Taste-Testing Jamba Juice Poolside Fit and Watermelon Breeze Smoothies

Summer is watermelon time, and the Jamba Juice folks have come out with two seasonal smoothies that showcase this favorite fruit.  Both of them use watermelon juice, but each has a different flavor profile. Jamba Juice invited me to sample each of the new drinks and give my honest opinion.

Poolside Fit is not as sweet as a typical smoothie — it’s more of a green drink hybrid. It’s a blend of cucumber, watermelon juice, strawberry and peach. Cucumber is known for its cooling qualities, and its flavor plays well with the watermelon. And, you can taste subtle hints of peach and strawberry too.  Jamba Juice likes to tout its “real fruits and veggies,” and you can see flecks of real cucumber.

This drink is “pre-boosted” with collagen, the main structural protein found in skin and other connective tissues. You often hear about collagen being used in cosmetic surgery, and it’s a trendy supplement right now.

I like the Poolside Fit name — it reminds me of the lounging out by a pool on a hot summer day, and sipping on something cool and refreshing.

A 16-ounce, 200-calorie serving of the Poolside Fit gives you 2.5 servings of fruit and provides 70% of the daily value for vitamin C.

Here are the rest of the nutritionals for the Poolside Fit, from  Jamba Juice’s website:

The Watermelon Breeze is a pink & pretty concoction of watermelon juice blend, strawberry, raspberry and pineapple, and raspberry sherbet. It’s got a sweet, tropical vibe. This might make a good post-workout reward, but I would order a protein boost along with it.

A 16-ounce, 290-calorie serving will give you 2.5 servings of fruit and 80 percent of the daily value for vitamin C.  It’s got a higher calorie count and more sugar than the Poolside Fit, which is to be expected when you add in the sherbet. Here are the nutritionals from Jamba Juice’s website: