Friday, July 8, 2011

Smoothie or Watermelon?



I did a crazy thing today.  I power walked outside in the blazing heat and humidity for 45 minutes.  That's not the crazy part.  I was really jonesin' for a smoothie.  I contemplated how that would just undo the calories I was burning on my walk.  It was 3:30 in the afternoon.  I was due for a snack, and it sounded like a great reward.  The crazy part is that after seeing a huge smoothie sign outside of Scooter's Coffeehouse with my debit card in my pocket I resisted the temptation.  I opted to walk down to the grocery store instead.  I was tempted to get a gelato, but no!  I resisted again.  I walked straight towards the fruit and bought 2 cups of watermelon.  It was delicious!  I couldn't even wait until I got home.  I started eating it right away.  It was so refreshing.



So how many calories did that really save?  It was a lot of watermelon.  These facts are from www.calorieking.com.  Scooter's nutrition facts were not listed so I compared the watermelon (16.2 oz diced) to a 1-pint smoothie from Starbuck's.  The smoothie from Starbuck's is surpisingly high in fiber.  The watermelon is naturally high in sugar, but the smoothie is even worse.  Here's how it stacks up:


Compare Food Nutrition Facts


Beverages: Vivanno Smoothie, Strawberry, with No-Fat Milk

Nutrition Facts
Calories 280 (1170 kJ)  % Daily Value
 
Total Fat 1.5g 2%
Sat. Fat 1g 5%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 5mg 2%
Sodium 110mg 5%
Total Carbs. 56g 19%
Dietary Fiber 7g 28%
Sugars 41g
Protein 15g
Calcium 100mg
Potassium

Fresh Fruits: Watermelon, raw

  Nutrition Facts
Calories 138 (576 kJ)  % Daily Value
Total Fat 0.7g 1%
Sat. Fat < 0.1g < 1%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 5mg < 1%
Total Carbs. 34.7g 12%
Dietary Fiber 1.8g 7%
Sugars 28.5g
Protein 2.8g
Calcium 32.1mg
Potassium 514.4mg