Behold, the Beet Orange Julius! Otherwise known as yet another drink that greatly disappointed my nephew when he took a sip. I think he was hoping for something closer to a strawberry milkshake. Poor kid. We keep cajoling him into trying our smoothies, he keeps gamely sipping and being disgusted. (His little brother, on the other hand, greedily gulps down anything we give him. Our little green smoothie prodigy!)

I don’t usually post our smoothies because if you’re into them, you probably already know all the tricks. But we went to our friends Caleb and Adrienne’s house to inaugurate their new Vitamix and made them an Orange Kale Julius in an attempt to knock their socks off. It worked! The Julius is our secret weapon; we’ve converted many an adult to drinking vegetables with it (but we’re still working on our nephew). This beet version is especially for Ade because she’s on a Julius kick now.

And you should be, too. This version is a touch earthy, sweet (but not overly so), and creamy thanks to the eggs. It’s our breakfast at least once a week.

beet orange julius
makes two servings

To make an Orange Kale Julius, just leave out the beets.

1 can coconut milk or water and meat from fresh young Thai coconut or 1 cup raw cow’s milk or 1 cup raw milk yogurt
3 oranges, peeled
3 pastured eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 of a large beet, washed but unpeeled
6 small leaves kale
1 tablespoon honey (or more if you like)
1/2 to 3/4 cup frozen mango chunks

Put all ingredients in a Vitamix or other high-powered blender and blend until super smooth.