juice | This Mama Can Cook!

Y’all remember me blogging about the new Walgreens Flagship Store in San Francisco a while back, right?! Did you know they also have an Up Market Fresh Bus? I didn’t, until they contacted me & told me all about it- they even invited me to check it out in San Francisco this past weekend. Curiosity got the best of me & I had to check it out. Isn’t she a beauty?! This custom made, 40ft bus is part of Walgreens mobile tasting tour, the “Up Market: Fresh” Experience. The bus visits select locations and special events nation wide. The bus is visiting the San Francisco Bay Area for the month of May. The Fresh Bus is giving out samples of Walgreens Fresh new offerings to celebrate the grand opening of the Walgreens Flagship store & its Fresh stores throughout the Bay Area.The Fresh Up Market is Walgreens approach to healthy, convenient & high-quality food offerings. If you’d like to learn more about Walgreens Up Market, the Fresh Bus is the place to be! What can you expect to find on the bus? I’m glad you asked!

The “Up Market: Fresh” bus will be serving free samples of a variety of items to celebrate the fresh food offerings available at the new flagship store. Free tastings include:

Juices — Samples of nutritious, fresh-made juices made from a combination of fresh fruits and vegetables.“Painted Lady Punch” is a featured juice and is a blend of apples, strawberries, lemon and ginger. “Cable Car Carrot” is also a featured juice and is a blend of carrots, oranges and pineapple.
Smoothie — The featured smoothie will be the “Ocean Beach Peach,” which is blended fresh from peaches, bananas, pineapple and coconut water.
Frozen Yogurt – Two premium, low-fat frozen yogurts will be sampled alongside a selection of toppings.
Café – Visitors can receive free samples of a selection of coffees brewed using the same fresh roasts and barista quality techniques showcased at Walgreens.

You know I’m all about the Smoothies, so that’s the first thing I had!

The bus is fully equipped with everything it needs to whip up smoothies & other tasty treats… Fro-Yo anyone?

There was even some action going on outside the bus. Walgreens had a few tents set up, passing out more samples of their healthy items. Everything from sunscreen to granola!

True to form, everyone on the bus was friendly and eager to help out. They were happy to discuss the Up Market Fresh items available on the bus & inside Walgreens. You don’t want to miss this bus! I wonder if Walgreens will let me have one of my own?! A girl can dream!

Want to know where the Fresh Bus will be stopping next? You can follow them on twitter at UpMarketFresh. Here’s the schedule for the rest of this week:

Walgreens, 1333 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94612

Wednesday, May 29 – Noon – 4 p.m.

Walgreens, 2801 Adeline St., Berkeley, CA 94703

Thursday, May 30 – 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Walgreens, 5055 Telegraph Ave., Oakland, CA 94609

Friday, May 31 – 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Who’s ready for a GIVEAWAY? (Click on the blue “Rafflecopter Giveaway” icon below to be taken to the entry form!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I was provided with a GC in exchange for this post, no other compensation was given. All opinions are mine. Don’t miss the Fresh Bus when it hits your town! Thank you to Walgreens for hosting this Giveaway for my readers! Be Well!

I’ve always loved drinks that are a bit different, not your average soda or coffee. I was drinking fruit smoothies when I was a child, we just didn’t call them smoothies. One of my favorites was made with Papaya! I can still taste it, all these years later. I love to create my own juice concoctions and drink them down! When I stumbled upon the Honeydrop folks at the FoodBuzz Food Bloggers Festival, I was intrigued with their products.

First, I loved their logo the moment I saw it. A Honey Bee created out of honey, genius! Their glass bottles have the logo built into them, fantastic! It really makes them unique and memorable. If you are not familiar with Honeydrop, here’s a little snippet off their website. “Honeydrop Beverages is a line of healthy teas and juices made with a tablespoon of pure, unrefined honey (never any refined sugars). Through our Buy A Bottle– Save A Bee initiative, a portion of our proceeds are donated to local beekeepers throughout the country to help battle Colony Collapse Disorder, an epidemic threatening the global bee population.”

Here’s what I really like about them: no refined sugars, no GMO’s, and gluten-free. If you are looking for sugary beverages that are so sweet they’ll make your lips pucker… this ain’t it! Stop reading now and go back to what you were doing. If you want a beverage that has just a hint of sweetness from one tablespoon of wildflower honey, you’ve come to the right place! Kick off your shoes and make yourself at home!

The teas come in three flavors: Peach, Lemon, and Green Tea. I gulped down the Green Tea & the Lemon Tea (not at the same time though, 2 different days!), and hubby drank the Peach Tea. I liked them all , but I was really impressed with the Green Tea, sometimes Green Tea can be kind of bitter… not this one. It was smooth and goes down easy.

“Honeydrop is a healthy, low-calorie line of teas and juices with a spoonful of honey in every bottle, containing all-natural ingredients and no refined sugars. Founded in 2009 by cancer survivor David Luks, Honeydrop answers the call for a healthy, great tasting beverage with no refined sugars, all-natural ingredients, and a low calorie count.

Honey naturally contains vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants
Honey provides long-lasting, sustained energy
Honey is used by athletes to restore tired and damaged muscles after an intense workout
Honey strengthens the immune system
Honey is clinically proven to soothe sore throats in children better than over-the-counter cough medicines

Our honey is sourced from beekeepers across America in order to support local beekeeping and ensure that its journey from the bee to the bottle is as short and pleasant as possible. Drink up and bee refreshed!”

The juice drinks come in 3 flavors: Lemon Ginger, Blood Orange, and Blueberry. We all sampled the Blood Orange and Blueberry, and they both received a big thumbs up! I cannot say the same for the Lemon Ginger! You know I always keep it real with my readers, right?! Well, I could not drink the Lemon Ginger, the flavors were too overpowering. (Sorry, Honeydrop!) That’s not to say you wouldn’t enjoy it, but it just wasn’t for me. I’m not a fan of drinks with Ginger in them.

You can buy Honeydrop drinks on their website, or locate a retailer in your town here. I will be stocking up on these delicious drinks and am so glad I got to introduce you to them! “From the Bee to the Bottle!” (Don’t forget to recycle those glass bottles!).

***Disclosure: I was not compensated or paid in any way for this post. I received these 6 bottles to facilitate my review. All opinions are my own.***