VEGGIE AVOCADO PINEAPPLE SMOOTHIE [ REVIEW + COUPON ]

Oh hey, I have another smoothie for you to try: the Veggie Avocado Pineapple Smoothie from Smoothie King. This one requires very little effort. Unless you are me and decided to take an accidental 3 mile trek for this smoothie.

[ This post is a part of my partnership with Linquia, an awesome company that pairs up bloggers and companies to create quality content for readers. ]

I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Dave and I just bought our first ever house(!!!).

One thing I love about this area is that there is a ton of awesome shopping and restaurants nearby and Smoothie King happens to be one of them! When I saw that it was less than a mile away from my house, I was pumped. I could totally walk!

And since I was already walking to what I thought was one shopping area that has my bank, I decided to stop and deposit some cash (yay for still being young enough for birthday money..ha!) before getting a smoothie.

Welp, it turns out the Smoothie King was in the opposite direction I thought it was of the bank which added about a mile and a half to my trek. Oops.

At least I got a lot of steps in.  

Smoothie King

This was my first time at Smoothie King and it was bright and clean (I notice that sort of thing working in the food industry for 10 years) and the gal helping me was super friendly. I had forgotten the name for the Veggie Avocado Pineapple Smoothie, but she knew exactly what I meant when I said, “The new avocado veggie smoothie thing.”

In a few minutes, I was making my way back to the house, sipping on my Veggie Avocado Pineapple Smoothie. The smoothie was pretty sweet and very creamy which reminded me of why I used to LOVE adding avocado to smoothies at the gym café where I worked at in Minnesota (and in Nebraska for a short stint before realizing I HATED that particular branch).

It also is a good reminder of the fact that I love sneaking in veggies that I wouldn’t normally eat.

Sneaky Veggies

Take the kale in this smoothie for example. I have tried it in a salad many times (it was our side at the café gym) and on sandwiches, but let’s call it like it is…it kind of tastes like raw grass. (as opposed to cooked grass?) But when you throw it in a smoothie with a little pineapple, juice, protein, avocado and frozen yogurt (YES. this smoothie is basically dessert.), you have one tasty and refreshing way to eat your veggies.

[Tweet “A tasty way to eat your veggies: Veggie Avocado Pineapple smoothie from @smoothieking!”]

So…if you’re anything like me and you dread the thought of a kale salad, just add it to a tasty smoothie!

Veggie Avocado Pineapple Smoothie – Break it Down

Ingredients:

I was curious on the break down of calories (in case I want to customize this smoothie next time), so I was excited when I went to the website and was able to figure it out by selecting a smoothie and adding ingredients to the “customize this smoothie part.” (website > MENU > Nutrition > Smoothies > New Smoothies > Veggie Avocado Pineapple Smoothie > CUSTOMIZE THIS SMOOTHIE) I wasn’t able to take out ingredients on the website, but it still helped for next time.

Of course we can’t just pay attention to calories – there is so much more to a food than it’s calories, so I also made a note of some benefits of each item.

It’s also interesting to note the different colors of each item. They say, “eat the rainbow” for a reason: the wider variety of nutrients.

Pineapple- great source of vitamin C, hydrating (45 calories)

Vanilla Frozen Yogurt- protein (120 calories)

Avocado- healthy fat, creamy texture (90 calories)

Papaya Juice Blend- vitamin C, B vitamins (70 calories)

Carrots- fiber, vitamin A (15 calories)

Kale- fiber, crazy amounts of vitamin K (10 calories)

Turbinado- quick energy (raw sugar—my estimate based on the process of elimination is that it’s about 1.5 TBS ~ 70 calories)

Protein Blend- builds muscle and keeps you full (40 calories)

What I LOVED:

-The wide variety of nutrients packed into one smoothie! I would have never thought to put carrots or papaya juice into a smoothie at home!

-Excellent source of iron, vitamin A, vitamin C and B1 (good for energy).

-Fiber AND protein to keep you feeling full. It’s so important to add a fat or protein to your smoothie so you don’t get a sugar high/crash.

-Tastes like dessert but has tons of health benefits.

-Naturally hydrating. The fruits are perfect for natural hydration.

-Avocado goodness. Avocado adds the creamy dreamy texture as well as a sustaining healthy fat to the mix.

-No kale taste. (whatsoever)

-So many healthy options. (check out the zillion options here) I miss my old gym café for this reason: so many healthy ingredients right at my finger tips, ready to be added to my smoothies. You can go to Smoothie King and get all of the fruit and veggie goodness you want without having to a. stock all of the ingredients and b. prep the ingredients.

What Needs Improvement:

Not everything is perfect, right? I need to share a balanced perspective so here are some of my nitpicky comments.

-Styrofoam cups. I kind of wish they used clear plastic so that a. The container would be recyclable and b. You could see the pretty smoothie inside.

-Added sugar. This kind of blew my mind when I saw that they literally added sugar to the Veggie Avocado Pineapple Smoothie. I’m guessing it would be a little tart without it, but with the fruit and vanilla frozen yogurt, it seemed unnecessary. For the record: I happened to pick the only veggie smoothie with added sugar. (of course, right?) The good thing about this is that you can just request it not be added. Easy peasy.

[Tweet “A thorough review of the NEW Veggie Avocado Pineapple Smoothie from @smoothieking.”]

Things to Note:

This smoothie is definitely dessert-like in its sugar, fat and calorie content. I try not to obsess about things like this, but it’s always good to be aware of what’s going into your body. Fortunately the smoothie also has tons of health benefits (see above), so it’s not empty calories.

Overall, I am definitely interested in trying more smoothies (and this one again for a treat) from Smoothie King. I feel that the prices are comparable to other high quality smoothie venues and there are tons of healthy fruit AND veggie options I’d love to try out.

Coupon

Smoothie King is offering a $2.99 coupon for a 20 ounce smoothie if you sign up for their e-mail list. Woot! Just click here and go to “E-mail Sign Up.” There’s even a mobile app you can download (go to REWARDS > MOBILE APP) for discounts and rewards. (<-I should have downloaded this before I went this time…oops.)

[Tweet “@smoothieking coupon + sweepstakes info! #imasemihealthnut”]

Twitter + Instagram Photo Sweepstakes for Earth Day

If you’re interested, there’s an Earth Day Sweepstakes you can enter:
o    Tag @SmoothieKing in your #Earthday service pictures for the chance to win green smoothie goodness.
o    Pictures and @SmoothieKing must be posted on Twitter or Instagram.
o    Participants social accounts must be public.
o    Prizes will be (4) $25 Smoothie King gift cards.
o    Sweepstakes Dates: Contest will be announced 4/19/16.
o    Winner will be chosen on 4/25/16.
o    Smoothie King will randomly choose winner based on compliance of official rules.
Winner will be contacted via social channels and gift cards will be mailed.

Be sure to check out the Smoothie King website for more green smoothie awesomeness and tons of weight loss success stories.

Tell me…

Do you enjoy green smoothies?

Have you ever tried Smoothie King?