Does anyone remember when the only juice beverage options in most places were apple and orange? If you were lucky, there might be grape or grapefruit. And smoothies? Wasn’t that some sort of candy?
If you think about it, we’re so fortunate that innovative people have shared their great ideas with us. Otherwise, we might never have conceived of trying green juice or smoothies made with kale. And we might not have drinkme™.
With all of the juice and smoothie options on the market, you may have yet to hear about drinkme™. If that’s the case, let me introduce you. Founded in 2007 by Christina Paganelli (read her story here, it’s worth your time), drinkme™ is a whole food, cold blended smoothie that features one of the current wonderfoods, kale.
I first discovered drinkme™ at my local MOM’s. My favorite green juice combination is a simple one: kale and grapefruit. I love to make it at home, but I rarely do. Why? I don’t like the hassle of cleaning my juicer! So, when I saw drinkme™ Green3 in the cooler, I had to give it a try. The two ingredients – kale and oranges – make it close enough to my favorite combo. And after one sip, I was a convert. It was fresh and tangy and filling. Drinkme™ is a smoothie and, like most smoothies, will fill your belly more than juice. You may have read that you should chew your green smoothies. You can definitely do that with these. They are thick.
Drinkme™ comes in a number of flavors, and all of the ingredients are organic. I tried five of them – three green and two red. Each one is amazing.
The red offerings consist of Ruby (kale, oranges, raspberries) and Lemon Apple (kale, oranges, raspberries, lemon, apples, beets). I am not a fan of beets. I wish I could say I love them, but the truth is that I tolerate them. However, raspberries are my favorite fruit, so I was willing to give these two a try. I did like Ruby the best, but both flavors were very good. You can taste the earthiness of the beets, but the fruit is a nice complement. Lemon Apple is a bit more watery and tart, thanks to the lemon and apples. If this is how I need to take my beets, I will happily oblige.
The green flavors I tried were Ginger Coco, Green, and Green3. I already gave my opinion on Green3. Even though it was the first flavor I tried, it remains my favorite. My second favorite is Green (kale, oranges, banana). It has a hint of banana, so it is a tad sweeter than Green3. Ginger Coco (kale, ginger, lemon, coconut water, coconut meat, cinnamon) is even sweeter than Green. I couldn’t taste the coconut, but I could definitely taste the ginger and cinnamon.
There is also a flavor called Coco Mojo (kale, mint, lime, coconut water, coconut meat), which, according to the website isn’t a thick as the others.
Drinkme™ is sold in various locations in the U.S., and you can also purchase it online. The latest product offering – for people who want to do their own blending – is drinkme™ frozen packs, which come in Green3 and Coconut Kale. Look for them at Wegman’s and Whole Foods.
If you are looking for a new beverage that is healthy, organic, and (of course) vegan, you can’t go wrong with drinkme™.
