Tropicana Strawberry & Banana Fruit Smoothie

By: Tanya Taylor, PhD | Jun 30, 2008

There are 2.5 servings of fruit per bottle of Tropicana Fruit Smoothies, which is certainly admirable - except for the fact that the smoothies are made mostly from fruit concentrates, which means that the nutrients are removed. But, I was curious, so I picked up the Tropicana Strawberry & Banana Fruit Smoothie to try it out.

I'm totally guessing here - but what makes this seem like a "smoothie" is the fact that it has a thick consistency - thicker than fruit juice. Otherwise, this was very similar in taste to fruit juice, and it definitely has the *yum* factor. It's sweet and fruity with a strong strawberry taste, and not too much banana which can be very overpowering. Still, the most noticeable thing about this was it was very sweet - too sweet in fact.

The price of an 11 ounce bottle was $2.29 so I could easily have bought a bag of apples for close to that amount, and it would have given me more fiber plus lasted longer than the 2 minutes it took me to drink this.

A quick look at the nutrition facts shows why the Tropicana Strawberry & Banana Fruit Smoothie tastes so sweet - 43 grams of sugar per bottle (11 ounces). There is also 220 calories, 2 grams of protein and 2 grams of fiber plus 200% of the daily allowance for vitamin C. 1 apple alone would have provided 2x as much fiber.

There is no added sugar though, as the ingredients are water, apple & grape juices from concentrate, banana & strawberry puree, strawberry juice concentrate and natural flavors.

I hate to say it Tropicana, but this is not something that I would buy again. Like I mentioned before, eat the actual fruit instead. If you feel for a drink with some tate to it, try some lightly flavored waters like Frui2O or Hint Waters, or if you must drink fruit juice, go for something with a little less sugar, like Dole Orange Peach Mango Juice or Dannon Light 'n Fit Smoothie.

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