Invigorate smoothie (8.75/10) – “Good branding, good flavour“.
The Good
“Brand message is good, with accurate nutrition facts to support”.
“Clear and visually appealing packaging”.
“Natural smell”.
“Nice fruity flavour”.
“Ideal subtle tang”.
“Moderate mouthfeel”.
“Flavour balanced throughout”.
“Good level of natural sweetness”.
“Initially good aftertaste”.
“Natural taste throughout”.
“Aftertaste lasted well”.
“Relatively affordable”.
The Bad
“Sickly smell”.
“Not session-able”.
“Eventually unpleasant aftertaste”.
Introduction
If you’ve been following me for a long time, you’ll know many moons ago soft drink reviews graced my blogs, including Cowbelle milkshakes, Schloer fizzy drinks, and a range of smoothies including Tesco own brand, Innocent, and The Juice Company ranges from Aldi. Links available below (Sources).
2 years later, after January 2019, I’m attempting my next “Dry” month this August. Since then, a lot has happened in my life including exhausting supermarket supplies of new ciders to review, relationship breakups, job losses, and a global pandemic. Due to this, I didn’t do a Dry January in 2021, but I like the idea of doing it for health benefits.
The main benefit I am doing this for is reducing risk for alcoholic hepatitis developing, which can be caused by regular drinking over long periods of time. This is reversible though by stopping drinking. Read below (Dry January benefits).
Ranges
The main smoothie ranges from my undercover trip to Tesco, revealed Tropicana, Innocent, and Naked.
Today’s review will be my 6th in the Innocent range following “Berry protein”, “Mangoes, Passion fruits, Apples”, “Strawberries & Bananas”, “Wonder Green” and “Energise”.
Welcome
Invigorate
Calories here stand at 54 per 100ml or 162 total (300ml bottle). This is relatively high compared to others in the range per 100ml; More than Energise (52), Innocent strawberries & Bananas (ISB) (51) and Mangoes, Passion fruits, Apples also at (51).
It is less than Berry protein however (59).
Cost is the same as Energise at 67p per 100ml, but less than Mangoes, Passion fruits, Apples at 72p and Berry protein at 77p.
To summarise, calories are relatively high, and cost is low compared to similar products.
Description below = number of fruit for one of your 5 a day.
Please note though that the NHS suggests smoothies shouldn’t contribute more than one of your 5 a day, so you can only count one of the fruits below. It’s also noteworthy that the juice extraction process can reduce nutrients compared to whole fruit consumption.
Invigorate 300ml smoothie includes: “1.5 apples, 8 white grapes and 1/5 kiwi”.
1 Apple, 2 Kiwi fruits, and according to The Guardian, 11 Grapes counts as one portion of your 5 a day. The smoothie lists one in total, which aligns with NHS recommendations. Out of the 3 main fruits, only Apple appears to be sufficient for the maximum contribution of 1, to your 5 a day.
Let’s look at the drinks’ 3 most abundant fruits …
1 Apple
Apple is the most abundant fruit here, which is low in vitamins and minerals, but compensates with it’s high antioxidant and fibre content, which slows sugar absorption, increasing feelings of fullness, and improving digestion. The antioxidants are also beneficial for blood sugar control and heart health.
2 Grapes
Grapes are a good source of vitamin C which helps your body produce connective tissues, and Vitamin K which is essential to activate blood clotting proteins to prevent infections, but fortunately high levels don’t increase clotting more than normal. It also helps bone strength by assisting production of proteins which bind calcium.
3 Kiwi
Kiwi is particularly good for improving digestion, because it contains fibre which also slows sugar absorption and increases feelings of fullness. Additionally, it contains a special protein which helps breakdown dietary protein.
Kiwi is also rich in Vitamin C and potassium, with more potassium than banana ! Potassium is needed for muscle contraction, and controlling the amount of water inside your body building blocks or “cells”.
Invigorate contains …
Vitamin E, Vitamin B6, and Vitamins B1 and B2, which are tied for 3rd; These make up the 3 most abundant micronutrients respectively, although they’re added artificially.
It also contains 22% reference intake of Vitamin C, which is the same as Energise, but is far richer than ISB. It also contains 1.1g fibre per 100ml which is more than Energise at 0.8g and is suitable for vegans.
Nutritionally, it appears particularly abundant, compared to similar products.
Smell
The smell was quite sweet, and hinted of banana. It persisted for some time and was a little sickly, although certainly natural.
Taste
Flavour was full throughout, possessing good depth. It was also rather fruity, yet not overpowering. Tang was present, but subtle; Not enough to bother your teeth or tastebuds. Sweetness was apparent through the fruity flavour, but was in no way sickly, despite the smell suggesting it could be. Mouthfeel was moderate, but not full. It was a good consistency though, since it held flavour well. The drink was well balanced, featuring a good level of fruity taste, with subtle tang and sweetness. This taste was in no way artificial, remaining natural throughout.
The taste also remained smooth throughout and into the aftertaste, which didn’t become acidic at any point. The aftertaste persisted for a good length of time, and acted as a smooth continuation of the main flavour body. By the end of the bottle, this aftertaste was starting to become sickly though, suggesting one bottle would be enough, and the smoothie was not session-able.
Summary
“Good branding, good flavour”.
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Reaseaorg Smoothie reviews
Innocent “Energise” smoothie review https://reasea.org/2021/09/03/energise-smoothie-review-9-0-10-tastes-similar-to-more-expensive-drinks/
Tesco – Berry bliss smoothie review https://reasea.org/2019/01/14/berry-bliss-smoothie-review-9-0-10-naturally-fruity-and-textured-bliss-bit-too-sharp-and-insufficiently-sweet-for-perfect-balance-though/
Aldi – The juice company wow green smoothie review – https://reasea.org/2019/01/08/the-juice-company-wow-green-smoothie-review-6-5-10-a-naturally-tangy-practical-yet-fruity-smoothie-unfortunately-expensive-and-sickly-with-an-unpleasant-smell-mix-well-before-drinking/
Dry January benefits
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/hepatitis/
Sources
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/may/14/five-a-day-fruit-vegetables-portion-supermarket
https://www.verywellfit.com/kiwifruit-nutrition-facts-calories-and-health-benefits-4113823
https://www.healthline.com/health/7-best-things-about-kiwi
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/vitamins-and-minerals-older-adults
5 a day portion estimates
https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/5-a-day-portion-sizes/
Tags: invigorate, innocent, smoothie, nutrition, health, fruity, natural, apple, grapes, kiwi, vitamin c, potassium, Vitamin E, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B1, fibre, blogging, popularposts, reaseaorg
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