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On a recent trip to the grocery store, I noticed a new product that I’d never seen before – Dole Smoothie Shakers.
I really prefer to make my own smoothies at home, but since it’s smoothie season and I am always usually interested to try new things, I picked up two different Shakers flavors: Strawberry Banana and Mixed Berry.
This review is for the Strawberry Banana version of the Dole Smoothie Shakers.
As of right now, it appears that Dole is offering seven different smoothie shaker flavor combinations:
- Strawberry Banana
- Mixed Berry
- Pineapple Mango
- Strawberry Raspberry
- Blueberry Banana
- Peach Mango
- Strawberry
I think the idea for the smoothie shaker is a good one because it’s really the ultimate in convenience.
There’s really only two steps involved and they are perfectly displayed on the bottle (in case you were wondering what to do next :)):
Smoothie Shaker Mixing Instructions:
- Shake to loosen contents before opening. If large pieces remain, thaw for 5 minutes and then break apart with a spoon.
- Pour chilled juice within fill zone, replace cap tightly, and shake for 30-45 seconds. Enjoy!
I decided to make my Smoothie Shaker with unsweetened almond milk since that’s one of my favorite liquids for creating smoothies.
After shaking the container and unscrewing the lid, this is what the contents look like:
It’s obviously small pieces of strawberry, but the other pieces look a little mysterious. It supposed to also contain yogurt, so that’s what the white pieces must be. Well, that and the banana I guess.
The ingredients as listed on the container:
- Fruit (strawberries, bananas)
- Grade A milk
- Sugar
- Nonfat dry milk
- Chicory root fiber
- Cream
- Natural flavor
- Water
- Tapioca starch
- Xanthan gum
- Guar gum
- Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C)
- Citrus fiber
- Yogurt cultures
- Stevia extract (sweetener)
- Locust bean gum
Wow, labels are pretty scary sometimes.
There’s a little see-through window (named the “fill zone”) on the side of the bottle with two indicator lines. One shows how much liquid to add for an “extra thick” smoothie and the other is for making a “thick” smoothie.
I poured in enough almond milk for a thick smoothie and it was pretty thick:
Overall, I thought the taste was rather bland and a waste of perfectly good calories I could have used on something more enjoyable and flavorful. It certainly doesn’t compare to a fresh homemade smoothie where you control the ingredients and amounts.
Based on the label’s nutritional values, if you made this strawberry banana smoothie shaker with 6.5 ounces of orange juice, you’d end up with a 190 calorie smoothie at about 5 WW PointsPlus.
I also calculated the smoothie I made (with about 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk instead of the orange juice), and it came out to 3 WW PointsPlus. This is because of the considerably fewer number of calories and carbohydrates in the unsweetened almond milk as compared to the orange (as suggested on the product label).
At a cost of about $1.99, I can’t imagine the smoothie shaker is worth it.
Yes it’s ultra-convenient, but making smoothies at home is so simple and the taste is so much better. Plus you can always quickly blend up your favorite smoothie ingredients at home and put it in thermos (affiliate link) or other container that will keep your smoothie chilled as you enjoy it during the day.
I absolutely loved the strawberry banana shaker. I added fruit punch to mine and it tasted great!! Can’t wait to try the strawberry.
Thanks for letting us know Michele!
I just tried my first Dole Smoothie Shaker. I usually make my own, but due to various constraints in the mornings, I thought I’d give these a try. I am to be on a liquid diet for the next 2-3 weeks due to a pancreatic issue and these were just perfect. Filling, I made mine with juice and it had a great flavor. It wasn’t too bad of a price point. For me, the added milk products are okay because it helps add a little protein to my morning that I normally can’t get through other means due to my current diet restrictions. Will I buy these for all the time? No. But for my current issues, these are perfect!
Thanks Stephanie!
I think they are great. Great taste too.
This is an extremely helpful review! I make smoothies at home, but thought this might be good just to grab on the go if the price was right. I am lactose intolerant and do read everything copiously—-so this is a no-go for me.
I, too, am surprised at the milk, dry milk, and cream in addition to the yogurt—-a dairy nightmare.
I am currently trying to lose weight. I am against eating left overs for lunch as it is easy to over do your calorie intake. I found these last week sometime and absolutely love them. We have found they’re great for after going to the gym, or even for lunch. Normally, I try to use apple juice and then take fruit (strawberries, a banana or even blueberries) to help fill me up. I am normally satisfied until I get home from work and feel this is a much healthier option then leftovers every day. I do not have access to a blender at work so I find these are great for a quick, filling lunch. Personally, the Strawberry and Peach/Mango are my favorite so far. I would highly recommend them!
Hi Tiffany,
Thanks so much for taking the time to share your experience with the dole smoothie shakers. We appreciate it!
I love the dole shakers I currently have 2 of every flavor in my freezer stocked! All the flavor a are delicious and it’s easy and perfect amount of sweetness! I feel like I am getting the luxury of a smothie from a cafe without the price. I only pay 1.75 ea at Walmart and so glad DOLE CAME OUT WITH THIS PRODUCT!!! I CAN NOT PRAISE IT ENOUGH!!!
Thank you for your post! And I highly encourage everyone to try these wonderful shakes. Also I am allergic to Gluten and these don’t upset or bother me at all!!! 🙂
Hi Bryana,
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts!
I wouldn’t say it was overly sweet – perhaps because I used unsweetened almond milk instead of juice? But it was really bland tasting – almost what I would imagine wet cardboard to taste like. My favorite protein powder that I use regularly is Raw Protein by Garden of Life. It’s usually available in both Sprouts and Whole Foods here in Phoenix. I prefer the unflavored version and it’s raw, vegan, gluten free and dairy free. I wouldn’t say it’s chalky, but it is only one ingredient of many I commonly add to my smoothies.
With stevia as an ingredient, did you find it to be really sweet? Being a smoothie guru, do you have
a favorite protein powder you can recommend that doesn’t taste like chalk?
Enjoyed reading about your Dole smoothie! Something that I’ve planned to do (make my own), but haven’t gotten to yet. Keep saying ‘when it gets warm weather’ — well, certainly that’s here with us! Also had a coupon for the smoothie that you mentioned and fully intended to try that — with your experiment and opinion, don’t think that I’ll bother! Frozen berries and a few other things thrown into the blender – and more flavor, etc. when making your own. Thx for the input!!
Hey Pete, very interesting post! Reading the label ingredients and all I can say is YUCK!! This is about as far from a freshly made smoothie as you can get. At a cost of $1.99 it seems ridiculous. If I didn’t have time to make a smoothie, I would just have the juice and a banana and small container of Greek yogurt 🙂
I just tried the Mixed Berry. I thought the taste was delicious but a few minutes later I begun to get stomach cramps. I then saw the label and gave a similar reaction. I was a bit upset that two forms of milk, and various thickners were used. Im lactose intolerant! I normally read labels but I assumed by the packaging that it contained yogurt and fruit. Simple as that. Yogurt does not upset me because the lactose has been broken down by the fermentation process. Its basically sub par fruit and ingredients with milk. Generally smoothies do not contain a large amount of whole milks. I felt deceived by the sly packaging. The price was off putting as well though since my blender broke, I thought it cheaper than buying a new blender. Looks like I will be buying a new blender! The health benefits of snoothies are canceled out by this drink.
Thanks for taking the time to leave such a thoughtful comment Michael. Only in America can food manufacturers take what was a healthy homemade product and turn it into a scary concoction of food like substances for which we are willing to pay a premium!