Still acclimating to the heat a summer in Florida brings, last Wednesday it was nearly 100 degrees, and I decided it was the perfect day to enjoy a nice cold smoothie in lieu of lunch. My friend recommended Smoothie King® on Southwest College Road in Ocala. After all, their new ad campaign suggests that all you need to do to get a better beach body is drink their smoothies and use their supplements.
Upon entering Smoothie King®, I was engulfed by the fresh clean smells of fruit and granola. Overwhelming, also, was the large menu board touting multiple ingredients below cute names.
As soon as I walked close to the counter, the friendly young clerk asked me what I would like. I asked for a few minutes, as it was my first time. Rather than offering a suggestion, or an explanation of the way of Smoothie King®, he just stepped aside and began chatting with his co-worker.
I stared at the menu. It was large enough to be confusing.
I asked the friendly young clerk if there were any mango smoothies without orange juice. I was told there weren’t and I proceeded to order a Mangofest™ for myself, a Green Tea Tango™ for a friend, and a children’s Lil’ Angel™ for my friend’s daughter.
Mangofest™ is orange juice, mango, and pineapple, but tasted to me only of orange juice and crushed ice. The clerk suggested that I add mango sorbet to it to enhance the mango flavor, but I chose not to do this. Maybe next time.
Lil’ Angel™ is strawberries and bananas, and it tastes just like that. Refreshing, cold, and very sugary sweet. The children’s size is quite smaller than the regular 20 oz smoothies, at only $1.00 less in price.
The Green Tea Tango™, according to my friend didn’t taste “green tea enough” – and he was disappointed that we didn’t go next door to the Starbucks®, as their green tea iced drink is “much better.
In addition to a vast variety of smoothie drinks, the Ocala Smoothie King® offers retail items for the health conscious community. Energy bars, healthy snacks, supplements, and herbs neatly line the counter and shelves.
On my way out, I grabbed a nutritional guide and a menu. With these in hand, I can review the menu before going and take my time to decide on what I would like to order. The menu is separated into 7 categories: Stay Healthy, Get Energy, Trim Down, Build Up, Snack Right, Indulge, and the Kids’Kups. They also offer a large variety of “enhancers” to add to your smoothie, like Ginkgo Biloba for energy, super fruits like pomegranate and goji berries as antioxidants.
Be warned, even if it boasts being a Stay Healthy smoothie, according to the nutritional guide, the average smoothie in this category is 400 calories, with 100 grams of carbohydrates, and 1 gram of fat. My Mangofest™ smoothie was in the Trim Down category, and weighed in at 285 calories, 72 grams of carbohydrates, and 0 grams of fat. Wow, and that’s one of the lower ones in this category! The nutritional guide only lists the amounts for 20 oz drinks, and also has particular smoothies designated with the third party endorsement of “Heart Smart International. Definitely check out the nutritional guide and menu before ordering if you are being health conscious. Otherwise, go, try one! It’s definitely worth the $4.00 – it’s filling, refreshing, and tasty!
I don’t know if you can truly get a better beach body by drinking these smoothies and using the diet supplements they sell, but it may be worth a try, if that is what your goal is. There is such a huge variety of smoothies offered at Smoothie King®, you certainly would not get bored by trying them one by one.
I already know what I’ll be ordering next time: a Slim-N-Trim Chocolate™. Bananas, protein blend, honey, and chocolate… mmmmm… maybe I will go back today!
The Smoothie King® I visited on Southwest College Road in Ocala, Florida can be reached at 352-624-4001. Their hours of operation are: Monday – Friday 7am-9pm, Saturday 9am-9pm, Sunday 11am-7pm. It’s fantastic that they open so early, as smoothies make a delicious on-the-go breakfast!
For more information, or to find a Smoothie King® location near you, go to www.smoothieking.com.
