Smoother than any Smoothie in the land (Innocent Smoothies)

Member Name: Nickycool

Product:	Innocent Smoothies
Date:	01/02/08 (308 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: lots of selection, tastes lovely

Disadvantages: price

To be honest, I've become a quite unhealthy person recently. Eating nearly no fruit or veg so as part of my New Year's resolution, I felt that I needed to do something about it. Then I found Smoothies. My smoothie addiction started when I did a survey, where I had to test two different kinds of smoothies. Smoothies are my main source for my five a day these days. The thing that put me off smoothies before, is that I hate bananas with a passion but for the survey, I decided that I would at least try it and I could say it was absolutely horrible because of the bananas. To my surprise, I loved it. The smoothness of the drink was so good and the plus point, it was healthy. So there my addiction began and ever since then, I've been trying different smoothies. For some reason, I had never tried Innocent smoothies until my fiancé brought them home one night as they were on offer in Sainsburys.

* A small slice of history about Innocent Smoothies *

Innocent has been around since 1998. They started off at a music festival. Their smoothies were instant success with festival goers that they even quit their day jobs the next day to set up a company. They called it Innocent as their drinks are "completely pure, fresh and unadulterated". Their ethics are keep things natural, responsible ingredients, sustainable packaging, resource-efficient business and sharing profits. They were the first company in the world to use 100% recycled bottles in 2007 and they are at the moment trying to reduce materials in the kids wedges by 15%.

* The selection and different sizes*

You can buy the smoothies in 250ml bottles, 1 litres cartons or 1.5 litres cartons. For the kids, there is the kid's wedges, which a 180ml carton.
The selection of smoothies is wide.

For the kids, you have a selection of 4. Oranges, mangoes and pineapple, apples and blackcurrants, strawberries, blackberries and raspberries and peaches and passion fruits (exclusive to kids' cartons).

For us adults, there's an even bigger range. There are of course your permanent smoothies then there's Superfoods smoothies, which were put into a different category because they are considered to be exceptionally high in a particular nutrient. In addition to the permanent smoothies, they have Seasonal Smoothies and Guest Smoothies throughout the year. At the moment, the Seasonal Smoothie is 'Lemon, Honey and Ginger' and the "Guest Smoothie" features new recipes, which at the moment they don't have one.

Permanent range: 'Cranberries & Raspberries' 'Strawberries & Bananas, Blackberries' 'Raspberries & Boysenberries' 'Mangoes & Passion Fruits' 'Pineapples, Bananas & Coconuts' 'Oranges, Mangoes & Pineapples' 'Apples & Blackcurrants' and 'Strawberries, Raspberries & Blackberries'.

There are 3 different smoothies in Superfood range.
Natural Detox - Pomegranates, Blueberries & Acai
Natural Vitamin C - Blackcurrants, Acerola Cherries & Rosehips
Natural Slow Release Energy - Mangoes, Guavas and Goji Berries

You also buy thickies and this water from Innocent.

You can buy the Smoothies in all Sainsburys, Waitrose and Somerfield and in selected stores from Tesco, ASDA, Morrisons and Budgens. Also you might seen them on sale in Starbucks, Boots and many other places. The selection will depend on the size of the store and what they decide to stock.

At the moment, Sainsburys have an offer on buy 2 for £4 on the 1L cartons. The normal prices can vary from £2.99 - £3.35.

* The smell, the look and the taste *

This part of the review is based on 'Oranges, Mandarins & Raspberries'. This smoothie is classed a breakfast smoothie. I do actually have it for breakfast as I can't always face eating something in mornings but at least this keeps my hunger at bay until about lunch time. Also I find this great in the evenings when I want a snack. It's healthy and filling.

The carton is made of paper and keeps it fresh for about 4 days, not that it normally lasts this long in my house. The packaging is a creamy colour and it's great to get kids to read as there are pictures next to the ingredients. It has a screw top to keep it fresh, which is a great idea as I hate it when my juices taste like the fridge when they have been in there for a day or two.

In my smoothie, the ingredients are 6 squeezed mandarins, 4 ½ squeezed oranges, 2 crushed bananas, 37 raspberries and 2 pressed apples. 250ml will give you the equivalent to 2 of your five a day. It also gives you nearly half of your daily requirement of Vitamin C. Per 100ml, there's 45 kcal. This does slightly varies from smoothie to smoothie.

So as you open the screw top (after you have shaken it), the aroma of banana and citrus hit you. I can't smell the raspberries at all. As you pour it into a glass, you see that the colour of it blood orange red. The consistency of the smoothie is just right, not too thick but not too thin but then again this varies from smoothie to smoothie too.

As you take your first sip, the first thing that hits you is the taste of raspberries and oranges. Me, the banana hater can't taste the banana at all. Damn, I can't call myself a banana hater now lol. The texture of the smoothie is soft and smooth with less bits than I expected and there's no funny aftertaste like some smoothies I've tasted. After each sip, the taste just gets better and better and then I get disappointed when I find that there's none left.

One word of warning: Do not leave your glass that has had smoothie in it, standing for more than a couple of hours as it's very hard to clean lol.

* The smoothies that I love the best *

Lemon, Honey and Ginger and Oranges, Mandarins & Raspberries. As the lemon one is a seasonal smoothie called a winter warmer, it will be taken off the shelves as soon as Winter is over. I emailed Innocent and they told me that it's been a good seller and will be back next year. So try it while you can or you will have to wait until next year.

* Overall opinion *

I love 'em. They are 100% natural and healthy. There's loads of different flavours to try. The only downside is the cost. There are a bit on the expensive side but if you like natural products and helping the environment too or just want to get your five a day without any additives, this is your best bet. Go on, give it a try.

More information, visit http://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk.

Also posted on Ciao.

Summary: A great smoothie that helps the environment!