Raspberry Orange Smoothie

Pardon me if I sound like a crotchety old woman*, but it just blows my mind how kids today will grow up in a world where high-speed internet, DVRs, smartphones, iPads, and the like are more or less the norm. It’s funny to think that just a decade and a half ago, cell phones were a rare luxury, and if you had one it was far clunkier than most cordless landline phones are today** (think Zach Morris brick phone).

*In case you’re wondering, I’m just shy of my 24th birthday (it’s this Saturday!!), hardly advanced of age.

**Sidenote: how many of you even have a landline today? We have one because it came bundled with the cable and internet, but have yet to plug in an actual phone.

I still distinctly remember our computer’s blue DOS screen (does that date me?), and its fussy command line; making endless lists in WordPerfect*, and printing out my KidPix creations on continuous stationary. My siblings and I are about a generation apart in age (they’re 6 ½ and 8 ½, though my sister insists that she’s 6 ¾ much like I used to denote my age in twelfths as in “I’m five and eleven twelfths”), but they fight over playing games on my parents’ iPhones (it’s arguable that they may be more iThing-literate than my mom, though she gets along just fine), are confused by live TV, and do some of their schoolwork online.

*Seems I haven’t changed much since kindergarten in appearance or lifestyle, just the tech I use.

Despite the dramatic differences in normative technology, our formative years share a few significant tangible similarities. First off: smoothies are king (this might be my mom’s favorite meal, coincidence? probably not); second: our love for Klutz books. Now, the actual books in question may have changed, but I still feel a rush of excitement every time I see my sister flipping through one of their cheerfully illustrated volumes (her current favorite). I’ve saved her a few of my vintage favorites, and I still refer to my battered and splattered, but sadly out of print, Magic Spoon Cookbook from time to time*. I’ve always appreciated their simplified but never dumbed down ideas, and particularly remember lusting after a certain spiral bound Smoothies cookbook (it came with a pink spatula!), so naturally, when I’m feeling a bit nostalgic I whip up one of the timeless concoctions inscribed within.

*If you ever come across a copy, just buy it. TRUST.

Ironically, I wrote this post on an iPad…

Raspberry Orange Smoothie

Something about the combination of vanilla, orange and raspberry is pretty magical; each sip is reminiscent of an orange-raspberry creamsicle. As far as smoothies go, this one is pretty decadent, in fact it’s almost a smoothie/milkshake hybrid. If you’re looking for something a bit lighter, feel free to swap the frozen yogurt with vanilla yogurt, or even plain yogurt and a little bit of honey to taste.

Adapted, barely, from Smoothies

Yield: one large or two small smoothies

1 cup frozen raspberries
1 cup vanilla frozen yogurt (I like Haagen Daaz)
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

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Combine the raspberries, yogurt and orange juice in a blender, and blend til smooth.

ENJOY!