A nutritious, delicious and refreshing morning wake-me-up smoothie. This orange kefir smoothie uses more of the orange than you’d expect. It’s a great way to reduce waste.
There are few things more exciting than receiving a box of organic fruit and veg in the post when you’re not quite sure what will be in it. I received such a box recently from Delicado48 in Spain. One thing I was pretty certain of was that it would contain oranges and I was not disappointed. A beautifully fresh tasting orange kefir smoothie became our breakfast staple for the next few days.
Organic Box Delivery
On opening the large cardboard box, all I could see was a tangle of wood wool. I stuck in a hand and to my surprise I pulled out a mango. I didn’t even know mangos grew in Spain. As I kept diving in and pulling out all sorts of surprises, I felt the wonder of childhood Christmases long ago.
Delicado48 is a grower and distributor of organic Spanish produce. They have been shipping to Germany for some time, but have recently launched a new service to the UK; they have a shiny new website to showcase and sell their produce, although prices are in Euros rather than Sterling. As well a a large variety of fruit and vegetables, they also sell nuts, honey, flour du sel and olive oil.
Everything arrived in good condition, the only casualty was the paper bag which the walnuts were held in. It had split open so I was fossicking in the wood wool and pulling out walnut after walnut with squeals of delight. You may laugh, but it was exciting.
Organic Fruit and Veg
The cherimoya or custard apple was particularly thrilling. CT has waxed lyrical about this Andean fruit ever since I met him, so he was somewhat taken aback when I pulled one out. He wasn’t far wrong.
The fruit was full of large seeds, which made it a little difficult to eat genteelly, but it was ambrosial and tasted something like how I imagine mango custard might. No wonder the Inca nobility were kept supplied by runners, who legged it all the way from the jungle up to the chilly highlands with basketfuls for the delectation of their masters.
I’m a bit iffy about tangerines, but the ones I’ve tried from this organic box so far have been juicy with a perfect balance of acidity and sweetness. The oranges are similarly juicy as well as large, sweet and seedless – perfect for my orange kefir smoothie. Grapefruit and lemons completed the citrus suite.
I also found plums, which I roasted to make a rather fabulous dessert, which I’ll be blogging about later and kiwi fruit which were better than any I’ve managed to buy in a long time.
You can never have too many avocados, so I was delighted to find three nestling in the wood wool, along with a large aubergine, some baby artichokes and a bunch of asparagus – my first of the season.
A very large sweet potato, some plump garlic and a container of olives made up the bounty to be found in my box. I had to quickly learn how to prepare baby artichokes, but I’m so glad I did – they were delicious. I never have problems with cooking asparagus and with the aubergine I made a most delicious warm salad for supper one night with chickpeas and tomatoes.
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Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this orange kefir smoothie, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
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If you’d like more orange recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious, of course.
Choclette x
Orange Kefir Smoothie
So to my orange kefir smoothie. We’ve been drinking a lot of green smoothies recently so with the arrival of such luscious oranges, I thought it was time for a change.
Last year, I made a grapefruit kefir smoothie, so I knew I wouldn’t end up with a horrid curdled mess. I’m always a bit concerned when I mix citrus and dairy. I noticed recently that Ceri at Natural Kitchen Adventures used a whole orange in her green smoothie. A whole orange, I thought – wow! With my wonderful Optimum 9200A power blender, this was certainly a possibility.
I was tempted, but initially didn’t quite have the courage to go for it in my orange kefir smoothie; I thought it might be too bitter. But, I used more than just the juice and zest and the result has been a most delicious breakfast pick-me-up. It wasn’t long before I was brave enough to try some of the peel too. It was absolutely fine, though I found the whole orange a bit too much. I add just a quarter of the peel.
Other Smoothie Recipes You Might Like
- Beetroot leaf green smoothie
- Blueberry kefir smoothie
- Ginger green goddess smoothie (vegan)
- Green smoothie bowl with pear, avocado and almonds
- Mango carrot smoothie
- Raspberry cashew smoothie (vegan)
Orange Kefir Smoothie. PIN IT.
Orange Kefir Smoothie – The Recipe
Orange Kefir Smoothie
Equipment
Ingredients
- 750 ml kefir (or watered down yoghurt)
- 1 large organic seedless orange
- 1 banana
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 heaped tsp baobab (optional)
- a few marigold petals (optional)
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients, except the orange into a high speed blender (I use an Optimum 9200A).
- Grate the zest of the orange and add to the rest of the ingredients. Peel the orange and add the flesh and ¼ of the peel.
- OR you could just cut the whole orange into quarters and add the entire fruit.
- Blitz for 30 seconds or until you have a smooth drink.
Lucy says
I love that organic box, your first pic of all the contents looks amazing! The smoothie sounds delicious too, I am another that hasn’t tried kefir yet though 🙂
Choclette says
It was a fabulous box of goodies Lucy. Loved it. I was very brave this morning and used a whole orange in the smoothie AND guess what? It was absolutely fine.
Kate | The Veg Space says
What a treat of a fruit box! Perfect inspiration for all sorts of morning smoothies. Your Kefir & Orange one sounds delicious, still yet to try kefir but its on the ‘to do’ list!
Choclette says
Thanks Kate. I was super brave this morning and used a whole orange in the same mix and it was absolutely fine. Feels really good to be taking in all that extra goodness.
Corina says
What a fantastic box! I’ve never tried kefir but think I should soon as I keep hearing about it. I need to make more smoothies too!
Choclette says
Thanks Corina. It was a fabulous box and I’d be completely lost without our kefir now.
Jenn says
I would love a surprise box of delicious fruits and veggies! The smoothie sounds yummy!
Choclette says
Thanks Jenn, it was a wonderful box full of surprises. This morning I tried the whole orange in the smoothie and it was absolutely fine.
Jacqueline Meldrum says
Oh that sounds yummy. I’ll have a glass of that! Your veg box is a wee bit different from what I usually get lol!
Choclette says
Hahaha, it was a wee bit different to what I usually get too Jac. Was lovely, as was the smoothie.
Heidi Roberts says
What a wonderful box of goodies – you must have been excited!
Choclette says
I really was excited Heidi, I was finding one treasure after another.
Sarah, Maison Cupcake says
I’ve never actually tried kefir but I love the sound of it. You’re getting good mileage from the Froothie too!
Choclette says
I love my Froothie blender Sarah, but I’m not sure I’d use it quite so often if it wasn’t for the kefir.
Cathy @ Planet Veggie says
I do love a veg box and you look like you got a treasure chest there!
Choclette says
Oh, I really did Cathy. I loved it.
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
I keep meaning to try kefir! These look like lovely fruit and veg – what’s the fruit in the middle next to the avocados and mango (?) – looks like it’s got scales!
Choclette says
Ah, that’s the custard apple I’ve been banging on about. I’ve posted the insides on Instagram if you want to go see. It was a really good selection of stuff.
Tamara says
I’d be squealing too Choclette! The cherimoya is amazing. We have a friend here in McAllen, TX. (near the Gulf of Mexico) that is from Peru, and she makes wonderful desserts for us with them! I haven’t yet gotten “into” smoothies, but this one does sound very healthy and tasty too!
Choclette says
Ah lucky you Tamara. Cherimoya are not easy to get hold of here in the UK, which is why this was the first I’ve ever seen. I loved it.
Mary Ellen says
Wow, I’d love to get a box like that! So many nice, fresh ingredients. The smoothie looks great.
Choclette says
Thanks Mary. It was a great box with small amounts of lots of things.
Lisa | Garlic + Zest says
Well that is a heck of a box! Do they ship stateside? I don’t use Kefir much, but I’d be willing to try if that smoothie is the result! The box is very much limited to Europe, but I’m sure you have similar over there.
Choclette says
Garlic and Zest is a great blog name Lisa – I think I’m in love 😉 We drink a lot of kefir in our house. Once you start making it, you just have to keep using it.
Gloria @ Homemade & Yummy says
That organic box sounds great. We have something similar in Canada…such a great idea.
Choclette says
Isn’t it just Gloria? I really like the surprise element.
Chris @thinlyspread says
Wow, what a fabulous box! I’m not surprised you were squealing, I would be! Your smoothie sounds divine, I’m desperate to have a go with kefir as you know!
Choclette says
Thanks Chris, it was a super duper box. Our kefir grows, but slowly. Not sure it’s ready to have any more taken from it yet, but maybe by the time the Birmingham trip comes around …