Here in the Midwest, where I live, it’s pretty dark and cold this time of year. It’s not my favorite thing, I must admit. But today I’m sharing a breakfast smoothie option that is full of goodness in a glass! It’s bright and colorful in both looks and taste. If your morning routine is in need of a little pick me up, then you’re gonna love this recipe.
We’ve teamed up with Wonderful Halos mandarins for this smoothie recipe. I love their mandarins because they are easy to peel and seedless, so they are great for both snacking and easy recipes like this smoothie. Many of you know at the moment Elsie and I are doing the #weekdayweekend challenge (from our cookbook), which means no foods with added sugars during the week. Currently, I’ve got a big bowl of these mandarins sitting on my kitchen counter and they are a good snack option when I’m feeling like something sweet but want to stick to my goals, or if I feel like throwing together this smoothie in the morning.
And of course I’ve got to have a cup of coffee in the morning too. Ha. Every morning as I’m drinking my coffee I tell Trey it’s my favorite time of day and I mean it. I am definitely a morning person, so a good breakfast and hot coffee is a must for me!
Mandarin Morning Smoothie, serves one
2 Wonderful Halos mandarins, peeled
1 banana (ripe or frozen)
1-2 dates
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled
1 tablespoon goji berry powder
1/2 cup unsweetened milk (almond, soy, or dairy)
Add all the ingredients to a blender and puree until smooth. It’s so easy that I can throw this together while my coffee brews.
A couple of minor notes here: So first, I’ve recommended 1-2 dates as this can vary based on the size of your dates and also the sweetness level you prefer. This smoothie is more on the (naturally) sweet side as opposed to a green or vegetable-based smoothie. So this is really up to you and you could even omit the dates, if you like.
As I said above, the mandarins are seedless. So after peeling you really can just plop them into the blender. If you want to juice them instead you can, but I like to keep the whole fruit intact as it aids your body in using the natural sugars found in the fruit.
If you are doing the #weekdayweekend challenge with us, then you know that we’re opting to go dairy-free during the week, so here you’ll want to stick with a dairy-free milk. But if you like, you can use dairy milk here instead. I just recommend whatever you choose, keep it unsweetened.
And speaking of dairy, if you are not participating or don’t care about keeping this dairy-free, an option for adding some protein is to stir a little greek yogurt into the smoothie (or you can blend it in). It will add creaminess, a slight tang, but mostly some added protein. If you want to keep it dairy-free, you can always add a little protein powder of your choice. Up to you and your needs! Enjoy. xo. Emma
Credits // Author and Photography: Emma Chapman. Photos edited with ACS for Desktop actions.
Mandarin Morning Smoothie
Ingredients
- 2 Wonderful Halos mandarins peeled
- 1 banana ripe or frozen
- 1-2 dates
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger peeled
- 1 tablespoon goji berry powder
- 1/2 cup unsweetened milk almond, soy, or dairy
Instructions
-
Add all the ingredients to a blender and puree until smooth.
Recipe Notes
So first, I've recommended 1-2 dates as this can vary based on the size of your dates and also the sweetness level you prefer. This smoothie is more on the (naturally) sweet side as opposed to a green or vegetable-based smoothie. So this is really up to you and you could even omit the dates, if you like.
As I said above, the mandarins are seedless. So after peeling you really can just plop them into the blender. If you want to juice them instead you can, but I like to keep the whole fruit intact as it aids your body in using the natural sugars found in the fruit.
If you are doing the #weekdayweekend challenge with us, then you know that we're opting to go dairy-free during the week, so here you'll want to stick with a dairy-free milk. But if you like, you can use dairy milk here instead. I just recommend whatever you choose, keep it unsweetened.
And speaking of dairy, if you are not participating or don't care about keeping this dairy-free, an option for adding some protein is to stir a little greek yogurt into the smoothie (or you can blend it in). It will add creaminess, a slight tang, but mostly some added protein. If you want to keep it dairy-free, you can always add a little protein powder of your choice.
32 Comments
I can’t wait to try this recipe — I’ve never made a smoothie with mandarins but it sounds so refreshing!
Oranges and mandarins are my favourite fruits! So glad that they’re in season now, I’ll definitely be trying this recipe out! 😀
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
I love halos! I don’t like the texture full size oranges, so halos are a good way to get the orangy taste without the texture.
I have a question about the goji berry powder. I don’t have any and don’t realistically see myself buying any. Would I need to substitute something else for the powder or can it just be left out?
Hi Justina! You can just omit it if you want 🙂
Beautiful pictures! Just lovely!! Where did you get your coffee mug? I love that it doesn’t have a handle.
I always keep my smoothies dairy-free too. I love putting soy yogurt into mine to thickening it up. Great post! Bisou! <3
Allison
Peplums & Pie
Whaaat! Am I the only person that have never heard of mandarine smoothie? Like it’s an actual thing. Don’t get me wrong – I just never thought of fruits like oranges or mandarines as something that would be nice in a smoothie so it made me want to try it out even more! I’m not a fan of ginger so not sure about it but I definitely want to try – maybe the taste of dates just kills the ginger’s one haha. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
With kindness
I’m doing the weekday/weekend challenge and having trouble finding a dairy-free yogurt that doesn’t have added sugar. Any brands you recommend?
Goji berry powder?! YUM!
Beautiful colors on this grey day in Utah! You brought a needed smile to me!
I have a serious aversion to bananas, so I often stray away from making more traditional smoothies that use them as a thickener. Wondering if anyone has any recommendations for what could be used here instead?
Pineapple is a great substitution for banana in any smoothie! I run my own cafe and all of our shakes/smoothie vary between banana or pineapple base. x
I find 1/3 or so of an avocado has a similar effect on thickening smoothies. Greek yogurt would also work to thicken it if you’re not avoiding the dairy, or sometimes I’ll throw in about a quarter cup of old fashion oats. The oats give it a slight chalkiness though, so maybe not for everyone but I like it!
I am always looking for new smoothies. This one is so bright and looks so good. I will definitely have to try it.
xoxo
Stacey
http://staceylyynn.wixsite.com/stylingsofstacey
This looks so crisp and delicious!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
Mandarin is one of my favorite fruits! Thanks for sharing, I will have to try it out <3
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looks so yum i have never tried mandarin with banana, can’t wait to try!
http://www.thestyletune.com
Yummy this moothie looks so delicious
https://thepinkpineappleblog.blogspot.com/2018/01/natural-oils-new-trend.html
That sounds and looks delicious, what a wonderful combiantion!
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I picked up some mandarins yesterday and am looking forward to trying this out this weekend minus the goji powder. A part of me is tempted to throw in a handful of spinach, but that would ruin the beautiful tangerine color!
Smoothie and food styling look stellar but I’m especially smitten with your coffee cup: is it heat-sensitive (looks like it might be, the way the color stops at the level of your liquid) and where is it from?
Looks delicious!
YUM! That looks so delicious and I can’t wait to try this recipe
I love mandarins! Its so hard to find a seedless variety though. I suppose juicing would be the option for mandarins with seeds.
Looks delicious! And such gorgeous images!
i’ll have to try this, it looks really good! xx
Simple and delicious recipe, Emma. I love citrus fruits in smoothies and in combination w/the banana it’s too yum! I also put a carrot in the smoothie to get my daily Dosis of veggies, too. Thanks for the inspiration!
I’ve tried this recipe twice now but cannot get the texture right. I have a ninja blender and blend it for a while, but I’m still left with large pieces of mandarin skin that kind or ruin the whole thing. Any tips or is this just a how this smoothie is supposed to be? What kind Of blender did you use?
I used a KitchenAid blender, it’s pretty high powered and blends REALLY well. I haven’t used a ninja so I am not sure how it compares? So the texture should be more like a smoothie than juice, meaning it does have some texture to it. If you notice a lot of (not sure the correct word here) but pulp strings, you can pull those off before adding to the smoothie. Also if you want to segment the mandarin, removing the outer skin around the juicy flesh part you can. It will take a little longer but may be worth it to you. Also, you can juice the mandarin before adding if you just really don’t want a lot of texture but I like keeping the fruit more intact because it helps aid digestion. Anyway, hope this helps!
This is a healthy thing. Thanks for the post I’ll probably change the juice of my kids.
I’m going to try this one. I love oranges and the mix with oats and banana is exactly my style
Healthy LifeStyle
yum! i don’t know why i never thought of adding oranges to my morning smoothies. i throw a little spinach in there, too. the orange color definitely helps brighten these midwest winter mornings!
Gonna try this for Mother’s Day morning breakfast in bed!