Tested! McDonald's Pomegranate Blueberry Smoothie

Who doesn't love a good smoothie? Well to be honest, me! I rarely drink anything other than water, however, there are occasions when I will want something creamy and sweet to drink. Usually when I order a smoothie, it will be strawberry banana flavor (my two favorite fruits). So, you may ask why I chose to order the pomegranate blueberry smoothie rather than the strawberry banana one from McDonalds? Well, it actually wasn't by choice. They gave it to me for free stating that they had made an extra one for a customer who didn't want it after all. Not one to pass up anything free (and because i've tried the strawberry banana smoothie and found it to be delicious), I said yes thinking this was a win win. I couldn't be more wrong. 

I've graded this smoothie on a few different criteria: Cost (since it was free to me, I will go with what the cost would have been), nutrition, general appearance, portion size, and of course, taste. 

Cost: $2.29 Small, $2.79 Medium, and $3.29 Large. I believe the size I received was a medium, which for me, was plenty. When comparing the sizes and costs to Jamba Juice smoothies, McDonald's is without a doubt substantially cheaper at about half the cost. However, I also have to consider that Jamba Juice smoothies are a bit larger in size (their small size is about the size of a McDonald's medium, and the medium about the size of McDonald's large) and the fact that Jamba clearly uses fresh fruits with the ability to add nutritional "boosts." After doing some research, it appears that McDonald's smoothies contain a fruit smoothie base that is made from a number of concentrates and some artificial flavorings. This could be a problem for some people but I really couldn't care less about whether fresh fruit or concentrates are used. As long as the smoothie taste good...

Nutrition: So I have already mentioned some of the ingredients that go into the McDonald's smoothie. In addition to the fruit base, there is nothing more than low fat yogurt and ice. Nutritionally, ALL smoothies get a bad rep. You may misunderstand me saying that so I will explain... Smoothies are always thought to be healthy and good for you. However, when considering the 220 calories, 50 grams of carbs, and 44 grams of sugars that the McDonald's pomegranate smoothie contains, one could argue that they are not by any stretch of the imagination healthy. Let's face it, smoothies, much like juice and soda, are literally cups of sugar. This is one reason why I drink solely water. Also, don't expect a smoothie to quench your thirst, it won't. The one nutrition positive to a smoothie is that it has a little bit of fiber and has half the amount of calories, carbs, and sugars than a milkshake which is the worst option to curb your creamy drink craving. Actually, let me rephrase... milkshakes are really the worst option when it comes to anything food or drink. 

Appearance: To me, no smoothie ever really looks good. They always resemble blended up baby food. This one was maroon in color with some flecks of black throughout which I presume to be the blueberry. I will say that I like the McDonald's clear cups, they make purchasing a smoothie or iced coffee seem so fancy!

Portion Size: As mentioned in the cost section, the medium was fairly large and was more than enough for me. Granted, I might have wanted more had it not been for the taste...

Taste: I have been dropping little hints throughout this review regarding the taste. Well, here is my verdict: TERRIBLE! The taste was absolutely disgusting and had the overwhelming flavor of mustard! I will be honest that I have never had pomegranate, however, if this is really the way pomegranate tastes, I will never have anything pomegranate again. On the plus side, the texture was perfect. 

NOT Jen Approved

Overall Grade: I would give this a D. I am being a little lenient because as I said, the texture of this smoothie was perfect and the cost and portion were reasonable. However, these things didn't come into play much because the taste was of this smoothie was absolutely atrocious. There is a chance that maybe I got a bad batch (it was free after all). However, I do not want to order another one to find out. If pomegranate and blueberry blended into a smoothie is really supposed to taste like mustard, then I think McDonald's really needs to reevaluate having this thing on their menu.

Other Recommendations: If you really must have a smoothie from McDonald's, try the strawberry banana flavor. I have tried that one
a few times and can attest to it being delicious. You can never go wrong with strawberries and banana's. If you are just looking for something creamy yet somewhat nutritious, I would look for a froyo bar where you can add your own toppings. There are often sugar free froyo's available and if you top with fruit, you can have something very similar to a smoothie but with less sugar and carbs.