Dreyer’s Shakes and Smoothies Review/Giveaway

 
I was recently asked by Blogher to review Dreyer’s Shakes and Smoothies. Some of you may know the brand under the Edy’s name.  The new product is supposed to give you parlor-style shakes and refreshing smoothies in 30 seconds.  They are individual servings in cups with a foil lid.  No blender or scooper required for these; you just add milk and stir.
They are available in 8 flavors.  The shake flavors include cookies and cream, strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate.  The smoothies come in Strawberry Banana, Mixed Berry, Sunrise Blend, and Tropical.  I decided to pick up a chocolate shake and a tropical smoothie.  Then this ice cream-lovin’ family was ready to dig in!

This is what the Dreyer’s Shakes and Smoothies look like inside the cup, kind of like frosting piped in a cup.  It does say on the container contents may shift or settle.  As you can see from the photos, the smoothie contents had settled more than the shake contents.

To make both the shake and the smoothie, all you have to do is add 1/3 cup milk and stir.  I used fat-free milk to make both of mine.  They were a little hard to stir and keep everything inside the cup.  I did fine with the smoothie one, but I did spill a little with the chocolate shake.

I had all of my family taste test the Dreyer’s Shakes and Smoothies – my two boys, who are 14 and 11, my daughter, who is 7, along with me and my hubby.  My hubby, youngest son, and daughter are picky eaters, so I was really interested in what they thought.  Here is what we thought:

Texture

At our house, we like our shakes and smoothies on the thick side.  The general consensus from my family was the shake was too runny. YOU can drink it from a straw, and we prefer to eat our shake with a spoon.  We would definitely use less milk than the package called for.  The smoothie wasn’t as runny as the shake, but next time we would begin with less milk.

Taste

My hubby and the boys didn’t care for the chocolate shake.  They found it too bitter.  I thought it was ok in flavor.  I like dark chocolate, so I didn’t mind the bitterness of the chocolate.  However, it did have a powdery quality to it.  My daughter liked the chocolate.  However, everyone, with the exception of my daughter, LOVED the smoothie flavor.  My daughter didn’t, but I think that was because there are little bits of fruit in the smoothie, and she doesn’t like yogurt that has pieces of fruit in it.  So I think the bits of fruit turned it off.

Ease of Use

I did find this very easy to use.  The kids could fix it themselves.  These require careful stirring to avoid spilling.  We had a hard time keeping the mix contained in the cup, so I’d recommend using a separate container for mixing or so you may need to assist younger kids.