Heather’s positive review of McDonald’s Real Fruit Smoothies took me from curious about this product to determined-to-try-it-myself. I really appreciated that they have a snack size which is only $1.99 and, according to Heather’s post, it is made with mostly real food!
Unfortunately the day I went out to try it (payday) was one of the most brutally cold and windy days we have had for a while. The last thing I wanted by the time I got there was a smoothie but I tried to keep an open mind.
I have to say, their marketing rocks! Eye-catching, dramatic and looks yummy to me. They spared no expense trying to appeal the customers to try it. This is not one of their mandatory healthy ideas that they really do not expect a customer to order. I found that impressive.
As a non-pop drinker for the most part, I usually just order juice and having this as an option is very smart.
There it is! I just had to order the blueberry pomegranate smoothie that I heard in the news is Canadians’ favourite. Not exactly garnished like the mango smoothie photo but it does look “real”!
One of the food items I like to order from McDonald’s is their hamburger. It is small, just enough to fill me up and I have to say, takes me back to my childhood. I needed something warm to make up for the chill the smoothie induced in me.
I have to say, the smoothie was excellent! I took a risk ordering this version. I find that sometimes the combination of blueberry and pomegranate can taste medicine-y but this was quite delicious. If anything, it tasted kind of grape-y. Which I love. It is incredibly fragrant too which I found unusual.
I found the snack size to be perfect, just a little bit to go with my tiny meal. Smoothies are filling too so no need for fries (which I don’t like anyway). It was also not overly sweet, it tasted like an authentic smoothie and not a milkshake.
For some reason they charged me separately for the two so I added the total: $3.77 for lunch. Not bad at all!
I think it is great McDonald’s has added smoothies as an option to their menus. I think everyone is going to love them and any way to fill people up on fruit instead of pop sounds good to me! I give this product four and a half out of five wooden spoons.
I am not one to go to fast food joints often. Not because of the restaurants but because of the people. Right next to this particular McD’s is this. As you leave this McDonald’s there is an area to separate your materials into garbage, recycle and compost. For some reason people who eat this food prefer to dump it by the side of the road.
My next target? Tim Hortons! I keep hearing their smoothies are crazy-sweet but it looks like you might get more for less. Your foodie detective is onto her next case!
I recently asked a Tim Horton’s employee about their smoothies. I asked if it was just fruit, yogurt, juice (?), explaining that it was for my toddler. She said, “Nooo, it’s syrup we put into a machine … I wouldn’t give it to my little one.” Seriously, that coming from an employee. Glad to hear there’s more fruit to be had in the McD’s version. Thanks for this review!
I’m glad you liked… the little one now sees a McDonalds and says ‘smoothie please’, so I guess they win 🙂 Snack size are on sale for $1 this week fyi.
Lindsey, that is why I wanted to try the McD’s first, from what I heard it was healthier. Although that is shocking an employee said that! I do keep hearing theirs is so sweet.
Heather, that’s too funny that the marketing and product may be doing almost too well! Snack size for $1?! That rocks!
My guys tried them recently as well, (I had a sip or two) and they quite liked them. BUT, they also said the ones we make at home are waaaaay better….hooray! No bias or anything but I have to agree. It really is a great snack alternative so kudos to McD’s for that.
My daughter often asks for the milkshakes for which she gets a flat out “NO!” (awful fat content, sugar and gross ingredients, etc…) so at least I can now offer to buy her a healthier alternative which she’ll enjoy. I have to say I’m personally more thrilled about the new McCafe and that they now serve espresso. That’s most definitely a “mommy” treat lol….
We tried two flavors and my son really liked the strawberry-banana smoothie at McD. He said that at Tim Hortons they are too sweet for his taste.
We tried two flavors and my son really liked the strawberry-banana smoothie at McD. He said that at Tim Hortons they are too sweet for his taste.
Both TH and Maccas use a syrupy slurry mix (not inlike the stuff they use to make mixed drinks such as daquiris).
TH’s has more sugar that most of their donuts eeeeeeeeek!
Burger King now has smoothies but they, too, use syrup despite what David Beckham says.
Bottom line … None are particularily “good for you” but they are less “chemical laden” that soda!
Definitely nice to have a healthy choice at McDonalds in a smaller size, I don’t drink much pop either. (don’t know how you can pass up McDonalds fries, I love them!! : ) I like the little hamburgers too, usually just order a happy meal for myself, it’s a perfect size.
hi,a friend sent me your way….love your blog….on the smoothie…i am so use to making my own that when i tried McD’s,i wasnt excited at all…i have spoiled myself for fresh i guess…i actually had this chocolate banana smoothie today…so bad, but was yummy.
Have you seen the calorie count in them? Huge. Just something to be aware of! I was surprised. They are alright but honestly I like homemade milkshakes better 🙂
Thanks for all the awesome feedback. Just a note, homemade is always best, I know. The snack size has 150 calories which is not that much more than a typical homemade smoothie, especially if there is fruit involved. I think the company has made a real effort here and was way better than what I was expecting. I think pop is pretty darn evil (totally empty calories) so anything that gets people off pop and onto the smoothie trains sounds good to me.
We can’t always eat at home so I like to know what my options are for when I am out so that I can make smart choices and help you not waste money or time. I hole in that way I have helped.
I’ve tried the ones at Tims and they are pretty sweet. They use a premixed fruit/sugar slurry so they can’t really be compared to anything you make at home using fresh fruit. They’re a lot better if you order them with the yogurt added option – takes the sweetness down a bit and gives them a nicer consistency.
I applaud you for writing about a “healthy” addition to the McDonald’s menu. Yes, this can be better than a soda in the snack size. In our area, they are only offering the 8oz size as a temporary promotions. SO, looking at a Small 12 oz. Pomegranate Smoothie we find that it has 50 grams of carbohydrates 44 grams of sugar, very little protein, and 3 grams of fiber. In contrast a 12 oz. Coca Cola Classic has 30 grams of carbohydrates and 30 grams of sugar. Both less than the same size smoothie. I am not promoting soda, but maybe we should just be encouraging kids to drink water more as an alternative. Kids don’t intake enough water, and sugary drinks just make kids want more sugary drinks. See link:
http://www.waterinschools.org/pdfs/us_kids_too_little_water.pdf