Smoothies are a ripoff.

[Abstract]

Ok, I love the taste of smoothies, but as they have become increasingly popular, companies are just raising prices and giving customers back a little less than before.

I remember a long time ago when they used to actually put fruit in it. What happened? Sure they taste great, but now the only fruit they might put into it is a very small banana! One of the smoothie places at my uni puts fruit syrup into the cup (may as well put fruit jelly/jam in it), then low fat frozen yoghurt, honey or some syrupy sugar stuff, lots and lots of ice, and then maybe a small banana and/or milk if the drink you order requires it.

Some places are better. I see them put around 10 pieces of frozen raspberry or blueberries into some of their berry smoothies. However, that's almost nothing. It's essentially for show.

The stuff tastes good, but does anybody else feel that the product is getting worse? Is this what happens when everybody and their grandma is starting a "fresh smoothie" shop?


PS: Banana + muesli smoothies give me tiny tummy orgasms. They're $5.50 Aussie dollars, though.

 

[Sdashiki]

Smoothie King and Planet Smoothie are all thats available around here.

they put lots of fruit in theirs, big ol frozen chunks of stuff.

granted its like $5 for a decent sized serving, but IMO its worth it.


EDIT: perhaps its because living down under the shipment of even frozen fruit can strain a business budget?

 

[mgargan1]

What is muesli?

But, i do agree with you. I love smoothies... but unfortunately they're damn expensive. That's why i get one probably twice a year. I can't justify spending so much money on something that doesn't do anything for me other than give me a stomach ache after a little while. Sure they taste amazing, but really for $6.00, I should be getting 2 of them...

 

[devilot]

Jamba Juice and all the actual smoothie places 'round here still put tons of fruit in. Sure most of it is frozen, but I recall seeing lots of it. And yeah, there's yogurt added in, but that adds flavor, texture, and color. I likey.

I was thinking about it... and while I don't like the prices, I sort of don't blame these places for charging quite a bit for smoothies. You're essentially paying for the convenience of not having to keep all those fruits, yogurts, juices, stocked in your own home (who honestly always has mangos, peaches, berries of all kinds, melons, bananas, apples, pineapples, kiwis, etc. etc. stocked?) as well as the convenience of having them figured out just the right combination to create a yummy tasting drink-- and they make it, to boot.

:edit: I think muesli is sort of a type of grain? Ricey or wheaty thingie?

 

[floriflee]

That is why I just make my own smoothies.

 

[Abstract]

What is muesli?

:edit: I think muesli is sort of a type of grain? Ricey or wheaty thingie?

Fer reel?

People eat it for breakfast in cereal. It's like a type of grain, but they usually add raisins, and then other dried fruit in it (dried banana, apple, etc). I'm quite sure you have it, as I eat it in Canada for breakfast. Not sure about you folks down south, though.

EDIT: perhaps its because living down under the shipment of even frozen fruit can strain a business budget?

Possibly. I forget what a smoothie tastes like in Canada. I thought it was just changing all over the world now that it's such a fad and everyone seems willing to pay out the wazoo for it.

 

[SamIchi]

Wooo Smoothies! I've only bought a smoothie once and it was from Dunkin' Donuts. I don't know what they put in it. It wasn't that good. That's why I make my own smoothies. I always try to keep my freezer and fridge stocked with smoothie ingredients. The Magic Bullet helps too, quick and easy, We bust out the big blender for a bigger batch.

My Recipe
Frozen Strawberries
Frozen Blueberries
OJ - Simply Orange - Not a big fan of OJ but this stuff is awesome
Peach Yogurt - Columbo - I think they got the best tasting yogurt
Lime or Tangerine Gatorade Rain - My secret ingredient, I think this evens it all out, and adds a good amount of sweetness. No honey or sugar.

This is all that I drink, almost every day with dinner.

 

[Abstract]

Yeah, making your own is probably a great idea. I'll have to get into that once I graduate and have some free time between my PhD and posting at MacRumours like a fiend.

Come to think of it, when I went to Hong Kong last year, and 10 months before that, I went into a McCafe and ordered a Strawberry smoothie, and they got out the strawberries and essentially filled the entire blender with strawberries, some ice, a bit of yoghurt or frozen yoghurt (I forget), and a bit of syrup, then blended it. That's all they added.


Cost: around $2.50 USD.


Something similar in Taiwan cost me around $0.40 USD. Um....anyway, go to Taiwan if you want fruit juice and food.

 

[Music_Producer]

I hate eating veggies.. so I make veggie smoothies

Broccoli, carrots, a little spinach and cauliflower in a blender.. Tang and water.. and blend for a good minute or more till everything is mixed really well. Tastes really good! Try it!

 

[floriflee]

Yeah, making your own is probably a great idea. I'll have to get into that once I graduate and have some free time between my PhD and posting at MacRumours like a fiend.

What? We have a Magic Bullet and it takes all of 1-2 minutes (if that) to get all the ingredients out and blended for an individual smoothie. Honestly, I would try to streamline your PhD studies to allow for some homemade smoothie-making.

 

[Abstract]

Haha, I'll think about it. Maybe I'll try and find one of these Magic Bullets.

I hate eating veggies.. so I make veggie smoothies

Broccoli, carrots, a little spinach and cauliflower in a blender.. Tang and water.. and blend for a good minute or more till everything is mixed really well. Tastes really good! Try it!

Tang? Do I look like Al Bundy? I didn't even know the stuff really existed.


Good way to get veggies into your diet though, so if it works for you, then congrats.

Broccoli is my veg, though. Absolute favourite veggie, so no problems there. Cauliflower is similar for me. It tastes different, but my love for it is almost the same.

 

[SamIchi]

I hate eating veggies.. so I make veggie smoothies

Broccoli, carrots, a little spinach and cauliflower in a blender.. Tang and water.. and blend for a good minute or more till everything is mixed really well. Tastes really good! Try it!

Does it really taste good? I've never had a veggie smoothie... I almost threw up drinkin' V8 one time. It's like cold tomato soup. I think I'll stick with my fruits, even though I should probably eat more veggies.

What? We have a Magic Bullet and it takes all of 1-2 minutes (if that) to get all the ingredients out and blended for an individual smoothie. Honestly, I would try to streamline your PhD studies to allow for some homemade smoothie-making.

Yea it doesn't take that long. Especially when it tastes so damn good.

 

[TheAnswer]

I used to be addicted to Jamba Juice, which is the big smoothie place around here. Still love there stuff, but I moved and the one closest to me is poorly managed and staffed, so I started making my own. I just use the frozen fruit, then usually soymilk or orange juice and some protein powder. It took some experimenting to get a few good recipes, but it is definitely worth it.

 

[nbs2]

Jamba Juice and all the actual smoothie places 'round here still put tons of fruit in. Sure most of it is frozen, but I recall seeing lots of it. And yeah, there's yogurt added in, but that adds flavor, texture, and color. I likey.

MMMM....Jamba Juice. Very dangerous when they put one on campus and accept your dining card. Every morning of finals was Lime Sublime with 7 or 8 shots of ginseng. They would actually put more strawberries because it would turn out green.

What? We have a Magic Bullet and it takes all of 1-2 minutes (if that) to get all the ingredients out and blended for an individual smoothie. Honestly, I would try to streamline your PhD studies to allow for some homemade smoothie-making.

Hooray for the Magic Bullet!

 

[ShermDog]

I bought one of those hand held blenders a couple of years back, and I make my smoothies at home--much better tasting than what you can buy from a vendor, and cheaper too

I usually make one before I leave for work to drink during my commute.

 

[devilot]

MMMM....Jamba Juice. Very dangerous when they put one on campus and accept your dining card.

No fair! I don't think any of the UCs (University of CA campuses) do that. Hmph. Our "flexi-dollars" are not so flexible.

 

[Queso]

Abokado in London does great smoothies. Berry Breeze is my favourite. Strawberries, raspberries, banana, frozen yoghurt and freshly squeezed orange juice. Made (with plenty of each fruit) as the customer orders.

 

[gauchogolfer]

For those of you passing through Santa Barbara (and they may have expanded some), be sure to check out Blenders in the Grass. I like them much more than Jamba.

Two thumbs up.

 

[floriflee]

I bought one of those hand held blenders a couple of years back, and I make my smoothies at home--much better tasting than what you can buy from a vendor, and cheaper too

Definitely cheaper when you can buy the lifesize bags of frozen fruit from Costco. Mmm, mmm, mmm.....

*goes off to make smoothie for lunch*

 

[nbs2]

No fair! I don't think any of the UCs (University of CA campuses) do that. Hmph. Our "flexi-dollars" are not so flexible.

Gotta love BYU. When I was there, they had a Taco Bell, Subway, Jamba Juice, and a few other regional chains. Add in the on campus pizza delivery service, four convenience stores, and creamery with the best milk in the West, and you can see why life was good.

 

[MRU]

A smoothie bar opened in our little town (20k residents) and everyone assumed give it 3 or 4 months and they would be gone. 12 months later they are still there.

€2.50 - € 3.50 for a smoothie from them.


Personally I prefer innocent pure fruit smoothies.

1 glass has your full daily proportion of fruit, and it has no added stuff. But €5 for 1 Ltr it's not cheap, but I buy 4 of them a week anyway.

pineapple, banana & coconut is my favorite.


http://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk/our_drinks/cartons/

 

[NATO]

Personally I prefer innocent pure fruit smoothies.

1 glass has your full daily proportion of fruit, and it has no added stuff. But €5 for 1 Ltr it's not cheap, but I buy 4 of them a week anyway.

pineapple, banana & coconut is my favorite.

http://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk/our_drinks/cartons/

I agree. I adore Innocent Smoothies, and they're a very down to earth company who puts nothing but 100% fruit into them and doesn't hide anything or add anything to them. Supermarkets are full of new smoothie brands, but most of them don't even slightly match Innocent smoothies in that they use concentrate fruit juice and additives/preservatives.

No thanks, i'll have Innocent's 100% fruit 'and nothing else'.

 

[GoCubsGo]

I make my own all of the time. I use a packet of vanilla powder that provides tons of nutrients needed to start my day. It's 110 calories. I add about 1/2 of strawberries and half of a banana usually to make for a total of 240 calories. I am full for about 3 hours when I make another using only strawberries or some berry for approx 175 calories total. I put in one packet of equal or something to sweeten the frozen berry. Costco you get 5lbs of frozen strawberries for under $8.00 which is better than 5oz lb for $2.99 at the supermarket. I also get their mixed berry one and their "fiesta" blend which is mango, papaya, pineapple, and strawberry. The problem I have with Jamba, Robeks, etc is their smoothies usually have way more calories and they don't always have enough vitimins. It's just not right you know. I'd rather make my own using a personal sized blender at work and a magic bullet at home.

 

[twoodcc]

i personally love smoothie king......i always get 'The Hulk'

 

[siurpeeman]

No fair! I don't think any of the UCs (University of CA campuses) do that. Hmph. Our "flexi-dollars" are not so flexible.

banana slug?