I've
reviewed quite a few flavors of these Bolthouse smoothies, and I like them a lot, but I only buy 2-3 bottles a year. It packs a lot of fruit into each serving, which is awesome for those of you on the go, but it's a pretty pricey product. I know there are some people out there who drink one of these each day, and if you can afford that, all the more power to you, but I only buy these when they show up at Aldi. Like most name brand Aldi items, they come and go at random, so you'll never know when they'll be around and what flavors will be offered. Since they are kind of rare, when I see a new flavor, I just can't help myself, so into the cart it went.
All of the Bolthouse products follow the same design layouts, so there's not much for me to discuss that I haven't covered in my previous posts. The fruit images look appealing, the red color compliments the fruity flavor combination inside, and all the nutritional information is easily read. I'm still skeptical that the fruit breakdowns are entirely accurate, I'm sure their just for a WOW factor. I mean, how can you be sure there are exactly 28 cranberries in this bottle? And 35 pomegranates? It's fun to look at and think about, but I just can't see these fruity breakdowns being 100% legit.
The liquid inside is a deep berry color, and it's very opaque. As I poured it into a glass I felt like this specific flavor seemed a bit thicker than the ones I had reviewed in the past, but I'm not entirely sure. If it is thicker, I think it's due to all the fiber in each serving.
Once it's been poured you can smell a bit of the tangy fruity aroma. It's sweet, a bit apple-heavy, and tangy. The aroma is isn't distinctly cherry, more like a tangy generic berry combination, but it's pleasant.
I took a sip, and this stuff has to be thicker, at the very least it feels thicker, and it has a creamy texture.
(Possibly from the banana?)As far as smoothies go, I can taste apple, cranberry, banana, and a bit of cherry. It's filling, refreshing, and the best thing about it is it's slightly sour and tangy aftertaste, which is similar to the dry bitterness of cranberry juice. It could just be me, but when smoothies are too sweet I start to feel like I'm eating baby food or something. Thanks to that bitter-y tanginess, I don't get bored with this one, and it kind of perks me up a bit.
A few years ago, when I was in college, I tracked everything I ate for a month and I made
an infographic documenting a few of the highlights. What I discovered was that I was eating very little to no fruit, since then I have changed my diet a bit, and my work lunches always consist of at least 2 pieces of fruity goodness, but college-me really would have benefited from drinking something like this when I was running to-and-from classes. This is not some kind of magical cure-all health drink item, drinking this won't instantly make you healthy, but I was seriously eating no fruit at all back then, and drinking something like this month a month might have helped me balance out my diet a bit.
I like these drinks a lot, even if they are a bit pricey, and as long as Aldi keeps carrying them, I'll keep on buying them. If you're looking for a way to squeeze more fruit and fiber into your diet, this is a super easy way to do so.
I really like their protein smoothies. I get the Chocolate one, which has 16 grams of protein and add a packet of decaf instant coffee to mellow out the sweetness. If I find it on sale and use it as a meal replacement, it's usually about $1.20 a serving ...which I think is a good deal for lunch. If I'm really lucky, I can find them 2 for 1 ... which means each bottle is less than $2 each.
ReplyDeleteFor the fruity ones, I like the blueberry, which has a similar nutrition panel, but I think a few more B vitamins.