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| What's in your Booster Juice? |
On a recent trip to Booster Juice, I decided to "build my own smoothie." Since I wanted a smoothie with no dairy, I was instructed to select a juice base, then a sorbet, then two fruits or vegetables. You're probably thinking the same thing I was... "what's a sorbet?" Well, I thought it was just a little juice, frozen fruit, and vegetables that went into my smoothies... WRONG!! A sorbet, according to the employee I spoke with, is a combination of fruit, water, and sugar that is blended together, frozen, then added to Booster Juice smoothies to make them thick, creamy, and sweet. S-U-G-A-R. Yes, you read that correctly.
The store that advertises all over the place "All Natural" and "No Added Sugar" has loads of added sugar contained in the sorbet that's cleverly disguised as "strawberries," "banana's," "mangoes," etc..
In most of their smoothies, the first ingredient listed as a fruit, is juice, which, according to Booster Juice, "... are made without any added sugar [or] preservatives."
http://boosterjuice.com/index.php/faqs/. Often, the second ingredient listed as a fruit, is actually the sorbet.
I don't mean to come across as a hypocrite, I do consume sugar occasionally. However; I do not appreciate being lied to - deceived by clever wording on an ingredients list. "Pineapples" are not the same as pineapple juice, and "strawberries" are hardly the same as strawberry sorbet!
In conclusion, here are my recommendations to help you navigate the nutritional maze of Booster Juice:
1. Take a Shot!
Booster Juice offers freshly extracted wheatgrass shots in 30ml and 60 ml sizes. Wheatgrass is high in chlorophyll, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and enzymes. It aids in blood flow, digestion, detoxifies the body, and is super alkalising and energizing. Some people claim they get a real "high" afterwards, and have a sudden burst of energy. P.S. Wednesdays are wheatgrass Wednesdays! Wheatgrass shots for just $1.99!
2. Get Squeezed!
Freshly extracted juices supply a powerhouse of micro-nutrients to the body in their easiest to digest form, and retain 95% of the nutrients found in fruits and vegetables. Their Green Hornet Juice, for example, will supply 748% of your daily vitamin A! All of Booster Juices' freshly squeezed juices have no added sugar, preservatives, artificial colours or flavours, and are dairy and soy free. Each contain between 164 and 236 calories, Apple being the highest, and Green Hornet being the lowest.
3. Go Hardcore!
If you must have a smoothie, choose one of their vegetable based smoothies under the hardcore category. All contain vegetables in addition to fruits, and therefore will have a higher nutrient density. While they do have some juice in them, according to their website, none of the hardcore smoothies have any sorbet added. Just be sure your smoothie does not contain any yogurt, or order it without. Each smoothie contains between 129 and 207.5 calories in the snack size. But be careful! The large sizes contain 258 to 415 calories, UnBeetable being the lowest and Terminator being the highest. And just in case you were wondering... Yes! The Sonic Soy "is made from non-genetically modified soy..." http://boosterjuice.com/index.php/faqs/.
Lastly, if you're really going to be a big baby about it, and you don't want any vegetables in it, at least order your fruit smoothie with no dairy and no sorbet. You could even order it with no juice - use water instead!
For more nutritional information visit www.boosterjuice.com
Munch munch!
