but usually more than one. Sometimes I resort to shaking the blender pitcher if that doesn’t work.
Not with this recipe! I didn’t time it, but it couldn’t have taken more than 90 seconds. All I had to do was watch to ensure everything blended smoothly.
Timing
This recipe listed a total time of 5 minutes, and mine took the same amount of time. Here’s how my time was spent:
- 3 minutes to peel and deseed the blood oranges
- 2 minutes to assemble and blend
- 1 minute to pour and garnish
- 6 minutes total
I did take a little longer than the time listed. I’m sure it was because I got picky and removed the small bits of pith left over after peeling with my knife. Looking back, I don’t think it was necessary, and I’m sure my next Blood Orange Mixed Berry Smoothie will come together much quicker.
