Monday Morning Mix-up Vol. 3

Even though fruit is in the ingredient list-sugar is, too. The smoothies are made by adding ice and low fat yogurt to a fruit blend. McDonald’s sells two different kinds of smoothies: Wild Berry and Strawberry Banana. Here’s the ingredient list for each fruit blend:

Strawberry Banana Fruit Blend
Strawberry puree, banana puree, water, sugar, concentrated apple juice, contains less than 1% of the following: Cellulose powder, natural (botanical source) and artificial flavors, xanthan gum, citric acid, colored with fruit and vegetable juice, pectin.

Wild Berry Fruit Blend
Strawberry puree, water, sugar, blackberry puree, blueberry puree, concentrated pineapple juice, concentrated apple juice, contains less than 1% of the following: Cellulose powder, xanthan gum, colored with fruit and vegetable juice, natural (botanical source) and artificial flavors, pectin, citric acid.

Low Fat Yogurt (Added to both smoothies)
Cultured Grade A reduced fat milk, sugar, whey protein concentrate, fructose, corn starch, kosher gelatin. Contains active yogurt cultures.

The FDA requires the ingredient list to be written from greatest to least. This means that Strawberry Puree is the most added of the ingredients, and citric acid is the least (for the wild berry smoothie). With this rule in mind, Sugar is the 3rd ingredient on the Wild Berry Smoothie’s list. That means that a large portion of the smoothie is made of plain ol’ sugar.

Also, McDonald’s adds concentrated apple and pineapple juice to the smoothies. Juice concentrate is made by taking away the water from the juice, leaving the flavor and a lot of sugar left. On top of this, the low fat yogurt uses 2 more sugar ingredients: sugar and fructose. The sugar, concentrated juice, and fructose makes the smoothie one sugar-high drink. Look at the stats for proof:

Strawberry Banana-Small (12 oz.)

Calories: 210, Fat: .5 g, Sodium: 35 mg, Carbohydrates: 49 g, Sugar: 44 g, Fiber: 2 g, Protein: 2 g

Wild Berry-Small (12 0z.)

Calories: 210, Fat: .5 g, Sodium: 30 mg, Carbohydrates: 48 g, Sugar: 44 g, Fiber: 3 g, Protein: 2 g

But, if you should choose to order the large smoothie, the sugar content jumps up to 70 grams!

WOW---ZERS!!!! How about you save yourself the $2+ it costs to buy a sugary McDonalds smoothie and make your smoothie at home! That way you can monitor how much sugar you are taking in and you can add some vegetables!!!!

The Ingredients:
1 cup spinach
1 clementine
2 strawberries
1/2 banana
ice
almond milk


Please comment on this post with your favorite smoothies!