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Want a Jamba Juice Smoothie RIGHT NOW but you don’t want to get in your car and drive to a store? No problem, because I’m bringing you a copycat! This strawberry smoothie tastes just like a Jamba Juice Strawberries Wild!
Jamba Juice became super popular when I was in college. Every weekend I’d head to the closest store and get a huge smoothie and then go next door and get a bagel and cream cheese. Back then, I didn’t worry about calories. It was fruit + bagel and that was breakfast (or sometimes lunch).
My favorite go-to #1 order at Jamba Juice was always the Strawberries Wild. To be perfectly honest, it was one of the only ones that appealed to me (besides the Peanut Butter Moo’d) because I’m really picky about fruit and I don’t like peaches. As I got older (and calories started to matter) I switched to the Strawberry Whirl, because it was less calories. But I still love the Strawberries Wild best!
Jordan has inherited my love of Jamba Juice. She begs to go there constantly. I finally gave in a few weeks ago and when we walked in I almost had a heart attack. A small (not the normal huge cup they give you if you don’t say “small”) was almost $5. I could have bought dinner for 3 at McDonald’s for what I paid for two smoothies.
So I came home and made my own. Now I can give her jamba juice whenever she asks, for a fraction of the cost and way less calories. #win
The secret to the Strawberries Wild smoothie is apple. I don’t know why I don’t throw an apple into every smoothie I make at home – I love the flavor it adds. It’s perfect mixed into this smoothie with strawberries and bananas. I used Crunchpak apples because I always have them in my refrigerator for easy snacks and lunches for Jordan (her braces make it hard to eat whole apples) but you can slice your favorite apple for this smoothie. Gala or Fuji would be perfect, probably 1/2 an apple for one smoothie.
You can use frozen strawberries or fresh that have been frozen. When the berries are on sale this time of year I’ll buy a lot of them and then wash and slice and freeze them so they’re ready for smoothies. When I make my daily breakfast smoothie I use a fresh, room temperature banana (because I always forget to freeze them) but for this recipe I took the time to slice and freeze a banana about an hour before making it. Tip: slice a bunch of bananas and freeze 1 banana per sandwich bag. It’s perfect portion control.
The classic jamba smoothies also have a yogurt base. Instead of using a high calorie frozen yogurt, I used nonfat vanilla greek yogurt. You can use any kind you like, or substitute regular/low-fat or plain, or even regular non-greek plain or vanilla yogurt.
With all the frozen fruit, your blender needs some liquid to help it process. I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk, which is what I use in all my smoothies. You can substitute soy or coconut milk, or non-fat/regular milk, or even water. Note: I use a Blendtec blender, which is very powerful. Because of that I only used 1/4 cup of liquid. If your blender is less powerful you may need to add up to 1/2 cup of liquid so you don’t burn out the motor. Be sure to put the liquid in first, before the frozen fruit.
The beauty of making this smoothie at home is that you can substitute your own ingredients. It’s easy to make this dairy-free by leaving out the yogurt or you can make the smoothie sweeter by adding sweetener of your choice. Add some protein by adding a scoop of your favorite protein powder or add flax or wheat germ for some added nutrition.
Plus, it costs about $1 to make it at home, which means you can drink it every day and not have to mortgage your house.
My only problem now is that when Jordan asks I have no reason not to make it for her…other than my own laziness. Is cleaning a blender the worst thing ever, or is it just me?
Strawberries Wild Smoothie {jamba juice copycat}
Ingredients
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk or nonfat milk, coconut milk, or water
- 1/4 cup nonfat vanilla greek yogurt or regular/low fat, plain, or regular vanilla yogurt
- 1 medium banana sliced and frozen
- 3-4 frozen sliced strawberries a heaping 1/4 cup
- 4-5 apple slices a heaping 1/4 cup
- Sweetener of choice optional (I didn't use any sweetener)
- Optional: add some flax or wheat germ or protein powder for added nutrition
Instructions
- Place almond milk (or desired liquid) in the bottom of your blender. Add the yogurt and frozen fruit. Blend until smooth.
- Dairy-Free option: use almond, soy, or coconut milk or water and omit yogurt (or use a DF equivalent). If omitting the yogurt, use a room temperature banana instead of frozen for a smoother feel.
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Last Updated on February 2, 2023
I loved this recipe! It had a really good consistency and it tasted very good!
Love all of ur recipes sounds really delious cant wait to give them a try
To clean a blender, after serving put some water and a tiny drop of dish soap. Run blender for few seconds, rinse, and should be pretty clean.
Clean your blender by filling it half way with warm/hot water and a drop of dish soap. Stick it back on motor, whirl it for a minute, and rinse! Voila!
That’s what I do too!
Hey Dorothy they sell some smoothie fruit “kits” by the frozen department in my local supermarkets. Do you think they’re the same you are talking about about the Jamba smoothie stores?
Do I need to peel the apples first or can I just throw the whole thing in?
So many people are going to flip over this recipe Dorothy! Not only is this is a spot on EASY copycat, it is so much cheaper! Gorgeous photos and awesome recipe!
I’ve never been to Jamba Juice (I know!) but I used to love a local smoothie place. Now I make smoothies at home all the time. I love that they are soooooo much healthier and I know exactly what’s in them.
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