Orange Ginger Chia Smoothie (dairy-free, vegan)

Filled with vitamin c, this healthy and easy Orange Ginger Chia Smoothie recipe is gluten-free, naturally dairy-free and vegan, and the perfect smoothie for kids and adults to keep your immune system strong!

Need an easy, healthy smoothie after the Holidays? To help protect your immune system?

This Orange Ginger Chia Smoothie is IT!

During the Holiday season this year we had so many birthday parties, Christmas parties, gatherings with friends and kids… it left our whole family stuffy and sick, just in time for New Years. I’ll sum it up and say, January wasn’t a fun month for us.

Whenever someone starts getting a cold in my house my husband starts CHUGGING orange juice. And you know what? That guy rarely gets sick. Maybe I should start doing that…

But I’m not an OJ-chugger, so I made a delicious Orange Ginger Chia Smoothie instead.

I typically don’t keep fresh ginger around the house, but one week I had several recipes that called for some so I finally caved and bought real, fresh ginger root. Turns out, fresh ginger is absolutely DIVINE in smoothies and totally worth it. I think I’ll be buying fresh ginger a LOT more often now 🙂

So, how do you work with fresh ginger root? It seems complicated!

To start, you’ll need to peel your ginger root. If your ginger root is fresh then you can use a spoon to scoop alongside the ginger towards you, to basically scrape and “peel” the skin off.

If your ginger isn’t cooperating with a spoon then it’s probably a little older and tougher, so it won’t peel quite as easily. Instead, you may want to use a small knife, and carefully slice the skin off of the root. This is my preferred method.

If you would like to peel your entire ginger root in one setting, my favorite thing to do is to cut all of the ginger into coins that I can easily throw into my Orange Ginger Chia Smoothie, or chop up and add to stir fry. Put all your ginger coins into a mason jar, cover them entirely with water, put a lid on and you can store them in your fridge. Your ginger should last a few weeks stored like this. I picked up this tip from Emily at Robust Recipes and I LOVE storing my ginger this way now.

Rather than peeling and cutting the entire ginger root, you can also cut off a small chunk of ginger, cut the skin off, and chop it up. Keep the rest of the ginger root in a plastic bag in your vegetable drawer. Your ginger root should last a few weeks stored like this as well.

Most important tip when chopping up fresh ginger root: cut against the grain.

Meaning, do not cut with the direction of the grains, but in the opposite direction, or your ginger will be very hard to chop.

This Orange Ginger Chia Smoothie is filled with bright citrus flavor, strong and spicy ginger, and a touch of sweetness from the banana.

Filled with vitamin c, omega 3’s, antioxidants, protein, and fiber this anti-inflammatory Orange Ginger Chia Smoothie is a new STAPLE in our house to keep the sickness away and keep everyone strong and healthy!

Looking for other healthy recipes to keep your family full and happy? You might like my gluten-free Orange Carrot Oat Muffins or my healthier dairy-free, refined sugar-free Peppermint Hot Cocoa.