Over my weekend in Charlotte, my sister and I went to the mall for some clothing shopping. After a bit we decided to get a drink. I figured I would just get a water but I saw a Planet Smoothie in the food court so I headed over there to see what smoothies they offered. They had a basic smoothie called the “original acai” which the menu (see image below) listed the following ingredients, “acai, strawberries, banana, apple juice”. Score! Sure the smoothie will have a lot of ice in it I thought, but that looks like a good basic smoothie to keep me shopping.
I place the order and the clerk takes out the blender carafe and puts some apple juice in. Then she takes out a jug of “red liquid” and begins to pour it into the carafe. I asked her if that was the strawberries and she said yes. I asked if there was any added sugar in there and she was not sure. The Planet Smoothie clerk went to the fridge, pulled out the container and said, “yes it does say there is added sugar” – seriously wtf. My sister and I were in shock as the red liquid looked like some sort of syrup you would use on a snow cone, not in a healthy smoothie. I didn’t even want to see what the acai looked like – I am sure it wouldn’t be as awesome as something from Blenders and Bowls.
I asked for my money back and got a water instead. Shame on you Planet Smoothie! Shame. It’s bad enough that places like Burger King and McDonalds add crap to their smoothies, but a place that has smoothie in the name putting in fake crap makes me mad.
Why does it make me mad? Because I know enough to ask, but what about the others who are just getting started. The others who have nutritionists who teach them how important smoothies are and then they have places like Planet Smoothie making drinks loaded with extra sugar (and who knows what else). The others who have heard how green smoothies can help with weight loss. The others who want to pick a healthy choice over a Coke or Pepsi.
If you are new to green smoothies, check out my green smoothie starter guide. It’s perfect to help you always make sure you get the right healthy smoothie.
The ingredients should be listed clearly so that consumers know what is in their smoothies.
Now for a completely different and positive experience!
At the hotel this morning before my flight, I was only able to make a 16 ounce green smoothie. Since I like to have a 32 ounce (1 liter) green smoothie in the AM, I decided to head over to Jamba Juice at the airport. Their menu board looks very similar to the one found at Planet Smoothie. I asked the clerk if they use real fruit and she said, “absolutely, we aren’t like those other chains”. She showed me that they use real frozen strawberries, frozen banana and apple juice. Ok fine, I know they will put a bunch of ice in the cup but I could at least get some more smoothie before the flight.
I had a bag of spinach left so I brought it with me, I asked the clerk Shasta if I could add my own spinach (they don’t have spinach) and she said yes! And she didn’t add any ice! I left with a great basic strawberry green smoothie just like the one I made at the hotel (except the hotel version had acai, flax and chia).
Big thanks to Jamba Juice for making my green smoothie just how I like it.
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