The first “real” recipe I ever tried was for the famous orange Julius. It was back in home-ec class and the no-fail recipe instantly became my favorite. Now I’m giving traditional orange Julius an upgrade by combining the vitamins C and A, potassium, fiber, and carotenoids found in sweet potatoes with tangy orange. This is a winning combination, light and refreshing with pops of citrus, yet dense and filling because of the sweet potato. Enjoy this as a meal or post-workout drink, or split it with a loved one for a snack! It’s ridiculously good.

Ingredients

　　1 cup almond milk

　　1 medium sweet potato, baked whole

　　1 medium orange, peeled

　　1 Medjool date, or more to taste, pitted

　　1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

　　Dash of sea salt

　　Dash of ground cinnamon

　　Honey (optional)

　　In a high-speed blender, combine the almond milk, sweet potato, orange, date, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon and blend until smooth. Adjust the sweetness to your desired taste by adding honey or more Medjool dates. Blend in about ½ cup ice to chill before serving.

　　Tip

　　This recipe offers the perfect example of how batch cooking comes in handy: Baking up a batch of sweet potatoes to have them ready for use in any application is such a time saver!

　　From Nutrition Stripped: 100 Whole-Food Recipes Made Deliciously Simple © 2013 by McKel Hill. Buy the full book from HarperCollins or from Amazon.Reprinted with permission by WilliamMorrow Cookbooks, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.