McDonald’s Berry Smoothie wins the five days on a diet award for shocking the heck out of us with a healthy alternative to milk shakes and caloric frozen coffee drinks!
Who would have thought McDonald’s would decide to use real fruit and low-fat yogurt in a value-priced smoothie or, as I like to call it, “McSmoothie?” For my review of the McDonald’s smoothies, I tried the wild berry flavor in a pretty plum color. They also sell strawberry banana flavor.
I was going through the drive-thru to get my unsweetened ice tea on one heck of a hot day in Florida, and saw the advertisement for the real fruit McDonald’s smoothies. The smoothie comes in a clear plastic cup with clear lid.
I was thinking to myself the smoothie would pair well with a berry fruit and grain type bar like Kashi.
As far as taste, I was pleased by the fruity flavor of my “McSmoothie” because it was not too overpowering. The real test came with my son who liked it. The ingredients are simple and include wild berry fruit blend, low fat yogurt and ice. I personally would add a shot of the Good Belly Probiotic Juice for added nutrition. Simply stir it in before serving your child or yourself.
Here are some answers to how the McDonald’s Berry Smoothie compares in terms of fat and calories to other summer cold drinks such as other smoothies, milkshakes and cold coffee drinks.
No. 1: What’s the calorie count for the different sizes of McDonald’s Wildberry Smoothie: The Wild Berry Smoothie small size — which comes in a 12-ounce cup — contains 210 calories, 0.5 grams of fat, 3 grams of fiber and nutrients including iron, calcium, Vitamin C and Vitamin A. A medium contains 260 calories, and a large contains 320 calories.
No: 2: How does McDonald’s Wildberry Smoothie compare to frozen coffee drinks?: The McDonald’s small mocha Frappe has 450 calories and 20 grams of fat; a medium mocha has 560 calories and a large mocha has 680 calories so the McDonald’s smoothies have significantly fewer calories and fat.
No. 3: How does the McDonald’s Wildberry Smoothie compare to their shakes? A 12-ounce serving of the McDonald’s Chocolate Triple Thick Shake has 440 calories. The McDonald’s Strawberry Triple Thick Shake in a 32 ounce cup contains 1,110 calories and 26 grams of fat.
No. 4: How does the McDonald’s Wildberry Smoothie compare to smoothies at Smoothie King? A 20-ounce serving of Blackberry Dream at Smoothie King has 365 calories and 1 gram of fat. A more indulgent Smoothie King choice such as my son’s
favorite Peanut Power Plus Grape Flavor at Smoothie King has 749 calories and 22 grams of fat. Smoothie King also has diet smoothies.
No. 5: How does the McDonald’s Wildberry Smoothie compare in terms of taste and texture? I personally thought the McDonald’s smoothie tasted great. On the down side, they do not offer many flavors.
Just as people worried McDonald’s frozen coffee drinks would put a dent in the Starbuck’s business and small coffee shops; the economical smoothies may hurt Planet Smoothie and Smoothie King. When it comes to healthy smoothies, let’s continue to create the consumer demand so everyone wins!
With a childhood obesity epidemic, without a doubt, ordering real fruit smoothies is a superior choice. And McDonald’s is at least making small strides in the right direction with its McSmoothie!
