There’s nothing quite like a refreshing smoothie on a hot day or after a hard workout. But is that smoothie you’re sucking down actually good for you? If you want to find out how many calories are hiding behind that fruity goodness, this is the article for you.

Smoothie Base

No matter how you cut it, if your smoothie uses ice cream as a base, then it’s really a milkshake–not a smoothie. Likewise, if you add a bunch of candy toppings to your smoothie, then you can bet it’s not going to help your waistline. Instead, look for smoothies that start with fruit juice or low-fat yogurt. Now that the smoothie vs. milkshake debate is out of the way, let’s talk about other additives.

Many popular smoothie bars offer shakes with protein, whey, vitamins, and other additives. Depending on the drink at hand, those additions can be laden with calories. If you don’t need that extra shot of protein or whey, skip it.

Most people think that any kind of smoothie is good for you, but that may not be the case. Do you know how many calories you’re adding to your smoothie with those extras?

Calories Count

Since it’s one of the most popular smoothie chains on the planet, the following calorie information is taken from the Jamba Juice Web site:

Sunrise Strawberry: 260 Calories

Bright Eyed and Blueberry: 240 Calories

Strawberry Energizer: 300 Calories

Strawberry Surf Rider: 330 Calories

Orange Dream Machine: 350 Calories

Chocolate Moo’d: 460 Calories

Matcha Green Tea Blast: 290 Calories

All the information above is based on a 16-ounce drink. As you can see, some of those drinks have a lot more calories than you may have thought. While it’s certainly healthy to get a daily dose of fruit juice, you have to be careful about how many calories you add to your diet.

Options

But you don’t have to skip the smoothies altogether (that would be cruel). Instead, make sure the drink you order is actually a blend of fruit juice–not a blend of high-calorie contents in a cup.

If you’re going to choose something creamy and delicious, make sure to choose the smallest possible size. This way, you can have your smoothie and still maintain that slim waistline. Also, take into consideration the food that you’ll have with your smoothie–it’s easy to bust your calorie count for the day when you combine a smoothie and a meal.

Verdict

Don’t kid yourself. Those “healthy” fruit-juice places also serve drinks that are more like milkshakes than anything else. It’s easy to assume that any smoothie bar will serve only healthy drinks, but that just isn’t the case.

Most of us lose our minds when we enter a “healthy” shop. Almost every smoothie shop lists nutritional information, so make sure to sneak a peek before you order that “healthy” chocolate-flavored drink. Keep your smarts, and you’ll find that drinking a healthy smoothie is definitely possible.

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