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Smoothies are a ripoff.

Abstract said:
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.
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Smoothies are made of fresh fruit.

That's it.

No sugar, corn syrup, glucose syrup or any of those "food' industry bulking agents.

If they are putting gloop into your smoothie, you may as well start licking sugar lumps and counting down towards the onset of diabetes as carry on drinking those travesties.
 
NATO said:
I agree. I adore Innocent Smoothies...
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Me too. Too cash-rich and time-poor to bother making my own. Almost £2 for a little bottle of crushed fruit? Sure...

I'd like to see some new flavours though, and the orange juice base can make them all a bit samey. I like the ultra vit C one with the rosehips, cherries and blackcurrants, also the cranberries and raspberry one as well; good for your plumbing. ;)
 
Blue Velvet said:
also the cranberries and raspberry one as well; good for your plumbing. ;)
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Yep that ones lovely. I have kidney issues, so anything that helps this area is great, and it so much better than some snake oil bottle remedy.

The blueberry one is scrumptious too.

Strawberry & banana is the only one I dont like. :)
 
I recently started making smoothies, I used Frozen Strawberries,blueberries, raspberries,and black berries, apple juice, one banana, a little bit of milk, and some honey. Good stuff! Any the frozen fruit works fine, and you don't have to add ice if you use frozen.
 
todd2000 said:
I recently started making smoothies, I used Frozen Strawberries,blueberries, raspberries,and black berries, apple juice, one banana, a little bit of milk, and some honey. Good stuff! Any the frozen fruit works fine, and you don't have to add ice if you use frozen.
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Yea frozen so you don't need ice, that's how I see it. It is also so much more convenient than fresh fruit. I got huge bags of strawberries and blueberries from BJ's, they're awesome.

I don't know about blackberries, they have so many seeds. I bought 2 brands so I assume they all have a lot of seeds. They aren't like strawberry seeds either, they're rock hard. I don't know why people would use those... :confused: The first time I used blackberries I strained out all the seeds, there was a lot.
 
This is going to sound odd, but the best smoothie I've ever tasted had cashews as an ingredient. They came from a now defunct hippy/vegetarian/wheatgrass restaurant that has since closed. I miss them.
 
Jamba Juice uses a ton of sorbet. A real smoothie with just fruit and fruit juice already has a lot of sugar... a Jamba Juice smoothie should come with a shot of insulin.
 
I don't really drink too many smoothies mostly because they are loaded with calories and are meant to be a meal replacement. I'd rather eat my food :D
 
It's not a smoothie if it doesn't have fruit in it. Period. It's some sort of artificially flavored beverage.

I like making small smoothies with bananas and orange juice. My blender isn't good enough to bend anything frozen or too hard, so I just use room temperature fruit and refrigerated juice. It's still quite good. It's even better if you add just a touch of apple juice.
 
5.


That's the number of posts it took to go off-topic into a "How I like my smoothies!" thread. :p


Anyway, it turns out that you only get royally screwed in Australia with regards to smoothies. I wish another person living in Australia can vouch for the crapness of the smoothies here, like the ones from BOOST, the main chain here. There just isn't enough fruit. :rolleyes:

yadmonkey said:
Jamba Juice uses a ton of sorbet. A real smoothie with just fruit and fruit juice already has a lot of sugar... a Jamba Juice smoothie should come with a shot of insulin.
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Yeah, that really isn't good. I know frozen yoghurt and sorbet is probably expensive as well, but to me it's filler.
 
Smoothies are easy to make. I make mine with frozen strawberries, some frozen raspberries, banana (not too much), ice, and a little bit of orangne juice...mmm. You can throw in any fruit you want though..
 
jessica. said:
That is the best "As seen on TV" Invention YET! I have one and I'd die without it given the amount of smoothies I make a day.
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The only bad thing about it is the rubber wheel thingy on the bottom gets worn down til it doesn't reach the the turning cog thingy. That's what happened to one of my blades. I just use the flat blade now. Still crushes the fruit good. :D
 
Lol Abstract.. you can use Tang or any kind of flavoring agent. Actually, I've never tried this.. but you could probably blend fruits and veggies together.. a strong-tasting fruit would mask the taste of every other component in there.

SamIchi.. yeah it does taste really good. I wouldn't drink it otherwise.. it's the only way I get veggies in my system (and Indian food.. once in a while)

I absolutely hate it when I go to Juice it Up and ask for a freshly squeezed orange juice.. and the lazy idiots get juice that has been refrigerated! :mad: I don't want airline-tasting oj! It's so bitter.. nasty.
 
After G said:
No powdered protein? I add some "extras" into my smoothies every now and then ... :D
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Yuck! I put some of my Aunt's soy protein powder in the last smoothie I made, and it tasted like someone crushed up a stick of chalk in my smoothie. :)

SamIchi said:
Yea frozen so you don't need ice, that's how I see it. It is also so much more convenient than fresh fruit. I got huge bags of strawberries and blueberries from BJ's, they're awesome.

I don't know about blackberries, they have so many seeds. I bought 2 brands so I assume they all have a lot of seeds. They aren't like strawberry seeds either, they're rock hard. I don't know why people would use those... :confused: The first time I used blackberries I strained out all the seeds, there was a lot.
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I just used a bag of mixed fruit from Wal-Mart, it happened to include blackberries, but not too many, so the seeds werent that bad.
 
devilot said:
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. :eek:

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. :D

:edit: I think muesli is sort of a type of grain? Ricey or wheaty thingie?
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Jamba Juice is great. Lots of those here in the Bay Area.
 
I drink stuff from a shop called Crush (part of a chain) often.

I don't really think about how much I'm paying in these places but my friends from outside the UK look at the prices and go "WTF?" The other day a visiting friend and I had a smoothie, salad and a soup each. After we sat down he was looking deeply worried and said "did that just come to over £20?" I said yes... and thinking about it, it also occurred to me that this was a bit ludicrous. I looked at the menu and it wasn't an error. He looked quietly horrified, saying "I could eat lunch for two weeks on that...".

Eating and drinking nominally healthy is big business, and it's not necessarily any healthier (in fact, probably less) than filtered tap water in most areas and a few fruits. Still, I feel healthier when I hear blenders and see fruits being popped in those hoppers :D
 
two words: Boost Juice.

- love 'em, the best quick brekkie is frozen berries, yoghurt, juice and muesli (or granola to you yanks) blended into thick goodness.
 
get a blender + recipe (or experiment) + fruit + dairy products, then, make your own!

= yum

thank me latter;)
 
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