"Smoothies" news and stories

According to a recent blog post on The Stir, many of the smoothies that fast-food chains are selling these days are anything but healthy.

"Even the new McDonald's Wild Berry Smoothie and comparable Jamba Juice Berry Yumberry Smoothie are just okay -- they are relatively low-cal (210 and 230 respectively) but still pack mega grams of sugar."

Head over to The Stir to see the five worst offenders and find out which smoothie comes in with a whopping 960 calories and 23 grams of fat.

UPDATE: To ensure continued supply and meet customers' needs due to overwhelming popularity, McDonald's USA announced today that it will not be executing the national in-restaurant sampling event of McCafé Real Fruit Smoothies on July 22-24.

Back in early June, we told you about a product-tasting event we attended where McDonald's unveiled its new McCafé Real Fruit Smoothies (in addition to other products) as an extension of their McCafé line. The smoothies, available in Strawberry Banana or Wild Berry (chosen as the favorites during rigorous consumer testing), launched nationwide on Tuesday.

Our initial reaction was that both flavors (Wild Berry contains blueberries, strawberries and blackberries) were quite fresh-tasting, thanks to their natural ingredients (fruit, fruit juice, low-fat yogurt and ice). Danielle Paris, the Director of Product Innovation and Development at McDonald's, told Slashfood that McDonald's "sources strawberries directly from strawberry farmers, and selects particular varieties that will offer a specific flavor profile" for the smoothies.

As promised, our official taste test is coming soon, but next week you can try out the flavors yourself, at no cost. From July 22 to July 24, McDonald's will be giving customers free samples of both smoothie flavors. This promotion is reminiscent of their offer from just over a year ago for a free sample of their McCafé Mocha, with the early rollout of their McCafé line.

If you taste the smoothies next week, let us know what you think, and stay tuned for our official taste test!

It's a shake, it's a smoothie, it's a berry breakfast bomb -- these cold combos of fruit, milk, yogurt (and sometimes citrus) are perfect first thing in the morning or last thing at night, made with fresh fruit on a steaming July day or made with frozen berries in the depths of December. So dust off the blenders, kids, and pulse till you drop.

Blogger terriseesthings found her berry bliss with this recipe, which includes instant lemonade mix (you can also add fresh lemon juice). For a straight-on blast of berries, check out this smoothie recipe from Kitchen Daily. And for a shot of vitamin C and protein, whip up this wake-up smoothie with berries, orange juice and tofu.

Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool for a shot of having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.

We attended a product-tasting event yesterday afternoon in a three-story restaurant with wood-paneled walls and modern accents, where people were using the free wifi and enjoying complimentary manicures. Sounds fancy, eh? The restaurant, by the way, was a McDonald's. (And those manicures were exclusive to the event.)

This Golden Arches location -- one of five in New York featuring the modern renovation -- set the scene perfectly for an event at which McDonald's executives and representatives made it loudly known that they care about the quality of their ingredients, they are constantly innovating and they base many of their actions on customer feedback.

The products being unveiled included Angus Snack Wraps, McCafé Real Fruit Smoothies, and McCafé Frappés (which have been rolling out nationally for the past few months). On hand to chat about the products were McDonald's Director of Culinary Innovation, Chef Dan Coudreaut, and the Director of Product Innovation and Development, Danielle Paris.

The Angus Snack Wraps will launch in New York on June 14, and will go nationwide on August 10. They'll come in the same three varieties as their larger counterparts: Deluxe (lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, American cheese, mayo, mustard); Bacon & Cheese (onions, pickles, American cheese, ketchup, mustard, a strip of bacon); and Mushroom & Swiss (sauteed mushrooms, Swiss cheese, mayo). Each flour tortilla wrap contains half an Angus patty and the various toppings.

Make a run for the cupcake?

Taco Bell is test marketing cupcakes and smoothies in California, the Orange County Register reports.

Red velvet cupcakes, smoothies and "Wendy's-inspired shakes" were found by the Fast Food Maven on Wednesday. The paper's Fast Food Maven uncovered the sweets and drinks at two California locations -- Buena Park and Tustin.

But don't go looking for these mystery desserts at your local Taco Bell outpost quite yet -- they may not even make it to the menu nationally. "The company doesn't comment on products in development," Rob Poetsch, a spokesman for Taco Bell, told Slashfood on Friday.

So, are they any good?