Get the Skinny on Smoothies' Calorie Count

Aug. 1, 2008 — -- It's summer, and for a lot of us that means smoothies! In fact, the U.S. smoothie market is a $2.5 billion business.

The fun fruits, the icy taste -- it seems like the perfect nutritional treat. But smoothies can pack a punch when it comes to calories and fat. And some of your favorite places may not be giving you the straight scoop.

"They're usually sweet. They have a good mouth feel and everybody loves them," said Samantha Heller, a registered dietitian and Health magazine contributor.

But do you really know what you're getting each time you order? We decided to find out.

We visited five chains in New York City that offer smoothies -- Jamba Juice, Dunkin' Donuts, GNC, Smoothie King and Starbucks. At each place, we ordered two different smoothies in the largest size available with no extra ingredients or boosts. Then we took the smoothies to Sani-Pure Food Laboratories in New Jersey.

"This story involved doing a caloric evaluation," said Ron Schnitzer, lab director of Sani-Pure Food Laboratories.

That meant the lab not only tested for number of calories, but also for fat, protein and carbs.

The lab tested each flavor twice for a total of 20 samples. Then we compared the lab results with each chain's listed calorie and fat counts.

The Results?

For all those Jamba lovers out there, both flavors -- Mango-a-Go-Go and Peanut Butter Moo'd -- came back well within Jamba's listed range.

For example, the 32 oz. mango smoothie should be between 510 and 630 calories. Our two tests of the drink revealed 585 calories and 576 calories.

At Smoothie King, we tackled the 40-ounce sizes of Strawberry Hulk and Angel Food. And both came back right at or under their posted calorie counts.

At Dunkin' Donuts, we tested strawberry banana and Wildberry. Wildberry's calories were within range, but strawberry banana went over by as much as 90 calories. Dunkin Donuts said the treat should be between 490 and 730 calories. But our tests showed 798 calories and 820 calories.

Dunkin' Donuts told us, "The discrepancies in the calorie counts presented are likely due to improper in-store production of these beverages. ... In the cases of the strawberry banana smoothies tested, if too much yogurt or too much fruit base was mixed into the beverages, it would result in a higher caloric content than smoothies produced according to our mandated specifications."

Now for Starbucks' brand-new Vivanno smoothies. They come in one size -- 16 ounces -- small compared to the other larger sizes we tested. For both banana chocolate and orange mango banana, our test results revealed higher calorie counts. In one case four more calories, in another -- 44 calories.

Starbucks told us that, "Due to the handcrafted nature of our beverages, nutrient values may vary from those published. While we aim for consistency in banana sizes, we know that banana sizes may vary. Juice and milk amounts are based on fill lines on the blender. It is possible that the barista slightly over- or under-poured."

At GNC, first we tested Berry Extraordinary. GNC said the smoothie should have 431 calories. In our test it had as many as 487 calories, a difference of 56 calories.

Then we tested Peanut Butter Surprise. And it was a surprise.

GNC says the 32 ounce size should be 367 calories with 4.8 grams of fat. But our tests from one GNC showed 804 calories and 37 grams of fat. And at another GNC -- 1,027 calories and 62 grams of fat. That's a difference of 660 calories and more than 12 times the fat.

"I have to think that someone at GNC must have made a big mistake, because it's huge," said Heller. "You know, a thousand calories is a lot different from 300, so I think that there must be a big mistake."

GNC told us any store that sells smoothies has a copy of a detailed recipe developed by GNC for each product that clearly outlines the use of specific ingredients in specific amounts. Store associates are instructed to follow the recipes. Obviously, if a store associate doesn't follow the recipe, it won't match it.

"It would be nice if they were a little more uniform, both in preparation, formula and in terms of how much they are actually providing," said Schnitzer of Sani-Pure Food Labs. "But some we saw -- the cup was overflowing and there was a one inch headspace. You never know -- it depends upon who's actually preparing it for you."

It's a risk smoothie lovers everywhere may or may not be willing to take.

If you love smoothies, and you really just have to have your favorite smoothie, here are a few tips:

Get the smallest size you can, because that's going to save you some calories.

Don't get a lot of added ingredients. You're actually paying for things that pretty much don't do you any good, such as the protein boost or the sprinkles. You pretty much don't need that.

Don't use the smoothies as a meal substitute because it really won't stick with you or fill you up, and you'll be hungry again soon.

To read company responses from Dunkin' Donuts, Starbucks and GNC, click here.