Smoothie: Fruity, healthy drink

Variety is the taste of life some may agree and with smoothie, you get to play around with several fruits all mixed together in one cup. Basically, smoothie includes crushed ice, frozen fruit, and ice ingredients. It usually has a milkshake-like consistency though it (smoothie) is slightly thicker. It could also contain milk and yogurt, […]

Variety is the taste of life some may agree and with smoothie, you get to play around with several fruits all mixed together in one cup. Basically, smoothie includes crushed ice, frozen fruit, and ice ingredients. It usually has a milkshake-like consistency though it (smoothie) is slightly thicker. It could also contain milk and yogurt, but in most cases it is better to have smoothie without any addition of ingredients so as to have a natural taste of the blended fruits. The thick rich paste comes in different colors. The color depends on the fruits being used. If you go for a ‘tropical blend smoothie’ that consists of mango, banana, pineapple and coconut, you end up having a brown coloured consistency. The best smoothies are made with very ripe fruits.
With smoothies becoming the in-thing in Abuja, a lot of people are trying it out more frequently, especially those concerned about healthy eating. Smoothie first originated from the United States of America and has spread across the world. Though it has gradually become popular in Nigeria, they are mostly sold at cafes, coffee shops and some restaurants.
Fruits like banana, pineapple, strawberry, apple, mango, pawpaw, watermelon, coconut, raspberry, blueberry and Pina colada are mostly used for smoothies. Interestingly, making a smoothie takes less than three minutes when you have the right equipment. When making smoothies, fruits need to be peeled and any pips, cores, seeds and stalks removed before being placed into the blender. All the fruits desired are put in together in an electric blender with some ice blocks, covered, and set to blend for a few minutes. When the blending process is done, the thick, creamy and rich paste is poured into a disposable cup, which usually comes with a cover for those that would like the option of takeaway. It is also served in a glass cup and is garnished with different kinds of fruits hanging by the side of the cup that gives it an inviting look.
Bunna Café in Silverbird Entertainment Centre offers fresh and rich smoothies in Abuja with a variety to choose from. The beverage makes the café stand out completely because most people come from far just to take a sip of their frozen beverage. What makes Bunna Café’s smoothie unique is the fact that it is in its natural state, since they don’t add any artificial syrup or sugar to it. The fruits are only blended to retain its natural taste, which suits people that are watching their weight.
A medium cup of a smoothie goes for N900, while the large size is N1, 000 and a customer gets to choose four different fruits of his or her choice. If a person goes for a tropical blend, there is no need to choose the fruits as it has specific blend of fruits, hence the name ‘tropical.’
Kpamber Patience, assistant supervisor, says because of the high demand of their smoothies, they sell more than 50 cups on a daily basis. Its unique taste has kept people trooping into the café.
The fruits being used are sourced from Wuse market. Adults mostly consume the beverage because it has no sugar in it. In order to have a smooth consistency, the right blender used plays a significant role because an ordinary blender doesn’t give it the rich look and taste. Also, because ice blocks are crushed with the fruits, an ordinary blender doesn’t have the capacity to blend ice blocks. Therefore, to get suitable equipment, one has to get the right electric blender specifically for that purpose. Ice blocks give the smoothie a cooling effect, that way you don’t have to wait to refrigerate before consumption, because if you add the ice blocks after blending , you get some crunchy ice inside which makes it less tasty. Thus, it is better to blend the fruits together with the ice.
Unlike fresh juices, where just the juice is extracted from fruits, leaving the pulp behind, smoothie is made by processing the whole fruit. A glass of juice can count as only fruit juice regardless of how many different kinds of fruits are being used to make it. A smoothie, on the other hand, contains much higher levels of fiber, carbohydrate, fruit sugars and vitamin C, so one glass is more nutritionally satisfying.
For fruit lovers and healthy freaks, Bunna Café’s smoothie is undoubtedly something you should try for a change rather than just eating fruits. Having a smoothie blend of different fruits certainly won’t be regretted.