Review: It’s Blendiful

Shaded in perfect pinks and purples, I could kiss the chef who constructed this blissful treat that sweetly satisfies my sugary cravings. Recently launched under their McCafé line, McDonald’s Real Fruit Smoothies are surprisingly great. The yogurt based smoothie mixed in with fruit juices tastes almost homemade. The commercial (which can be seen below) was just too joyful to be ignored.

It took three months of watching fruit colored dancers to succumb to my curiosity. Originally drawn in by my secret addiction to McDonald’s Monopoly, I told the voice behind the speaker to introduce me to what I feared would be an advertising fluke and a waste of three dollars. Without looking back I drove my straw into a perfectly spun baby pink smoothie.

Sugary goodness were the exact words that slipped out my mouth as I drove off. I was immediately caught off guard by the thickness and rich flavor of my Strawberry Banana Real Fruit Smoothie. After all, this is McDonald’s; they’re famous for their two all beef patties special sauce lettuce cheese pickles onions on a sesame seed bun, not so much for their McCafé products. Sailing on a sugar high I sampled the wildberry smoothie and was equally impressed.

All the sweet sipping does come with a higher price tag than the advertised $2.29. The 12oz size smoothie has 210 calories…only twenty calories less than a small order of fries. The 16oz smoothies are 260 calories, twenty calories less than a six piece chicken nugget order. And the 22oz smoothies contain more calories than a cheeseburger! 320 calories for a wildberry smoothie and 330 calories for the strawberry banana smoothie in comparison to the 300 calorie cheeseburger.

But hey, if you’re going to have your sugar somewhere either smoothie is a way better option than their sister McCafé Strawberry Triple Thick Shake – the 12oz contains 420 calories…yikes!