Jamba Juice

My first taste of Jamba Juice was back in 2003. I was in San Francisco visiting my cousins and they were raving about a fruit smoothie. Hey, I'm a carnivore, no fruity drinks for me! Well, I had to eat those words because one sip of the silky blended sweet and a bit tart concoction, I was hooked. How could something so simple be so good? After all, it is just a mix of fruit, yogurt, sorbet, juice and a "boost". I can make this at home! Well, I have tried making it at home, it's just not the same. Usually something so good is terrible for your health. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that each cup of Jamba Juice contains 2 - 4 servings of fruit! Wow, something that I loved to drink and satisfied part of my daily fruit intake. However, tempering this enthusiasm, the amount of sugar in a Jamba Juice is not exactly good either.

Alas, there is no Jamba Juice in Canada. Nada. We have Jugo Juice and Booster Juice. Admittedly, I am warming up to these copy-cats; but I still love the original. This is probably the "I like the place that made it first" affliction. No matter what the reason, I love Jamba Juice and I couldn't go to Portland without having one. Of course there are closer locations to me than Portland; but I was at Lloyd Center already and it was right in front of me when I walked in. They have overhauled their menu and there are many new items available. However, their "classics" are still available. My favourite is the Lime Sublime. I like my drinks tart. Today, we had the Pomegranate Paradise which consisted of pomegranate juice, strawberries, mangoes, peaches and ice. It was pretty good, but I still like my Lime Sublime. I only wish I could get it in Vancouver!

The Good:
- Drinks are blended well and are packed with fruit
- It is a healthy alternative to a Slurpee (but much more expensive)
- The premise of satisfying your fruit intake and a healthy "boost" sounds good

The Bad:
- It is expensive, but you pay for what you get (fruit and fruit juice)
- With the regular drinks, there is a no shortage of sugar