Smoothie Tasting at Planet Smoothie (Shadyside)

I had called Shadyside home during my first month in Pittsburgh. Every morning, I would walk over to X Shadyside on Walnut Street and get my work out in before heading in to work.  Although only a year has passed, a lot has changed at X Shadyside. For one, the gym has acquired the space on the first floor that used to be a fancy furniture store and filled it with fancy new cardio equipment. Then, the space that used to be the cardio room on the first floor was converted to Planet Smoothie - the subject of this post.

While Planet Smoothie is a national chain with individual stores operating as franchises, the one at X Shadyside is the only Pittsburgh location. I had the opportunity to attend a blogger event at Planet Smoothie a few weeks ago during which we sampled six different smoothies:

1. Acai - organic acai, apple, strawberries, and bananas (gluten-free, vegan)
2. Last Mango - mangoes, peaches, bananas, orange sherbet (gluten-free, vegan)
3. Frozen Goat - coffee, bananas, cocoa, nonfat milk, yogurt, energy blast (gluten-free)
4. Chocolate Elvis - cocoa, peanut butter, bananas, yogurt, nonfat milk, energy blast (gluten-free)
5. Leapin' Lizard - peaches, strawberries, fat burner blast (gluten-free)
6. Planet Pro - strawberries and bananas blended with a full meal replacement packet

My personal favorite was Leapin' Lizard, followed by the Acai, but I liked most of these flavors quite a bit.  The Frozen Goat was the top choice among the two other bloggers I was with, and it would probably have topped my list too if I were a coffee person!  

One thing to note is that Planet Smoothie uses stevia and organic agave as sweeteners in their smoothies.  Both stevia and agave are naturally sweet plants with a low to zero glycemic index.  Additionally, stevia is calorie-free.  However, because the smoothies are made fresh to order, it is entirely possible to customize the amount of sweetener used to your liking.  We found most of the samples we tried to be on the sweet side, and though not excessively so, it is certainly possible to lower the amount of sweetener used or even leave it out altogether and still end up with a naturally tasty drink.

Also, a number of their smoothie varieties are under 300 calories, which is fabulous bonus.  For example, a 22 oz. serving of the Frozen Goat is only 220 calories!

In addition to smoothies, Planet Smoothie also offers a self-serve frozen yogurt station.  I didn't try any, but took some photos to share:

Thanks, Planet Smoothie, for a fun event and great smoothies!

And, as of this writing, Planet Smoothie is giving away a free smoothie party!  Check out this link on Facebook for more details on how to enter.

Restaurant info:

Planet Smoothie
5608 Walnut St, Pittsburgh, PA 15232
(412)363-9999
On the web:  http://www.planetsmoothie.com
On Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/planetsmoothiepittsburgh
On twitter:  http://twitter.com/SmoothiePgh


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