There are few corporations as polarizing as Starbucks. Even on this blog, it is the rare Slashbucks post that doesn't incite a ruthless comments war. Yet there is no denying that Starbucks is a fast food force and their products deserve coverage like everybody else, so simmer.
Today Starbucks is introducing yet another beverage to their liquid arsenal. Though frozen and blended, the new Vivanno isn't another tired variation on the -ccino theme. Nope, this is Starbucks' answer to Jamba Juice: A protein-packed smoothie.
Here's the scoop:
One whole - real! - banana (seriously! it will be peeled and pulsed before your very eyes!)
Whey protein (16 grams) and fiber powder (5 grams)
Choice of milk (default is 2%)
Ice
Secret Starbucks-Proprietary Orange-Mango Naked Juice
Portion controlled (default is Grande, and always has less than 270 calories)
Although I believe it is rather naive of the financially-woed coffee conglomerate to try and break into the oversaturated smoothie market with a mere four options, I decided to give 'em a go.
Are you an avid tea drinker looking for a different way to enjoy your tea this summer? A lot of tea drinkers go iced in the warm summer months, some even adding lemonade to their iced tea, but there is an even colder way to enjoy your tea in the summer months if you enjoy green tea: smoothies!
Below you will find the recipe for my personal summer tea concoction, which will require matcha (powdered green tea). Matcha is high in caffeine content compared to regular steeped tea, so you may not want to indulge in one of these smoothies too late in the day.
INGREDIENTS 1 tsp matcha (powdered green tea) 4 oz. cup of fruit-flavored yogurt (Light 'n Fit works well, low in sugar) frozen strawberries (or other desired fruit) frozen peach slices (or other desired fruit) apple juice
I have this on-again, off-again relationship with...smoothies. It's not really a commitment issue; rather, one of convenience. When it's convenient to heave my giant blender onto the counter, fill it with frozen berries, fat-free plain yogurt and a splash of pomegranate juice, send it into a spin with a buzz so loud it wakes my neighbors, dump it into a to-go cup, then leave the blender on the counter, just to dry into a crusty mess that requires harsh scrubbing by the time I get home, I am all in favor of the "convenience" of drinking my breakfast on the way to work.
When I'm stressed and harried to supernatural levels, even a smoothie is no longer easy. I forgo breakfast altogether.
The Shake n Take just might put an end to any issues I've had before and make smoothies my long-time breakfast relationship. As one, single serving blender, you just blend your ingredients, pop that portable cup off, and take it with you! No need to haul out some big blender, no need to pour from the blender into another cup, no need to clean more than one cup.
Remember when I asked all you, my favorite Slashfoodies, for some suggestions for what to do with a glut of cherries back in July? There were some great suggestions in the comments, with quite a few cheers for clafouti (because I bemoaned having to pit them), cherries jubilee, and among a bunch of other ideas.
Well, I took some of your ideas over the last month and made some stuff, which I'll be sharing with you this week. First up, it's a cherry smoothie, which I realize is pretty boring, but it had to be done because 1) life for the last month required speed eating which often translates into liquid lunch, and 2) with that many cherries, I had to put at least half of them in the freezer. Of course, I pitted the entire basket first (using a knife - very painstaking), spread them onto a tray, then placed them into the freezer. The next morning, I was so excited about having frozen cherries, I blended them into a smoothie so I could enjoy them right away.
There's no real recipe here, but I'll let you know what I put into mine because I felt like a million bucks after drinking it. Blend together: ½ c. nonfat yogurt, 1 c. frozen cherries (pitted, duh), and enough pomegranate juice to make it the consistency you want (I used about ½ cup). I don't add any sugar, though a friend suggested a drizzle of honey. Pour into a tall glass, drink up, and you'll feel like a superhero.
Stay tuned for slightly more exciting things I did with the cherries!
There seems to be a lot of changes in the works at McDonald's lately - switching to trans-fat-free oil, introducing Eco-friendly coffee in the U.K., and even the possibility of selling prepackaged convenience beverages to consumers who would otherwise have to make a pit stop elsewhere to pick up their favorite bottled or canned drink.
Now, in an effort to attract visitors throughout the day rather than just at regular meal times, McDonald's is planning the introduction of "destination beverages" such as smoothies, lattes, iced coffee and other specialty drinks. And that's not all -- if you are the sort of person who likes something sweet to go along with your latte, they'll soon be offering a "cinnamon melt" -- described by the company as "a warm, pull-apart sweet roll with cinnamon glaze."
Does this all sound strangely familiar? I can't help but visualize Starbucks when I read the above. What is next? Big comfy chairs and couches in your local McDonald's restaurant? Dimmed lights and jazz music in the background? No word yet on when the specialty drinks will be available, but they do plan to have the cinnamon melt in select stores by the summer.
We love smoothies. New consumer research shows that smoothies have been one of the fastest growing food/drink markets over the past five years, where sales have been up more than 80% to over $2 billion in annual sales. This includes both made-to-order smoothies, from businesses like Jamba Juice, as well as pre-packaged products.
There are a couple of reasons for the popularity of smoothies, but the biggest one is that they are perceived as being health-conscious, without being too "healthy." Most smoothies involve a blend of milk, yogurt, sorbet and fruits, often with additional vitamins and supplements mixed in. They aren't necessarily low calorie, but they are better for you than a double cheeseburger and fries in terms of nutritional content. Smoothies are also convenient, and their appeal as an "on-the-go meal" is one thing that has helped them become a fixture in people's busy lives. The biggest market is people 18-34, with 50% of respondents to researchers inquiries said that they had at least one smoothie a month.
To keep up the growth, smoothie manufacturers will have to look to new flavors and new twists on their existing recipes. Look for more flavors/ingredients in existing recipes, like the addition of green tea and açaí, and expect to see a wider range of offerings, from low-calorie smoothies to decadent ones, to draw in new consumers.
To promote their new blender, the Total Blend, Blendtec decided to try and prove exactly how powerful it is. Instead of making the margaritas, smoothies or other crushed-ice concoctions that are normally favored by the blender industry when demonstrating functionality, Blendtec is using iPods, lightbulbs, coke cans and golf clubs to prove their product's superiority. By blending them.
Since the average person isn't - and shouldn't be - using their blender to chop up golf clubs, there is a section of videos that demonstrate safe blendings to try at home if you get the urge to blend after watching some of more extreme videos.
In a bid to compete with Coca Cola's Odwalla line of smoothies and vitamin-fortified fruit drinks, which the company acquired in 2001, Pepsi has bought the company Naked Juice. Naked Juice offers a line of more than 20 different juices, juice blends and smoothies, all of which are 100% natural and free from added sugars, preservatives and artificial colorings. A privately held company, their annual revenue is about $150 million, which has led financial analysts to speculate Pepsi probably paid around $450 million for Naked Juice, although the terms of the sale were not disclosed. Naked Juice will benefit from this new partnership by gaining access to more retailers and a much bigger marketing department, which they will be able to take advantage of to promote their "super premium" juices, raising their brand awareness for health and wellness conscious consumers.
Earlier this month, we heard about the findings of a study that showed blackberries as having the highest concentrations of antioxidants per one cup serving of any food. Granted, we don't necessarily think anyone would want to eat a cup of blackberries every single day for the rest of his or her life. You might be leaving out other important foods by doing so, and besides, eating the same thing every day is boring.
I'm a big Jelly Belly fan, but aside from the usual 49-flavor blend, there aren't that many opportunities to try some of their other flavors. Every once in a while, though, I spot a more unusual bland and snap them up. This week, I saw the "Soda Pop Shoppe" and "Smoothie Blend" mixes.
I was particularly interested in trying the soda ones after reading a review on the Candyblog and they did not disappoint. The flavors included are the A&W Root Beer, Dr. Pepper and Cream Soda from the classic blend and three new flavors, Grape Crush, Orange Crush and 7-Up. All the flavors had a slight zing to them that did remind me of soda, and the three new flavors bear an uncanny resemblance to their namesakes. Orange Crush, in particular, is outstanding.
The Smoothie mix was released earlier this year and contains a number of unconventional flavors including Mandarin Orange Mango, Cherry Passion Fruit, Pineapple Pear, Strawberry Banana and Mixed Berry. The cherry and mixed berry flavors seemed common, much like cherry and grape flavors in other types of candy. Strawberry Banana jumps out as the most easy to recognize flavor and the Pineapple Pear was pleasant, but the Mandarin Orange Mango was my favorite from this batch - vibrant and fruity.
All in all, both mixes were good and worth buying again, although I'll have to replenish my supply of the Soda Pop Shoppe beans, since I have already run out.
The interesting thing about LightFull Smoothies is that they're designed to be filling, while other smoothie drinks are usually designed to deliver a few servings of fruit, or a richer alternative to juice - not to fill you up. As a result, you can drink an ordinary smoothie, still be hungry, and oftentimes, worse off than before because of all the sugar. This is not likely to happen with LightFull. All of the smoothies are made with natural ingredients. They are sweetened with fruit purees and a tiny amount of sugar, as well as other natural sweeteners like erythritol, which is naturally found in grapes, pears, melons. Each smoothie has 6 grams of protein and 5 or 6 grams of fiber, which is at least 20% of your recommended daily intake. They also only have 90-100 calories each, and almost no fat (0-1g, depending on flavor), so you can indulge in each delicious flavor without any guilt - just the fact that you're doing something good for your body that happens to taste better than you expected.
Cafe Latte - Two thumbs up!
Nicole: This was my favorite flavor. It had a very smooth, creamy coffee taste that was slightly sweet and had none of the bitterness that coffee-flavored drinks often have. I had to drink it slowly, though, because it was much more filling than any blended coffee drink I can remember.
Sarah: Of the four flavors, I liked this one the most as well, but that might also be a personal bias toward all things coffee.
Since so many people are using smoothies to beat the summer heat, what better way to get ideas for a few new combinations than with a new cookbook? The Ultimate Smoothie Book has over 130 recipes in it, and the chances are good that you'll find at least one or two concoctions that you have not yet tried. The book is actually a revised edition of one that was published a few years ago and was updated with the help of a nutritionist, so not only are the recipes satisfying, but they're good for you. Some of the smoothies include Orange Coconut Creamsicle-In-a-Glass and Raspberry Ripple, and all of the recipes are grouped by category according their suggested health benefits, though you could certainly indulge in one whenever the mood strikes. The book also suggests substitutions in situations were an ingredient might be difficult to find or, whether for health or simply personal preference, a particular ingredient needs to be avoided.
Have I told you about the watermelon obsession I had when I was a kid? I would hound my mother to keep buying watermelons when she went shopping. She would buy a giant watermelon - for the entire family, I assume - but I would take the whole thing, slice it up, sit down in front of the TV and proceed to eat the entire thing. Seriously. When others came to get watermelon, they'd find it gone. Usually the same day that mom bought it.
Is it just me, or were watermelons tastier years ago? Or is this one of those things that just seem different and better because I was a kid at the time?
Anyway, I got to thinking about watermelon drinks. Watermelon tastes great, and it's the perfect summer food (light, crisp, refreshing, not bad for you, and you can hold it in your hand), so I did some searching for watermelon-based summer drinks.
The Boston Globe has a list of watermelon coolers you can ask your bartender about, including an Iced Sunset and a Watermelon Martini; care2.com has a recipe for a Watermelon Mint Smoothie (made with yogurt and honey); here's a recipe for Watermelon Surprise, which includes Southern Comfort and chunks of fruit; Drinkoftheweek.com has Watermelon #3 (no watermelon per se but it does have Midori); and The Food Network site has a recipe for a Watermelon Flavored Syrup, to mix with club soda or seltzer.
It's the climax of summer; at least it sure feels like it here in southern California. Sure I'd love to go jump in the Pacific, or perhaps the pool out back, but really, I just did my hair!
So how to keep cool? Cool down from the inside with a refreshing smoothie. However, the smoothie and juice options out there are endless, whether you're deciding on the place, or what to get once you're there. AOL has a quick "report card" on two places that offer smoothies: Jamba Juice, and what we might consider Jamba's complete opposite, Dunkin Donuts. How did the two fare?
The three smoothies from Jamba Juice all got a grade of B or lower. The Mighty Cherry Charger got the B, but also packs a whopping 320 calories into its "slender" 16 oz. size. Both the Strawberry Whirl and Strawberry Nirvana are fewer calories, but get a lower overall grade for either tasting too sweet, or having an overwhelming artificial sweetener aftertaste.
But Jamba Juice certainly fared better than Dunkin Donuts, which received a D- for the Strawberry Banana Smoothie and a failing F for the Mnago Passion Fruit. Guess you may as well stick with the Donuts at Dunkin'.
We all know about the "secret" menu at In N Out Burger (which isn't so secret when they post it on their website!). Who doesn't love to order his or her Double-Double, "Animal Style?" But did you know that there is a "secret" menu at Jamba Juice?
Mighty Foods has confirmed with a "secret" source that Jamba Juice does, indeed, have a secret menu of smoothie flavors that are either back-catalog flavors or are flavors that a so-called health food company couldn't possibly sell. The ones they've heard of so far are: Strawberry Shortcake (I guess the "cake" part doesn't sound very healthy), White Gummy Bear (for which we've found a recipe), PB+J (though I'm sure Jamba Juice has a peanut butter smoothie), Starburst, Fruity Pebbles, Push-pops, and Skittles.
I wonder what kind of looks I'd get if I asked for a White Gummy Bear with a shot of wheatgrass?
We can change the way we make eggs -- scrambled, poached, fried -- but what about changing the eggs themselves? Mix up your scrambling routine with quail eggs.
Are you an avid tea drinker looking for a different way to enjoy your tea this summer? A lot of tea drinkers go iced in the warm summer months, some even adding lemonade to their iced tea, but there is an even colder way to enjoy your tea in the summer months if you enjoy green tea: smoothies!
I have this 
There seems to be a lot of changes in the works at McDonald's lately - switching to 
We love smoothies
To promote their new blender, the 
In a bid to compete with Coca Cola's Odwalla line of smoothies and vitamin-fortified fruit drinks, which the company acquired in 2001, Pepsi has 
I'm a big Jelly Belly fan, but aside from the usual 49-flavor blend, there aren't that many opportunities to try some of their other flavors. Every once in a while, though, I spot a more unusual bland and snap them up. This week, I saw the "
The interesting thing about 
It's the climax of summer; at least it sure feels like it here in southern California. Sure I'd love to go jump in the Pacific, or perhaps the pool out back, but really, I just did my hair!
Second Helping of Slashfood - June 19
Competitive-Eating Contest to Pit Humans Against Elephants
The Backyard Boom - The Hungry Bride
