Thirsty? Craving a very refreshing drink? Want something old school that reminds you of your childhood? Want to introduce your children to a happy memory from your childhood? This is it! The old-fashioned ORANGE JULIUS!

I used to go to the mall (yes, with my mom) as a young boy and the payoff for having to try on a billion clothes was an Orange Julius drink. YESSSSSS! The sound of the blenders whirling, the aroma of orange and vanilla in the air, and the anticipation of that frothy goodness was very intoxicating!

After growing up, along with most of the Orange Julius stores/kiosks in the malls going by the wayside, I forgot about this precious drink, but about 10 years ago it popped back into memory, and I thought about how to recreate it myself. I failed a number of times before thinking about looking it up online, and although there were many recipes, none of them were even close to what I remembered. With more experimentation, I finally nailed it, so from me to you, here is a flashback to one of the best drinks EVER! By the way, this easily serves 4 people.

INGREDIENTS:

8 ice cubes

1-1/4 cup orange juice (fresh-squeezed is best!)

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

3 Tbsp egg whites* (1 large egg is enough)

1 tsp vanilla extract

*There will always be a red flag when egg whites are used in recipes where they won't be cooked because of the risk of salmonella. In researching this, 1 in 18,000 eggs will contain salmonella, and this is mostly in commercial egg production. If you know someone who raises their own chickens, ask if you can use their eggs. My understanding is that the company that made Orange Julius used powdered egg (not sure if it was powdered egg whites or the whole egg) and no doubt it was pasteurized or something of that sort, but if you are uncomfortable in any way, shape or form in using raw egg white in this recipe, please do not proceed.

EQUIPMENT:

Blender - mine is high-powered but any blender will do

Citrus juicer*

*If you do not have a citrus juicer, not to worry, you can simply squeeze by hand or just buy some orange juice from the store. I just prefer fresh-squeezed because, well, it's fresh!

Step 1: Prepping Your Ingredients

Prep all of your ingredients beforehand.
I keep the ice in the freezer until ready to blend so it doesn't melt beforehand

Juice the oranges with a citrus juicer or by hand, or open your carton/container if you bought juice from the store

Separate the egg white from the yolk

Measure out the vanilla and the sugar

Don't forget to keep 3/4 cup of water ready too, as this will also be added to the blender

In the pictures, you will see 2 glass measuring cups. One has the egg whites (with the bubbles) and one has the water)

Now you're ready to blend!

Step 2: Crushing, Blending, and Enjoying Your Orange Julius

Crush ice in the blender until it can't be crushed any further
Add orange juice and sugar, and blend until smooth
Add remaining ingredients and blend until frothy, about 2-4 minutes depending on the power of your blender
Pour and enjoy!