Long ago when my hair was still relaxed and Fruitopia and Snapple were boxing for attention, I can recall gulping down some concoction smoothie in a bottle from the latter that had mangoes and bananas in it. It was probably full of sugar but by golly, it was the first time I'd ever tasted some kind of smoothie. From then on, I tried to make my own in our various blenders. After years of trial, error, and ice cream stains with fruit galore, I gave it a rest and left it to the professionals.
Span to our latest shopping trip (my treat) on the 23rd. Dad's in a rush to shop with me so he can get home to his Bears game and his best buddy Henry. I'm trying to consciously shop without being a complete bad girl with sugary choices and fatty foods. I didn't get it all done but we ended up dropping some nice change for a substantive amount of groceries. In any case, we're both V8 beverage fans from waaay back. We're talkin' 1989 when it was just tomato juice in the pull cap can at the Chicago State cafeteria. When they started introducing fruit/veggie juices, my father and I pounced. He likes the carrot and berry flavors and I like them too. I also like the creamy blends. However, I've never had the fusion Smoothies. He tosses it into the cart and we go home.
The first sip was sweet and thick. It's kind of between "this is good" and "ah....this tastes funny". Dad's girlfriend decides that it's gross and tells everyone with her outdoor voice inside. My father claimed he liked it at first, but somehow changed his mind after his third cup. I on the other hand gave it another try. My second and third sip is what got me hooked. I tasted mango, pear juice, and what I thought was sweet potato flavor. I drink some more. There's carrots in there and some kind of apple. As it turns out, there's no dairy in this "smoothie". I like this smoothie. Suddenly the bottle loses a couple of ounces per hour.
I have to admit that I killed that entire bottle within three to five days by myself. The strange taste left my buds and I got used to the concoction of flavors. It's not your average dairy smoothie. It's more like a thick juice. You know, the kind the JuiceMan was talking about on TV at night. Is it as healthy? Probably not. Just because the AHA says it's good doesn't mean I'm going to be having a cup of this stuff with every meal. Looks okay, though. At least there's not a ton of sugar and sodium and what have you. I'll put it this way--it's a treat during those long sessions of paper writing for yours truly. It's got that "something" most juices don't have. If you toss a little ice in the blender with this drink, you'll probably have something like a Jamba Juice drink.
If you dig mango, you'll want to drink this. If you're into experimentation juice-wise, you might want to give this a try. I'm not sure how popular this drink is so try it while it's out there. If you love it, get two bottles. It's gooooood stuff. Try adding a scoop of ice cream to see how it tastes!