proven that eating a healthy and balanced diet can lead to live you a longer and healthier life. Inclusion of fruits is a must in your everyday diet. One of the best ways to include fruits in your diet is by making a smoothie of one or more fruits at a time along with some low-fat yogurt. Though McDonald’s is quite popular for their French fries, shakes and burger, they have introduced some smoothies too in their menu for the health-conscious people. The main question is – how many calories in a McDonalds smoothie?
The McDonald’s smoothies are made up of richness of fruit purees, juices, ice and yogurt. They offer the best nutritional benefits with some amazing flavors to choose from. Depending on the size of the smoothie size and the type of the flavor you choose, the total calorie can range anywhere between 220 calories and 340 calories. To know more in details about this, read on.
How many calories in a McDonald’s smoothie?
McDonald’s smoothies are available in three different flavors with three different size options to choose from – small (12 ounces), medium (16 ounces) and large (22 ounces). The smoothies are made by blending fruit puree along with water, ice and creamy low-fat yogurt. The calorie counts depend on the type of smoothie you choose or the size of the smoothie you opt for.
McDonald’s Mango Pineapple Smoothie
This smoothie is made combining the fruit purees and juices of mango and pineapple along with low-fat yogurt and some ice.
- The small serving contains 200 calories
- The medium serving contains 250 calories
- The large serving contains 340 calories
McDonald’s Strawberry Banana Smoothie
This is a refreshing smoothie that contains strawberry and banana puree along with ice and low-fat yogurt.
- The small serving contains 190 calories
- The medium serving contains 240 calories
- The large serving contains 330 calories
McDonald’s Blueberry Pomegranate Smoothie
This smoothie is crafted by the puree and juices extracted from pomegranate and blueberry mixed with ice and creamy low-fat yogurt. (Note; at the moment of doing this article, this smoothie is available in the canadian website, but not in the US one)
- The small serving contains 230 calories
- The medium serving contains 280 calories
- The large serving contains 340 calories
Why counting calories is important?
Counting calories is an important part of your fitness and healthy routine. If you are on an aim to achieve a particular fitness goal, then counting calories is beneficial for you. It can help you in losing the right amount of weight or gaining the right amount of mass.
Calorie counts can help you to understand how much you must eat in a day and what you must eat. It can help you in determining the eating patterns too. It will also help you in modifying your diets and help you to keep your daily intake in check to reach your weight loss goal efficiently.
Some of the benefits of knowing the calories of your foods/drinks:
- You can make some better choices of foods
- You will know how much to consume
- You can understand what is healthy and what is not
Nutritional Contents of McDonald’s Smoothies
Now that you have got the answer to the question – ‘how many calories in a McDonald’s smoothie‘, you need to know what else these smoothies have. The McDonald’s smoothies are low fat options with .5 gram or 1 gram of fat, depending on the size. Besides that, these smoothies are rich in fiber, vitamin C, vitamin A, protein, iron and calcium which are quite good for the health.
As the smoothies come with the fruit puree and not the juice only, they are rich in fibers. The Mango Pineapple smoothie, Blueberry Pomegranate smoothie and Strawberry Banana smoothie contain 2 grams to 4 grams of fiber in them, depending on the size of the smoothie you choose.
The McDonald’s smoothies come with a good amount of vitamin C. While the small-sized smoothies come with 70% to 80% of your total daily vitamin C intake, the medium smoothies contain 90% to 100% of your daily vitamin C intake. The large-sized McDonald’s smoothies contain about 110% to 120% of your daily vitamin C intake.
Also, these smoothies contain
- 3 grams to 4 grams of protein
- 2% to 4% of the total daily vitamin A intake value
- 8% to 10% of the total daily calcium intake value
- 6% to 10% of the total daily iron intake value
Nutritional Benefits of McDonald’s Smoothies
As you read above, the smoothies contain some great nutrients that can be quite beneficial for your health.
Fibers
Fibers can actually help you to feel fuller as it promotes satiety. This is because fibers can delay the process of emptying your stomach. It can also slow down the process of absorption of the nutrients in your intestine. When you intake foods which are high in fiber content, it can help you to avoid eating too much reducing the chances of obesity.
Vitamin C
The McDonald’s smoothies are rich in ascorbic acid or vitamin C. It is actually an antioxidant that can help in improving the immune system of your body. It can also help your body to fight against the free radicals that can damage several cells in your body causing some infections and diseases.
Calcium
It can help in making your bones and teeth stronger. Bone density plays an important role in your body as it can help you to fight against bone loss. With the help of the calcium intake, you can make your bones healthier and stronger.
Conclusion
It is quite evident about – ‘how many calories in a McDonald’s smoothie‘. Now that you have got the answer to it and also about the other nutritional benefits that these smoothies come with, you can decide which one to have! As of now, they have these three flavors to offer which are great for summers. The calorie counts of all the three smoothies are quite similar. The smoothies are introduced as some healthy and refreshing options for those who don’t want to consume anything caffeine or soda-based. But if you are a fitness-freak, then the calorie count of these smoothies can definitely help you.