Duped by the sweet pastel pink carton... (Tesco Smoothie Mix)

Member Name: leighsady

Product:	Tesco Smoothie Mix
Date:	08/11/08 (304 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Made from fresh fruit, no artificial colours or preservatives. Should be good for you...

Disadvantages: Not so big on taste, a little on the sour side.

TESCO SMOOTHIE MIX - 'STRAWBERRY & BANANA'

I am obsessed with this right now. In less than two days, I've already finished the litre carton that I bought a few days ago!

What is it?
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A carton of smoothie fruit juice by Tesco's.

Special features:
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A blend of fruit juices and purees. This fruit mixture contains two and a quarter apples, forty-four strawberries, two bananas, and a third of an orange. It is 100% fruit juice, purees, and contains no added sugars or preservatives.

What made me buy it?
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I'm going through one of those health phases right now. Three portions of fibre a day and at least five portions of fruit or vegetables, just seemingly impossible for me, the odd orange or banana now and then - that's probably more accurate for my current diet. Of course, I thought, that's just not good enough - even if I have to admit it to myself that I'm looking too ill these days. And I had better do something about it! Well, hopefully this will help...

Scanning though the vast collection of cartons stacked neatly on the supermarket refrigerator shelf. Only a few years ago, there were only a small column of them taken up by Tropicana juices, Innocent and P&J Smoothies - now, several large cabinets are stocked plentiful with a wide range of all the possible blends of fruit juice available. It was almost intimidating. The cheapest of the smoothies was currently by Tesco's. My eyes comfortably settled on a pastel pink milkshake carton, one of my favourite colours. Irrationally, I had a biased liking to it, containing a basic but healthy blend of banana and strawberry; I decided that this was going to be the 'best' for me rather than any of the other ones.

How does it taste?
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The lovely milky pink carton actually gives a very false sense of security. When the smoothie is poured out, it's a bit of a surprise. The actual colour of fruit blend is actually a muddy dusty pink. The texture, similar to that of tomato puree - though, not as sloppy. After all, it is a smoothie so a thick puree is not out of the ordinary although it's a bit disappointing in terms of colour. The taste isn't spectacular; I couldn't really taste the banana, but could taste a mild bland version of strawberries. If I had tried this without seeing the packaging, I would have probably thought twice about buying it. However, from a more scientific and logically perspective, bananas and strawberries are probably more nutritious compared to the other more exotic blends, such as coconut, blackcurrant and apple. And so, this reasoning keeps me buying and drinking it...

Cost?
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This costs £1.80 for a one-litre carton; I think it's cheapest on the shelves compared with the other brands.

Will I buy it again?
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Yes, of course, but only because I reason that it's good for me!



Thanks for reading. xx

©Leighsa 2008

Summary: I will still be buying this...