[Photographs: Robyn Lee] What exactly is a Pumpkin Smash? Something between a smoothie and a shake, this Jamba Juice creation rolls out every fall (until January) and reminds us that everything can be pumpkinified. Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts do the lattes, Dairy Queen does Blizzards, and I'm pretty sure I saw pumpkin shampoo at Bath & Body Works. Oversaturating the world with pumpkin products is generally fine with me. Too often these seasonal pumpkin products are not pumpkiny enough. But too often these seasonal pumpkin products are not pumpkiny enough, tasting more like the holiday-scented candles than actual pumpkins. Pumpkin-flavored posers suffer from being too sweet, not spiced enough, or just plain gross. Jamba Juice's Smash had potential....
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theimpulsivebuy.com Pomegranate has been riding a pretty good high the last few years, appearing in juices, marinades, gum, lotions, and teas. Even if it's really not that much more exciting than a cranberry-grape-ish flavor, once you slap the pomegranate arils (fancy name for seeds) onto a product label, bam—automatically a few bucks more expensive. So what happens when the glam fruit appears on a Jack in the Box menu? Loses some respect? Or is the wide availability great? Starting this week, the Pomegranate Berry Smoothie will go for $2.99 (the small 16-ounce size), with 280 calories, zero fat, 69 grams of carbs, and 53 grams of sugar. Like many drinks that highlight one fruit, it's actually an amalgam of...
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Starbucks had new signage today welcoming the Vivanno. As explained yesterday, it's a nutritious answer to the indulgent Frappuccino, with only 250 calories for the 16-ounce Orange Mango Banana flavor, and 270 calories for the Banana Chocolate. Are they worth it? Fewer calories than a Jamba Juice smoothie or a Frappuccino, but they're gross. Banana Chocolate After tasting one spoonful of the Banana Chocolate, Ed Levine compared it to milk of magnesia. Yum! Chewable tablets that relieve heartburn! Watery, with fake chocolate powder undertones, this isn't good. The closest Jamba Juice counterpart: Peanut Butter Moo'd, minus the peanut butter part. Vanilla frozen yogurt, chocolate "Moo'd base," soy milk, ice, and frozen bananas yielded no discernible flavor, but was more...
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Starbucks is unleashing another "healthy" answer to the extra caramel Frappuccino with extra whip. Launching Tuesday, the "Vivanno" will taste, look, and act like a smoothie but since it's "so much more than a smoothie" according to Starbucks, they won't let you call it one. The Vivanno will come in two flavors: Orange Mango Banana Blend, made with Naked Juice, protein and fiber powders, milk, and ice, with 227 calories in a grande. In the Banana Chocolate Blend, mocha syrup replaces the juice, and there's 270 calories for the same 16 ounces. Each blend also contains a whole banana, which Starbucks really wants you to know and love. According to one barista blogger, staffers were reminded repeatedly that there's “at...
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Oregon's Paul Bausch, blogging pioneer and author of several well-received O'Reilly books, might be warming up to write Kitchen Hacks. Or maybe he's just sharing his morning smoothie recipe. Either way, his basic formula for a great smoothie is simple, elegant, and a nice reminder that top-notch ingredients are the key to making a good recipe great. Personally, I'm a big fan of blended breakfasts—not every morning sugar rush has to come from doughnuts!...
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