Saturday, January 9, 2010

That Sure as Hell Doesn't Look Appetizing


FOOD REVIEW - Bolthouse Farms Green Goodness Smoothie

Those of you who know me are probably aware that I don't get a lot of vegetables. Those of you who don't know me are now on notice of that fact.

I like vegetables; don't get me wrong. I love spinach and asparagus and brussels sprouts and all those super dark, bitter vegetables. I love green beans and peas. I like bell peppers and green onions and romaine lettuce. I love tomatoes, which are actually a fruit, but I don't care.

The problem with vegetables is that they're not terribly handy. Unlike fruit, which can come in a variety of forms (smoothies, yogurt, juice pops, etc.) and do not have to be prepared to be eaten, vegetables take a little more effort. They have to be cooked or blanched or made into a salad or chopped. I know there are purists out there who would eat vegetables in their natural state as a snack, but I am not one of those crazies.

The other option was always V-8, which to me is like drinking cold vegetable soup blended with ketchup. The thought of doing this makes me wrinkle my nose in disgust. I want to like V-8, but I can't. So what can I do?

Bolthouse Farms and its smoothie team created the Green Goodness smoothie, which you can find at most grocery stores in a variety of sizes. It's made from lots of fruit, which gives it a sweet taste, but also contains spinach and spirulina, along with various other scientific vegetable-ish things that are good for you. It looks like something the Swamp Thing barfed up, and it tastes a little strange, but it's definitely palatable, and good for you.

Similar products are made by Naked Juice and Odwalla, but Bolthouse Farms is the best of the three, in my opinion.

Bottom line: Tastes like fruit (kind of), very nutritious, easy to carry around, no need to blanch, does not taste like soup mixed with ketchup. Looks like algae, but I've eaten worse things than algae.