chopped ice, and possibly fruit juice, to add liquid. Honey often goes in, too, to sweeten things up". (Hoover, 1997, 1). These drinks get the name "smoothies" from the process in which they are blended with nonfat yogurt or frozen yogurt, tofu, sherbet or milk, and ice (creating a milkshake effect) (In the mood: Juice, 1997, 1).
Smoothies come in a dizzying array of fruit and vegetable flavors. A few include: orange, raspberry, carrot, lemonade, and watermelon, and the list is expanding monthly (In the mood: Juice, 1997, 1). Additionally, the drinks are given catchy names such as, Boysenberry Bliss or Razzmataz, and each often comes with a special supplement, or "juice boost," like protein powder, calcium, ginseng, or ginkgo biloba (which allegedly boosts memory) (Seo, 1997, 1).
For example, Jamba Juice's flagship Smoothie, the "Jamba Powerboost", contains the following ingredients: orange juice, strawberries, raspberries, banana, nonfat sorbet, ice, six "juice boosts" containing no less than eighteen different vitamins, soybean, fiber, ginseng, ginkgo biloba, echinacea, and several antioxidants (Quintanilla, 1997, 2). The Powerboost comes in a large twenty-four ounce cup and contains 437 calories and 1.72 grams of fat (Quintanilla, 1997, 2).
Nutritionists have strongly questioned the true health benefits of Jamba Juices products but author Jennifer Steinhauer acknowledges that most health experts say the drinks are at least harmless (Steinhauer, 1997, 1). Jamba Juice officials have acknowledged that their research team is not headed by a nutritionist or herbalist. In fact Kirk Perron admits that his research and development head's only real qualification is that, "he is a vegetarian', who has, "really studied his stuff" (Steinhauer, 1997, 3).
Finally, Smoothies are relatively inexpensive for Jamba Juice to produce. They simply require a few ingredients, such as the fruit, purchased at bulk rates, placed into
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