Frutista at Taco Bell
taco bell frutista
I’ve seen the ads on TV and the Frutista looks great and refreshing. I had not tried one until last night. I’m not a real fan of overly sweet drinks and without trying a frutista my first thought was that it is a super sweet drink. Last night my wife and I were driving to meet some friends to carpool to Meadowbrook Festival to see Live and Blues Traveler in concert. We were both thirsty and she wanted a Frutista. We stopped in Taco Bell and she ordered the Mango Strawberry. I had a taste and was quite surprised to find out that it didn’t taste overly sweet.
The ads are great. They use a tropical scene and show the fruit being sliced fresh. If you listen to the voice-over it says natural mango flavor and topped with real strawberrys. Everytime I hear an ad like this I have to look into the facts. It clearly states on the Taco Bell website that “made with natural fruit flavor and contains no fruit juice.” The advertising also states that it is “topped with real strawberrys.” So what are the nutritional facts? This 17oz frozen beverage contains 250 calories, 59g of sugars and 62g carbohydrate! WOW!!! Let’s compare with with a Coca-Cola. A 20oz Coke has 240 calories, 65g of sugars and 65g carbohydrate.
OK so we know that fast food resturants are not the healthiest places to eat. We paid $2 even out the door so it’s more than a Coke but less than an energy drink. The Frutista is refreshing and (the mango strawberry one) is not overly sweet so it makes a nice treat on a hot day.
Wrap at Tropical Smoothie
I hadn’t visited Tropical Smoothie in a while. It was over 80 deg outside, the kids were gone and neither the wife nor I wanted to cook. She recommended Tropical Smoothie on Gratiot in Shields. Seemed like the perfect idea.
I had a hard time reading the menu but finally decided on a Jamaican Jerk wrap sandwich. The Jamaican Jerk wrap was filled with a decent amount of chicken, rice, corn, black beans, and cheese. Looking at the menu it also was to include asparagus but I don’t recall any in the wrap that I received. Anytime I think of Jamaican jerk I think spicy. This wrap was spicy although not a first. It took a few bites for the spice to build up. I enjoy spicy and the flavor was excellent and it left a good burn after the wrap was gone.
I ordered a combo which included chips and a smoothie. I must admit that last summer I was addicted to the smoothies but hadn’t had many this year. One of my favorite smoothies is the Blimey Limey. This smoothie contains strawberries, pineapple, orange and lime. The Blimey Limey is sweet but has a bit of a tartness due to the lime. The tartness adds to the refressingness in a way that a vinegar cucumber has a way of quenching your thirst. On a hot day I find that this is more refreshing that something more sweet.
I understand that a cup full of fresh fruit is expensive but at just over $10 for a sandwich, bag of chips and a smoothie this is not an inexpensive meal.
Olive Garden Ravioli di Portobello
Pretty much every time we visit Olive Garden we get the soup and salad. This Thrusday night was no exception. We ordered the soup and salad. The waitress reminded us that at dinner time the price goes up and it would be about $10 per person. Well shoot, for that price I might as well get something different. So I re-opened the menu and selected the Ravioli di Portobello.
Now I love mushrooms. All kinds of mushrooms and cooked in all different ways. The Ravioli di Portobello is made with a creamy smoked cheese and sun-dried tomato sauce. When the waitress put the plate down it looked good and I couldn’t wait for a bite. The ravioli was cooked just right, not to hard and not overcooked to the point of being starchy. The sauce was very cheesey and flavorful. And underneath it all you can still taste the mushroom but it is not over powering. After the appetizer I really didn’t think I could eat all the ravioli but it was so good (and there were only 7 on the plate) I ate it all. Even though Debra is not a fan of mushrooms I had her try a bite. She said the sauce was excelent but a little to much mushroom for her.
Taken at the Olive Garden on Bay Road in Saginaw, MI
