Mom Central Blog Tour: Cranergy Energy Juice Drink

Hey, how are you? It's been a while. I have had some ups and downs with my ankle. Looks like it will be several weeks in a walking boot, then a visit to a few doctors in Boston during May and June to see if I can get the same diagnosis twice. One of the diagnoses floating around is PTTD, a degenerative disorder requiring major surgery and possibly involving both feet. Fun times!

One bright spot this week was an opportunity to sample Ocean Spray's new energy juice drink, Cranergy. I like cranberry juice, but not the stuff that's full of high fructose corn syrup, and even the 100 percent cranberry juice is a bit cloying for me. So I don't buy it regularly.

I'm also not usually an "energy drink" fan, per se. Oftentimes energy drinks are full of caffeine or different herbs that I'm not sure I want to consume and that I certainly don't want my kids drinking. At least not before I consult with an herbalist, like that's gonna happen.

We received Cranergy in the "cranberry lift" flavor, and I did enjoy it. A 12 ounce bottle has just 50 calories, thanks to Splenda. The energy part comes from some B vitamins (70 percent of your daily niacin, B12, B2, B6 and pantothenic acid), as well as some green tea extract. I imagine the green tea adds caffeine, however I've heard from health gurus such as Andrew Weil and Mehmet Oz that the caffeine in green tea is gentler on the body than the caffeine found in coffee. The only con that I can see is that they've added some coloring, Bue 1 and Red 40. That's a pet peeve of mine. But I'm no purist, so it's not a deal breaker for me.

So! I liked it. It is light, but doesn't taste watered down. It's sweet, but not too sweet, and usually I find Splenda-based drinks way too sweet. My six-year-old son liked it too. His review consisted of a long giggle before he exclaimed, "Love it!" It's a nice new option for fans of cranberry juice.