There are one million ways to make smoothies, some healthier than others. Lazy as I am, I opted for the easiest possible route first. I bought a bag of smoothie mix and added milk, just like it said. I headed for the freezer section and bought a smoothie bag by Yoplait. I was in a crazy hurry, Abby throwing a royal fit. So I grabbed and left without totally analyzing the label. Here's the good stuff:
1. It's crazy easy. That's valuable to me. Big time.
2. There is a full serving of fruit in a cup.
3. High in Vitamin C because of the berries.
4. High in Calcium because of the milk.
5. Live active cultures from the yogurt. Live active cultures sounds a little creepy to me, but apparently it's a good thing. It aids in digestion.
Here's the bad:
1. While fruit, water, and yogurt make up half of the ingredient list (way up at the top; that's a good thing), they are followed by some unknown substances. That's really starting to bug me. So maybe I'll try a different way another day. And then maybe I'll go nuts and start putting some new-to-me things in there. Molly posted some excellent ideas in the comment section of the juice post.
The verdict: Will ate it like there was no tomorrow. Abby mostly wore it, the mess that she is. I ate it (yum) and gave Abby a bath as she was purple. I don't know if I would by it again. There was another discussion in the fruit post about benefits of fruit and liquids vs. the chemicals we sometimes have to use to get our kids to consume them. I'm on a quest to find an easy and healthier alternative. I'll keep ya posted.
And now for two completely random topics:
1. Thanks, you guys, for all the great comments. I love how interactive this is becoming. I love to hear the different thoughts and questions. I don't know all the answers being totally new to this endeavor, so I'm learning alot from the research and from you.
2. If you happen to live in Houston, tomorrow is the Flavor Fest at Discovery Green and we'll be there cause we like to eat. :)
Smoothies are such a great idea. You can get the same taste with plain yogurt, frozen berries and honey. The Fage greek style yogurt is very good.
ReplyDeletei think that's the route i'll take this week.
ReplyDeleteCostco carries a HUGE bag of frozen berries that I use for smoothies regularly. I also recommend adding a scoop of almond or peanut butter to up the protein...and add a little more sweet!
ReplyDeleteWe love smoothies and I would love to share with you how we've been making them lately. They are green smoothies so super healthy and my little ones always drink them up: http://saltandchocolate.blogspot.com/2010/04/in-kitchen-lately.html
ReplyDeleteholly, that's a good idea. i'll try that.
ReplyDeleteand mary beth, holy moly i'm scared of the green smoothie. but i see that you were too, so i'm a little empowered. i'm one step closer. my best friend drinks them all the time and promises that they're tasty. i'm still nervous. :)
I have seen these in the market but never tried them - I am glad to know what it is like, but it kind of seems like a ridiculous product to me - the only hassle of making a smoothie is cleaning the blender - the rest of it is a piece of cake. So what I want to know is can this product clean the blender for me?
ReplyDeleteI like to make smoothies when I need to use up the last bits of some fruit or yogurt or juice so it seems like buying it in a bag would kind of defeat the purpose. Plus I bet they are way more expensive than the traditional route.
Sorry to be so negative! Thanks for being the guinea pig!
So I was at Costco on Friday and they were giving out samples of these - and ohmy! they were so yummy! I wanted to come right here and take back all the mean things I said about them on Thursday! But alas, the smoothie high wore off and they are still not that great for you, so I think I will stick with my usual throw the refrigerator into the blender and see what I get...
ReplyDelete