Spring has sprung the weather has warmed, and farmers’ markets are full of sun-ripened, sweet, juicy, nutrient dense strawberries! Yay! Strawberries are in season, and so fresh you can almost taste the sunshne! At only around 50 calories per cup and choc-full of vitamin C and antioxidants these little berries are the perfect (naturally g-free) treat to satisfy your sweet tooth!
My personal favorite way to enjoy strawberries is alone in a bowl, with a dollop of whipped cream. But since my search was on Friday and my farmers market didn't come again until Saturday (and I have already eaten my berries from last week's market) I went for a smoothie to quench my strawberry craving.
While smoothies can pack quite the caloric punch they can also be very refreshing and a perfect mid afternoon snack or breakfast on the go. I stay away from most of them because they are typically too high in added sugar and calories but I have found two (g-free) smoothies that are tasty and won’t wreck calorie count for the day.
Which is better? Dueling Smoothies! (Cue the banjos!)
My go-to smoothie is the Low Fat Strawberry Smoothie with Ginseng from Panera. It is the perfect blend of sweet and creamy and I absolutely love that there are only 4 ingredients: Strawberry puree (sweetened with apple juice and grape juice), organic low fat vanilla yogurt, ginseng, and ice. And it only clocks in at 260 cal and 1.5 grams of fat. It’s a sweet treat (that is honesty so smooth and creamy it almost tastes like a milk shake) that you don’t have to feel bad about.
But, on Friday today…I didn’t want to drive to Panera. I was at Barnes and Noble looking for a book so I decided go to the in-store Starbucks and try one of their Strawberry Banana Smoothies. All of their Vivano Smoothies are less than 300 calories so it fit within the calorie range that I feel a smoothie is worth. The Starbucks smoothie has very few ingredients as well( strawberry puree, a whole banana, milk, whey protein and fiber powder, and ice) so I decided to give it a try and see how it compared to my gold standard.
This smoothie is a little less thick and has an ever so slightly gritty texture (very slight) from the protein and fiber powder. The banana (which I wasn’t completely sold on at first) adds a nice flavor. I went for the banana smoothie to begin with because I have been having leg cramps after my workouts and thought I may need a potassium boost. The strawberry smoothie is about 280 calories and 2.0 grams of fat which is not bad at all. They make the smoothies with 2% milk and I opted for skim (so that may shave some fat and calories off the total). Overall, I would try the Starbucks smoothie again; however Panera’s Strawberry Ginseng will remain my fav (at least for the time being).
So the moral of today’s story, grab a smoothie, paint your toe nails bright pink for summer (unless you are a guy reading this, and even in that case go for it if you want), put on some flip flops and enjoy the sunshine with a treat made of this seasonally delicious berry!
Calorie Info Source:
Calorie Info Source (Panera):
Nutrition Information (Starbucks)
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