Chocolate juice refers to a vegetable based drink that is flavored with the chocolate. The name is a misnomer as chocolate is not a fruit and it cannot be juiced. However, vegetable juices can be flavored with chocolate to create chocolate-flavored juices.
History of Chocolate Juice
Large smoothie companies like Jamba Juice were the first to come up with the idea of chocolate juice or chocolate smoothies. The Jamba Juice Company was first set up in 1990. It was the first commercial company that provided standardized fruit and vegetable juices in a range of flavors and tastes. The company created its own recipes for quick-serve healthy fruit and vegetable juices that were served at large supermarkets and in their juice and smoothie bars in the US. However, it is just as easy to find unbranded vegetable juices and fruit juices that are provided in a chocolate flavor.
Chocolate Juice Recipe Overview
The exact recipe for the chocolate juice is a trade secret. However, all varieties of chocolate flavored Jamba Juices are prepared from real fruit and vegetables. The products contains real chocolate or a chocolate based ingredient and soymilk or real dairy products, according to the recipe. There are several types of nonbranded chocolate juices that can be purchased commercially but the juice can also be made at home. For example, carrots, romaine lettuce, and cabbage can be juiced and chocolate milk or chocolate sauce is added to the juice as a flavoring ingredient. To lower the overall calorie value of the drink, artificial sweeteners like aspartame are used. Natural sweeteners like stevia leaves can also be used in the drink.
Drinking Chocolate Juice
This juice is usually consumed cold and fresh.
Health and Nutrition Facts
- The exact nutritional facts of the Jamba brand chocolate juice vary considerably. However, in the recent years, the company has launched a new brand of ENGLIGHTENED SMOOTHIES. These smoothies are specially formulated to be low in sugar, fat and carbohydrates. These are formulated with artificial sweeteners like Splenda, non-fat milk and whey protein.
- Home made chcolate juices can be made in low-calorie versions by using artificial sweeteners. Stevia, aspartame or sucralose are commonly used.
Trivia
A specific brand of chocolate juice made by the Jamba Juice company called the Jamba Juice Chocolate Moo'd Power Smoothie product was voted as one of the TOP 20 worst foods in the US by Men’s Health.com. The 30 fl oz drink contained 900 calories, 10g of fat, and 183g of carbs and 166g of sugar.
