Do you seem to go all out on a total health-kick only to find yourself struggling with hunger, and dinner’s still three hours away?
Smoothies have become a really popular so-called healthy snack to keep us going until dinner while we’re “watching our weight.”
And, it’s understandable – they’re simple and fast, with no cooking required. But, you should be aware that all smoothies are not created equal!
You may been thinking, “Well, what’s not healthy about fruit, yoghurt, and milk?” And, you’d be right to think that.
But, you need to check the nutritional information on your smoothie. You may be shocked to find that many of the popular chain stores also add scoopfuls of sugar, full fat milk, and even ice cream to their blend.
Hardly a diet-conscious snack!
So, are smoothies really a healthy choice?
In terms of ingredients and volume, less is more! So, if you’re having a smoothie, I’d definitely suggest that you make it a small one.
In fact, you’d be much better just going for the whole, fiber-rich fruits, instead or the juiced version…just my opinion though! 
Here are a few examples of chain store smoothie offerings:
- Smoothie King’s Pina Colada Island contains 550 calories, 11g fat, and 9g saturated fat.
- Tropical Smoothie Cafe’s Healthy Woman Power Smoothie has 504 calories and 2g fat.
- Jamba Juice’s Peanut Butter Mood contains a whopping 840 calories, 21g fat, and 4.5g saturated fat.
So, I’m sure you can see it’s definitely worth checking the nutritional information of your smoothie before you gulp down the whole thing.
Thankfully, some chain stores are getting with it – check out Rebecca Scritchfield, registered dietitian, talking about Starbuck’s healthy Vivanno smoothie:
The other thing to remember about calorie-laden drinks of any kind, is that scientific evidence suggests our bodies compute liquid calories somewhat differently to those found in food.
This is perhaps because when we drink it doesn’t fill us up like it would if we ate the same ingredients whole.
The result of this is that you could end up eating more food, and taking in additional calories. So, if you’re watching your weight, this could be a problem!
But, if smoothies are really your thing, I’d suggest making your own home-made version.
How about trying this thermos ready smoothie from Eating Well? It’s a protein and fibre-rich drink to go.
Servings: 1
Prep time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
1 cup frozen mixed berries
1/2 banana
1/2 cup apple juice
1/4 cup silken tofu
Method:
Combine berries, banana, apple juice and tofu in a blender; blend until smooth, then pop into a thermos flask to go!
Nutritional information per serving:
288 calories; 3g fat (0g sat, 0g mono); 62g carbohydrate; 6g protein; 7g fiber; 33mg sodium.
Would you like to share your healthy smoothie recipe with us here? I’d love to hear from you.
Image credit: TanjaS
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I have some ‘womens’ protein powder which I use at home with water, skim milk powder, yoghurt (if I have any), frozen berries and blend….this is for those evenings when I’m toooooooo tired to really cook or it’s been a really hot sticky day (not right now it’s winter!)
I will be looking for the Starbuck smoothie version….just to give it a ‘test’ when I’m out. The version may not be in NZ stores yet.
Cathy in NZ’s last blog post..Tasks to do:
Hi Cathy,
I’m not sure if these smoothies are available anywhere else yet, I’ll be on the lookout for them in the UK too!
Cool article thanks, but surely a homemade smoothie will normally be healthier than one that has been sat in a shop for a week
And in terms of fibre, surely if you “blend” rather than “juice” you retain the fibre
Hi Daniela,
Yes, of course homemade smoothies are healthier than something that is store-bought.
Daniela
Sometimes, like with a protein powder additive it’s better to do with milk….
I don’t usually buy smoothies that have been on a shop shelf but rather have one made in ‘front of me’
A chain type icecream/beverage place here puts in reasonably good detail what is in said smoothie (ok you don’t see the fine print) but you can go for a yoghurt, milk, non-diary and the like quite easily. Some add extras like whey or other supposedly great additions.
If I do buy from the shelf I take a good look at the dating….or I buy it from somewhere I know there is a high turnover of patrons. There is a branded fruit juice here that has a smoothie selection and it’s replace daily at my Uni cafes. (I know because I saw the rep one doing it!)
But of course, what I can get here in New Zealand will be way different to what you can get….even though we have Starbucks I think the slant will be a little different…
Haven’t seen anything about ’smoothies’ on any of the menu boards yet @ Starbucks
I really wish we didn’t have to loo at labels to know what we are getting. I mean over the years we have really stripped our diet down and anything we eat is “from scratch”. There is so much added salt, sugar, oil etc in things and it is really difficult to avoid unless you just use fresh ingredients all the time. Even buying a store sandwich has hidden rubbish. It seems really unfortunate and unfair.
I guess with smoothies its just another market that can be exploited.
My type of smoothie and what I drink regularly is a smoothie made of just fruit and some water. I don’t add anything else into it. I like keeping things simple!
I would be worried to add something else in for fear I might not like the taste – at least with fruit I know what I am getting.
Some of my fav smothies are simply a few bananas, a little water and then some berries all blended together.
Hi Kelly,
I know what you mean. It’s so frustrating that pretty much every packaged product you pick up in the supermarket has something in there you want to avoid. It shouldn’t be that way!
I suppose years ago people didn’t have all the fancy products we have now-a-days, so they had to cook from scratch. If we could all move back to that kind of eating my guess is obesity wouldn’t be the health problem it is today.
Hi Melanie – thanks for linking my video in this post. I just wanted to clarify that I understand the lack of enthusiasm with store smoothies. I never would have believed that I would tell anyone to buy a smoothie from a store and I considered them all “liquid calories”. But these smoothies are literally a fresh banana, a fresh strawberry puree with no added sugar, ice, milk choice and this protein/fiber. Exactly the way you would make at home… that’s why I am supportive of this particular one.
Hi Rebecca,
No problem! Yes, I completely see where you’re coming from, it’s great to know that stores like Starbucks are actually producing a “healthy” product that IS actually healthy when you consider the ingredients!