Strawberry Banana Flavor of V8 Splash Smoothies: Review

My mother brought home a bottle of Strawberry Banana flavor of Splash Smoothies by V-8 last month. Let me back up a minute and tell you that my mother first called V-8 to find out if any of their drinks were gluten free. I'm happy to report that all of their juices are gluten free. For those of you who don't know there are people like myself who have Celiac Disease or are gluten intolerant and can not eat or drink gluten; which is found in wheat, barley, and rye. From my viewpoint it is almost criminal how many food companies use wheat in their ingredients. Pretty much most processed food has gluten in it, so those of use who have to be on a gluten free diet have to do a little research to find food and drinks safe for us to eat.

Even though, mama just called and confirmed that V-8's products are gluten free, we have to call again every six months or so to make sure nothing has changed. Someone who can not eat gluten has to be diligent in reading labels, contacting companies each time they buy a new product and re-contacting the company a couple times a year to verify the product is still gluten free. If you want to know more about Celiac Disease visit the National Institutes of Health's website. (http://consensus.nih.gov/2004/2004CeliacDisease118html.htm)

After mama, brought home a bottle of V8's Strawberry Banana flavor of Splash Smoothies it sat on the refrigerate shelf quite a while before I drank it. Why? It's pink. Not a nice pink, but a bright in your face pink. This is not an appealing pink for a drink; maybe for a dress, but not for a drink. It just didn't look right therefore I wasn't too interested in it. Then came the day when I had drank everything else but the water in the refrigerator so I tried it.

I actually enjoyed the taste and the smell; it has what I would call a frothy strawberry taste and smell. I don't think they used too many bananas in this Strawberry Banana flavor of Splash Smoothies. I didn't smell any bananas, but there is a mild taste of bananas beneath the surface. You have to be sure to shake the bottle real good before you pour it because something in there settles to the bottom.

On the label it is implied that this is a healthy and nutritious drink for the whole family because it has "essential vitamins and calcium, plus soy protein." If you look at the nutrition facts I have at the bottom of this article you will see that not all the ingredients are healthy. This is probably why V8's Strawberry Banana flavor of Splash Smoothies tastes so good to me. For even more nutritional facts about this product go to http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/beverages/10306/2.

Bottom line: I love this drink for its flavor, but wish they would tone down the pink color. I don't drink it daily because it isn't the healthiest drink I have in the refrigerator.

Nutrition facts:

Ingredients: Water, fruit juices from concentrate (water, apple juice concentrate, strawberry juice concentrate, clarified banana juice concentrate), high fructose corn syrup, soy protein product (soy protein isolate, calcium phosphate, soy lecithin), contains less than 1% of the following ingredients: natural flavoring, pectin, citric acid, sugar, sugar, vitamin C (ascorbic acid), phosphoric acid, vitamin B3 (niacinamide), sucralose, beta carotene, red 40, vitamin B6, vitamin B12.

Serving size is 8 fluid ounces, each bottle a net of 46 fluid ounces. Amount per serving: 90 Calories, 0 Total Fat, 0 Cholesterol, 70mg Sodium, 60 mg Potassium, 20g Total Carbohydrate (0 Dietary Fiber, 18g Sugars) and 3g Protein.

Price: $1.98.

V-8's Strawberry Banana flavor of Splash Smoothies is made by Campbell Soup Company, Camden, NJ 08103-1701 (www.v8juice.com).