50/50 Bar Smoothie

My 50/50 bar smoothie takes all the great flavors from that summertime ice cream bar and transforms it into a delicious drink.  You could have this smoothie as a snack in between meals or serve it with a meal.  It’s full of real fruit, like mango, bananas, peaches, and orange juice.  Plus it has Greek vanilla yogurt for added protein.  It’s also loaded with immune-boosting vitamin C, fiber, and potassium so you can feel good about putting this into your body.  

A 50/50 Bar was something I loved as a kid, which is no surprise because orange sherbert was my favorite kind of ice cream.   If you are not familiar with a 50/50 bar let me explain.  Some know it as Orange Creamsicles.   It’s part popsicle and part ice cream bar on a stick.  The outside is orange Popsicle and the inside is vanilla ice cream. Ice cream trucks always had them and it was my favorite ice cream treat.  (the classic ice cream sandwich came in second).  I love the flavor combination of this.  It’s cool and refreshing which made it the perfect summertime treat.  If you’ve never had one you can still find them in grocery stores today.  

Here’s what you need to make a 50/50 bar smoothie:

Orange juice–  1 cup of orange juice.     Orange juice from brands like “Simply” or “Tropicana” are great.  Fresh orange juice would add great flavor, but buying it can be expensive.  You could opt to use fresh oranges and squeeze them yourself to make your own juice or just buy orange juice concentrate which is very affordable and you’ll have orange juice for the week.  

Whole Greek Yogurt- 1/2 cup whole milk vanilla Greek yogurt.  You can also use the individual 5oz. yogurt cups as well.  I recommend Greek yogurt because it is higher in protein, but feel free to use whatever kind you like.  I do recommend using vanilla flavored to achieve the flavor of a 50/50 bar.  If you only have plain Greek yogurt that will work, but the vanilla flavor will be missing.  If you use plain yogurt add 1 tsp of vanilla extract.  

Frozen Peaches– 1/2 cup frozen peaches.  I always use frozen fruit in my smoothies because I like them super cold and don’t want to add ice cubes. 

Frozen Mango–  1/2 cup frozen mango.  

Frozen Banana– 1/2 of frozen banana.  Adding half of a banana creates a creamy thickness, without tasting like a banana.  

 *optional* Orange Sherbet (Sherbert)–  1/2 cup of orange sherbert or sorbet.  This will really up the orange flavor.  

Equipment– Blender

Substitutions– Instead of yogurt you could substitute vanilla-flavored almond milk, soy milk, coconut milk, or regular whole milk.  The smoothie won’t have exactly the same flavor or consistency, but it will still be good. 

Here’s how to make this 50/50 bar smoothie:

Grab your blender and let’s get started.  This orange smoothie recipe is so easy and the best part is how good it tastes.  

First, I pour the orange juice into the blender.  There are measured marks on the pitcher of the blender so it makes it easy to measure out one cup of juice.  Next, I add in the yogurt and all of the fruit.  Close the top and blend until creamy and smooth.  Pour into a large cup or glass and enjoy.  You can garnish it with orange slices if you are feeling fancy.

During the recent flu season, the only thing that sounded good to me was this smoothie.  It is a good source of vitamin C and the perfect way to hydrate and nourish my sick body.  When my kids were little and feeling under the weather they loved it because it tasted like an orange creamsicle milkshake.  Now that I think of it, If I had topped it with a little whipped cream that’s what I’d call it! 

More recipes to try!

Blueberry Banana Smoothie

Watermelon Slushie

Chia Seed Pudding

No Bake Energy Balls