I know you. I know your daily routine – you wake up in the morning, you go for a workout, and you go grab a Jamba Juice because you’re trying to be healthy. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve been there. I’ve fallen into the trap of “healthy” smoothies. Jamba Juice, though portrayed as a store of fresh juices and organic produce, is actually a hidden pitfall full of sugar.
To put it simply, there are two types of sugar in your smoothies. There is naturally occurring sugar in your fruit and then there is added sugar that is sneakily hidden in your Jamba Juice disguised as words like “Chocolate Moo’d Base,” “Pineapple Sherbet,” and “Apple-Strawberry Juice Blend.”
Although the Jamba Juice Nutrition Facts don’t differentiate between naturally occurring sugar and added sugar, for the sake of this article, I’ll wrap them all together as one. Did you know that this many Jamba Juices (size small!) have more sugar than a regular Twix bar with 48 grams of sugar? Although these sugars come from different sources and obviously a Twix bar contains much more added sugar, it’s still surprising to see that a simple smoothie has more sugar than an unhealthy candy bar.
Without further ado, here are seven small Jamba Juices with more sugar than a regular Twix Bar.
1. Chocolate Moo’d Smoothie
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With 77 grams of sugar, this smoothie is definitely a sweet treat not a post-workout recovery beverage. With new USDA guidelines advising only 10 grams of added sugar a day, this smoothie goes beyond over the top. Plus, the added ingredients include “chocolate moo’d base.” What is a chocolate moo’d base and what does it contain?
2. Banana Berry Smoothie
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You hear “Banana Berry Smoothie” and you think healthy right? Sneakily enough, the Banana Berry Smoothie contains apple-strawberry juice blend, nonfat frozen yogurt, and raspberry sherbet for a whopping total of 59 grams of sugar. With ice cream and frozen yogurt, this is definitely a dessert not a healthy smoothie.
3. Peach Pleasure Smoothie
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I’m guilty of indulging in the tasty Peach Pleasure. One sip of this bad boy and I have memories of sitting at a beach, book in one hand and Peach Pleasure in another. Needless to say, I was shocked and a little disappointed to see that my go-to “healthy smoothie” contains orange sherbet and peach juice blend and has a total of 53 grams of sugar. I’m not going to lie, however, I’ll probably have this smoothie once in a while as a treat.
4. PB Chocolate Love
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This smoothie is under the “Whole Food Nutrition Smoothie” category yet contains 53 grams of sugar and contains the mysterious “chocolate moo’d base.” Although it contains bananas and peanut butter, both which contain healthy fats and healthy sugars, this mysterious “chocolate moo’d base” seems to rack up all the sugar.
5. Aloha Pineapple Smoothie
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Compared to the above PB Chocolate Love Smoothie, you would think a smoothie titled “Aloha Pineapple Smoothie” would have a little bit less sugar right? Wrong! Turns out that this smoothie contains 14 more grams of sugar than PB Chocolate Love. It’s probably to do with the pineapple sherbet and pineapple juice. There actually isn’t even any real pineapple in the aloha pineapple smoothie, although there are fresh strawberries, greek yogurt, and bananas. Watch out for the 67 grams of sugar in this one though!
6. Matcha Green Tea Blast Smoothie
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We all hear about how green tea or matcha (as the Japanese call it) is good for fat burn and for weight loss. But I would be surprised if this smoothie helped you lose weight – containing only nonfat frozen yogurt, ice, soy milk, and matcha green tea, this smoothie barely contains any nutrients, just 57 grams of sugar. When you’re looking for a smoothie, try to get some natural sugars, not all just added sugars.
7. Razzmatazz Smoothie
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Razzmatazz, razzmatazz. A fun quirky name for a sugar-laden smoothie full of hidden sugar bombs like mixed berry juice blend and orange sherbert. Can you sense a theme as we move down this list? Generally, all these smoothies with more than 48 grams of sugar have tons of juice, sherbet, and frozen yogurt jammed in that small 16-ounce cup. It’s incredibly important that when you choose your smoothie, that you watch out for those sugar bombs.
With these in mind, do your best to pick healthier options at Jamba Juice – although it’s always okay to have a little treat once in a while. But, be aware of sneaky ways that sugar is snuck into your diet.