Smoothies

(photo cred: myevilplans.com)

Jamba Juice is not actually that healthy for you..?

Have you ever glanced at their brochures sitting in the store while you were waiting for your smoothie? Next time flip through the nutrition facts for your favorite drink, and you'll find it may not be as healthy as you thought. True, they may filled with fruit but what you may not realize is the extra ingredients corrupt this

I examined the nutrition facts for a sixteen size of Strawberries Wild and read that there were 58grams of sugar per cup. FIFTY EIGHT GRAMS of sugar coming from an apple strawberry juice blend, nonfat vanilla frozen yogurt, frozen strawberries, frozen bananas, and ice all blended together. I then found that for every cup of strawberries, there's only about eight grams of sugar so where were the other fifty grams coming from?

My answer: The juice and frozen yogurt. Though true that the frozen yogurt is nonfat, it is nevertheless flavored with vanilla, accounting for extra sugars. Then, the juice has added sugar, which sweetens the flavor of the pure juice from the fruits. So, is it possible to enjoy a smoothie that tastes good and is actually healthy? I think so.

My recipe for a strawberry smoothie that is simple yet still sweet:
-1 cup of frozen strawberries
-1 cup of milk
-Pinch of sugar

Three ingredients. It may sound almost too easy. However, I've found that my smoothies still taste great, almost up to par with Jamba Juice. I purchase my bags of frozen strawberries from Trader Joe's. They almost always have sweet strawberries or sometimes I even buy a box of fresh strawberries and mix them together into my smoothie. The frozen strawberries not only help keep the texture frothy but also provide natural sugars. The milk also helps balance the texture and adds some sweetness to the drink. I choose to use more strawberries and milk instead of ice because that just means more flavor! The small pinch of sugar is my safety net in case the strawberries aren't sweet enough so I normally do that to taste. I also often check in my freezer for other frozen fruits to twist the flavor like mangoes or other berries as last minute add-ins.

Especially as the weather is getting warmer and smoothies sound more appealing, think about this the next time you want a cold refreshing drink.