Friday, July 23, 2010

Starbucks Strawberry Vivanno™ Smoothie - Winner of Summer Drink Wars

The winner of our unintended McDonald's vs. Dunkin' Donuts vs. Starbucks Summer Strawberry Fields Drink War!

starbucks, smoothie, strawberry, banana, vivanno
One day, Salina and I were walking to Starbucks and...wait...she'll give you all the glorious details later on.  So, I relied on Salina's judgement and granted her the highly coveted opportunity to crown the winner of our unintended Summer Strawberry Drink Contest!  I'm here to give you my brief nutritional opinion.

First, the stats on the nutrition in order of our visit:

dunkin donuts, doughnuts, smoothie, coolatta
1.  Dunkin' Donuts Strawberry Fruit Coolatta Medium (24 fl oz):
440 Calories, Total Fat 0g, Cholesterol 0g, Sodium 60mg, Total Carbohydrates 108g, Fiber 0g, Protein 1g, Vitamin A 0%, Vitamin C 80%, Calcium 2%, Iron 4%.

INGREDIENTS:  Frozen Neutral Base [Water, Neutral Base (Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sugar, Monopropylene Glycol, Sodium Benzoate added as a preservative, Malic Acid, Cellulose Gum)], Strawberry Coolatta Concentrate (Strawberry Puree, Water, Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Lime Juice Concentrate, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Red 40).
Source https://www.dunkindonuts.com/aboutus/nutrition/Product.aspx?Category=Beverages&id=DD-679B


McDonalds, McCafe, Smoothie
2. McDonald's McCafe Strawberry Banana Smoothie Medium (16 fl oz):
260 Calories, Total Fat 1g, Cholesterol 5mg, Sodium 40mg, Total Carbohydrates 60g, Fiber 3g, Protein 2g, Vitamin A 2%, Vitamin C 90%, Calcium 8%, Iron 8%.

INGREDIENTS:  Low Fat Yogurt:  Cultured Grade A reduced fat milk, sugar, whey protein concentrate, fructose, corn starch, kosher gelatin. Contains active yogurt cultures. 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, ascorbic acid (preservative). Ice.
Source http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/nutritionexchange/McCafeMenu.pdf and http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/nutritionexchange/ingredientslist.pdf


Starbucks, coffee, Vivanno, smoothie, fruit
3. Starbucks Strawberry Vivanno Smoothie Grande (16 fl oz):
280 Calories, Total Fat 2g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 115 mg, Total Carbohydrates 54g, Fiber 6g, Protein 15g, Vitamin A 6%, Vitamin C 90%, Calcium 15%, Iron 10%.

INGREDIENTS:  A nourishing blend of natural strawberry puree, a whole banana, milk, whey protein and fiber powder, and ice.
Source http://www.starbucks.com/menu/drinks/vivanno-smoothies/strawberry-vivanno-smoothie


Now, I tasted each one (actually I had one sip).  Technically, the Dunkin' Donuts Coolatta is not a smoothie since no yogurt or milk was added, but all three of these places are competing with each other in the summer strawberry drink wars, so they were included. My quick summation prior to looking at the ingredients and nutrition is that Dunkin' Donuts and McDonald's drinks were the sweetest.  The Coolatta reminded me of those 7-Eleven Slurpees and after looking at the ingredients, it probably should be called one!  The Coolatta has the highest calories, highest sugar content, and the least natural ingredients.  The Vivanno tasted like something you would make at home and literally tasted very light and airy.  Seriously, if I were to make a smoothie at home, I wouldn't pull out Red #40 and ask Salina, "Honey, where did you put the high fructose corn syrup and xanthan gum?"

For best taste and nutrition, my bet is on the Starbucks Vivanno!  Better balance of carbs, protein, and fat, real ingredients, doesn't weigh you down with sugar and calories, and is a real refresher for this hot Chicago weather. If you had a real sweet tooth and cared just a little about nutrition, choose the McDonald's Smoothie, but if you don't care about your health and wanted to take yourself back to looking like a kid by having your lips and tongue dyed red like Bozo the clown, choose the Dunkin' Donuts Coolatta!

Now for Salina's take on  the Summer Strawberry Fields War...

I'll start by saying that when I have a craving for something sweet, you better watch out!  I will eat the same thing over and over again, and will drive out of my way to get the craving satisfied.  So, on this particular day, satisfying the craving for a smoothie was a huge priority.  Unfortunately, Raed is often the victim of my cravings, being forced to drive around town with me until I find what I want.

This particular craving began with a commercial and a billboard.  McDonalds has a new smoothie and has been marketing it like crazy.  Lately, everywhere I look, I see McCafe Strawberry Smoothie signs and pictures.  That set me off.  So, after seeing the commercial again, I decided to make one at home, but with only a slightly brown banana, rotting berries (I swear I was planning to eat the fruit I bought), and no yogurt, I was resigned to grab Raed and head out for a smoothie.  Since we are close to a Starbucks, I figured we could take a nice walk and satisfy this smoothie craving.  It was HOT outside, and as we appraoched Starbucks, the thought of a cool, refreshing, fruity drink had me speed walking like a grandma in a shopping mall!  Raed noticed first.  The lights were out.  How could this be?  Starbucks?  Closed???  NO!!!!!!!!  Sensing I was about to have a meltdown... literally...Raed in his genious mode, said, "There's a Dunkin' Donuts down the street.  Don't they have something similar?"  So, with a hopeful grin, I perked up and took his hand as he led me to Dunkin' Donuts.

When we walked in, I became very excited about getting my Strawberry Coolatta.  I mean, the drink just sounds fun.  It's like a dance from the 80s....do the Coolata!  And since I love the 80s, I was bound to love the Coolatta.  I watched the Coolatta making man pump some red syrup into a cup.  I was skeptical at that point.  Even though I love sweets, I don't like to actually know how much processed food and chemicals are in those sweets.  Then, Coolatta man went to a yogurt type machine and I watched as ice, similar to that of a slurpee, was poured into the cup.  He blended the mixture and handed it to me with a big smile.  I sipped....mmmm....yummy.....VERY sugary and sweet!  It was cool and refreshing.  It also made my tongue and teeth bright red, so I could smile like a six year old at Raed.  I knew something this sugary and sweet could not be healthy, but the craving was cured...or so I thought.

Later that day, we were on the road and saw several more McDonalds and signs for their new Strawberry Smoothies.  I started thinking that while there were what looked like strawberry seeds in my Coolatta, there wasn't the yogurt and little chunks of real fruit I was craving. Actually, I don't think there was anything real in my Coolatta, except real yummy!  I began my whining, which is typical when I have a craving, and Raed pulled into the next McDonalds he saw.  Personally, I think it was just an excuse to get fries and a Diet Coke, but I'm not complaining.  He ordered my Strawberry Banana Smoothie.  I took a sip...bliss!  It was so delicious and made the Coolata seem like a cheap frozen popsicle.  I could taste the real fruit and it was definitely smooth.  It wasn't as sugary as the Coolatta, and it was creamier.  At this point, the McDonalds Strawberry Banana was a winner.  I was very happy and my teeth didn't even change color!  Raed was also happy, as I was not whining.

On the drive, as I was sucking down the last of my smoothie, making loud annoying sounds to get every last bit of smoothie (I wouldn't want to waste a good thing), we began dicussing the idea of tasting Starbuck's version of a smoothie and comparing the three.  Of course, I said, "Yes!"  After all, I'd be doing it for the good of the people.  It's important for me to taste all these smoothies, so that people can make informative decisions when they have smoothie cravings.  So, because I wanted to help others who might have this same dilemma in the future, I committed to tasting the Starbucks Vivanno Smoothie.

The next day, we ventured to the nearest Starbucks in the name of "do-gooding."  I ordered my Strawberry Vivanno Smoothie and waited with anticipation at what it would bring.  Since I had originally wanted a smoothie from Starbucks, I was hoping to be blown away by the yum factor.  As always, the staff was super friendly and within a couple minutes, my smoothie was waiting on the counter.  It looked less pinkish red than the other two, which I think was due to the fact that it was truly all natural.  There wasn't any red dye # such and such.  I took a sip and it was creamy and cool, with a lighter taste of fruit. It definitely tasted like something I might blend up at home.  It was delicious and could taste the fruit chunks.  It wasn't as sweet as the McDonalds Smoothie, but I suppose that is because I wasn't being fed a bunch of artificial sweeteners.

The winner?  Starbucks Strawberry Vivanno Smoothie!  It was creamier than the McDonalds, and not as sweet, but it was lighter, refreshing, and much healthier.  If you are ok with some artificial sweeteners, then you might like the McDonalds smoothie better.  If you are a slurpee lover, then Dunkin Donuts' sugary Coolatta is for you.  If you are looking for a  healthy, cool, refreshing, natural fruity smoothie, then Starbucks is definitely #1!

No comments:

Post a Comment