Let’s Drink More Orange Juice Together!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Florida Orange Juice. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have put up a few posts before now with my attempts at getting healthy and losing weight. But with my crazy schedule over the last year, I have really struggled with exercising and eating right. So when my friend {who is studying to become a nutritionist} asked me if I was interested in a personalized meal plan, I jumped at the chance. It’s packed full of foods and beverages that she coordinated for my lifestyle and needs. My biggest problem is eating breakfast. I get up at 4 am to get ready for work so it’s hard to fit in that morning meal before my day begins and even more difficult after work starts. But part of this meal plan is taking in fruit. I can do fruit juice too, which would be so much easier for me. Personally, I like orange juice. Right now, I don’t drink it all that often however it has so many benefits that I really need to add it to my day. Since I’m going to try to incorporate this delicious beverage into my diet more, I thought maybe you would like to join me on this journey too. If so, then let’s go!

We’ll start with some fun facts about this orange beverage:

One 8-ounce glass of good old 100% O.J. is a good source of potassium and folate and vitamin C but totally under consumed in the United States according to The Dietary Guidelines for Americans. So start drinkin’ up!
One serving of 100% orange juice is more nutrient dense than many commonly-consumed 100% fruit juices. I plan on drinking more O.J. than any other juice my friend suggested.
Plus, 100% orange juice has no added sugars or artificial sweeteners, which may be found in many fruit juice cocktails and sports drinks. These tend to be pretty bad for your system …. if you didn’t know….
A key recommendation of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans is to increase fruit intake. It can be hard to eat a lot of fruit during the day, but a glass of orange juice is so easy to throw down!
And just FYI, one 8-ounce glass of 100% orange juice provides half of the USDA-recommended daily fruit intake for most adults, based on a 2,000-calorie diet. So with just that one glass, I’ll be half-way there before 6 am!

The part about orange juice that really gets me is the vitamin C. It’s so essential for your health however its also a great way to get some energy naturally. In my life right now, I can use energy. So, I’m looking forward to adding more orange juice to my diet but I also wanted to know how I could add it into meals outside of just the traditional glass. Here’s what I found:

Nutrition expert Kathleen M. Zelman, MPH, RD suggests blending your favorite fruit with 100% Florida Orange Juice and low-fat yogurt for a convenient, on-the-go smoothie.
She also recommended the yummy idea to substitute 100% Florida Orange Juice for water in your pancake batter to give your meal a zesty, new taste.
On these upcoming hot summer days, you can always make your own orange popsicles. Or make a creamsicle by freezing the O.J. with just a touch of vanilla yogurt.
Though this won’t give you your daily intake or anything, it’s great to use when roasting veggies. It adds all kinds of flavor!

Be sure to like Florida Orange Juice on Facebook and follow Florida Orange Juice on Pinterest for more tips and expert nutrition advice. Plus, come back here to Inspiring Pretty in 2 weeks when I will talk about how I’m doing with my new side kick Orange Juice and my healthy eating habits. I plan on sharing any cool Orange Juice recipes I come across during this time. You don’t want to miss it. So, come on back.