Drink This, Not That!

To tag onto my last post "Eat This, Not That!" let's look at those icey cold beverages that sound soooo yummy on a hot summer day, like smoothies, margaritas, strawberry lemonade….mmmmm! Sadly, even though the drink name may sound healthy, usually it is packed with sugar! The challenge with drinks like these is that since most of the time they are made from pre-made high fructose mixes, it is almost impossible to modify a drink to make it good-for-you…or at least “better-for-you” :) Obviously it’s smart to frequent places where they custom make your drink! And it’s much simpler to go light with high fat drinks, like a frappuccino or frozen hot chocolate, by requesting skim milk and no whipped cream.  

Let’s start with Fruit Smoothies :)  On the surface it might sound like these would be super healthy, but not always-actually, usually never! Baskin Robbins' Mango Banana Fruit Blast Smoothie (24 oz) has 640 calories/136 grams of sugar!! Almost 3/4 cup of sugar! (FYI-if you go online for nutrition info, like I recommend, most of the info was listed for the smallest size drink!) And honestly, there isn't really a better option, but if you go, order the small Strawberry Citrus Fruit Blast-170cal/42g sugar. Remember, tho, if you order the 24oz, it will be 340cal/84gr sugar! Yeah…not so healthy. ……and I probably don’t have to say anything about their milkshakes, right? :)

To be fair, let’s look at McDonald’s drinks. The Strawberry Lemonade pretty much has no strawberries and no lemons in it. A small is 200cal/51g sugar! Super size it? Now do the math! Most of McD’s smoothies were about the same. (FYI-the sugar was practically hidden in their online nutrition, but it is there if you look!)  

One more place and I’ll give it a rest! Finding Starbucks sugar content was also tricky. Takes a couple clicks to find it. By now everyone seems to be catching on that frappuccinos are not diet drinks, more like dessert in a cup :) With the Grande Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappe “weighing” in at 640cal/111gr sugar!?! Wow! The “good” news is that by downsizing to a tall (a.k.a. small) with no whipped cream it becomes a mere 280cal/58gr sugar (a heaping 1/2 cup of sugar)! Reducing the fat by skipping the whipped cream did virtually nothing to lower the calories or sugar :( Starbucks Smoothies made with “fresh fruit” came in pretty much where the previous smoothies did-a 16oz Strawberry Smoothie is 330cal/41g sugar. Much better off sticking with iced tea-but make it unsweetened! The Trenta (giant size) unsweetened Passion tea is 0cal/0g sugar/0g fat! Whoo!Hoo!  Avoid the lemonade iced teas and don’t fall into the trap of thinking that anything made with green tea must be good for you! The Venti iced green tea latte is 410cal/70gr sugar/7g fat! Yikes! 
 
Made to order is the way to go! At least you can control what you can control. I worked at a place with a little café that made excellent smoothies! But as I watched the “Barista” filled the blender with in a sugary smoothie mix, then add a little fruit-I was horrified! So I asked him to leave out the mix and add an extra handful of strawberries and bananas and it turned out perfect. The added benefit was that I enjoyed it so much more knowing that I wasn’t eating a 5 pound bag of sugar!  

As for the margarita and other fruity, frosty drinks? That’s a whole nother post! Kinda like smoothie with alcohol to superboost the sugar!!

Drink up! Stay hydrated! Drink water!