We’ve all been there. 2pm. Lunch was two hours ago, dinner isn’t until six and your stomach is starting to grumble. As Americans have proven themselves more health conscious and weight-sensitive in the last few years, many of us have started heading for the nearest Jamba Juice. I know I have, and I pat myself on the back for it, proud that I chose an all-natural fruit smoothie over my favorite snack food–chips. Imagine my horror and disbelief when someone gently pointed out to me that my daily Jamba Juice smoothie wasn’t the snack that I thought it was. I felt cheated. My four-dollar-a-day habit had me fooled. My Mango-A-Go-Go has 50 more calories than a Grande Mocha Frappuccino.

Nutritional battle

My first question was, “But isn’t this supposed to be healthy?” Not many of us know what we are putting in our mouths. We just know it tastes good, but is it good for us? To answer my curiosities I picked the minds of two individuals more knowledgeable than I. Rod Redondo, CEO of Force Fitness, a personal training company that specializes in personalized group and individual exercise, received a degree in Exercise Science and Sports Studies from Rutgers University. Luckily, there are people like Rod, and like Kristen Lindsey-Dudley, a Registered Dietician who holds a Masters in Public Health, to tell us what we are really consuming.

Both agree that while Jamba Juice isn’t the best choice for a snack it’s not completely unhealthy. “Jamba Juice is healthier than many snacks but it’s very caloric,” explained Lindsey-Dudley. “They are really quite sugary and sugar raises your blood sugar. Then your blood sugar gets lower and you’re hungry again.”

An original-size Jamba Juice can pack anywhere from 290 to 490 calories.

“A snack should only be 100 to 300 calories,” said Redondo. “Some of these drinks have enough calories to equal a whole meal.”

To put calorie count in perspective Rod explained an average size person should consume 1,800 to 2,000 calories a day and an idle person could burn 1,200 to 1,300 calories a day without hitting the gym. To cut weight a 100–200 calorie deficit would be necessary.

Jamba smoothies are high in carbohydrates, too. There are simple carbs and complex carbs (starches). Most of the carbs in the drinks are simple sugars from fruit. High in calories and high in carbs, but which do we focus on more?

Lindsey-Dudley rolled her eyes at the mention of the Atkins Diet regime. She explained that consumption of carbs is required to build a healthy diet. So then if I wanted to lose weight what should I look at?

“For weight loss perspective, look at the calories,” explained Lindsey-Dudley. “You’re basically drinking calories.”

So if an original size (24 fl oz) Strawberry Whirl has 340 calories and a Diet Coke has 0 calories, 0 carbs and 0 fat then is that a better choice for me? Not quite. Both Redondo and Lindsey-Dudley agree that Diet Coke, though lower in calorie and carbs, is not better because it is in no way healthier. “It has no nutritional value,” said Redondo. “At least with a smoothie, you’re getting fruits and yes there’s carbs but it’s from the fruits.” He also mentioned the body will better use the nutrition in a Jamba Juice than a Diet Coke, which is filled with chemicals your body doesn’t need.

Hold the calories

As this all slowly began to make more sense to me, I still wondered where all the extra calories were coming from. Aren’t all these drinks just fruits? Aren’t fruits supposed to be good for you?

Carefully read the menu. Each item is made from fruits but the addition of sorbets which are extremely high in sugar and other fruit juices are what boosts the calorie count.

Jamba Juice does offer an all fruit menu of dairy-free drinks with no sugar added. Basically it takes out the sorbets and frozen yogurts. Strawberry Whirl has 50–70 calories less than Strawberries Wild. The Jamba Juice menu also states, “Most smoothies can be made with less calories, just ask.” I am assuming then they will thus take out the juices and sorbets and add more fruit. I order the Strawberry Whirl but nix the apple-strawberry juice to completely cancel out any unnecessary calories and hey! I’m still getting 3.5 servings of fruit aren’t I?

Neither Redondo nor Lindsey-Dudley really knock Jamba Juice. Lindsey-Dudley doesn’t mind buying one for her teenage son before his football practice and Redondo tells his clients it’s OK to drink one after an intense workout. “It can be extremely good for you after an intense workout because your blood sugar is very low after working out and it recharges your sugar level,” he said. But what about all the calories I just burned doing my workout, isn’t this just adding on? Redondo explained that although I just burned calories, putting another 400 in after is not going to erase the ones I just burned. “In the long run there will be a deficit in calories because you’ll have a faster metabolism if you keep working out continuously,” he explained.

So what’s the healthier snack option? Lindsey-Dudley recommends eating whole fruit. Ideal snacks could be an apple with peanut butter or an apple with a small handful of almonds, which equals roughly 250 calories. The fibers from eating a whole fruit will keep you feeling satisfied longer than drinking fruit juice, which is super concentrated. Nuts take a longer time to digest so they stay in your system longer and sustain you much longer than a smoothie. “The more whole it is, it’s better for you,” said Lindsey-Dudley. “But the calories and nutritional value would not be any different.” She uses oatmeal as an example. Oatmeal is good for you in general but between steel cut oats, rolled oats and the one-minute-quick-cooking oats, the steel cut would be the best choice because it’s the most whole. It’s only been cut while the rolled oats have been rolled with other things.

Fruits are healthy. Eat them like a cookie monster–just 86 the sorbets, the frozen yogurts and juices. Go back to basics with 3.5 fruits in a blender (apples, bananas and oranges oh my!), a scoop of ice and blend. This concoction might not have a clever moniker but it will do your body good in the long run.

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