Cranergy® Challenge ~ My Review

I love cranberries… and cranberry juice, cranberry cocktail, cranberry sauce… It’s all yummy to me, so when I was chosen to receive a week’s supply of Cranergy Energy Juice Drink, I was excited.  As excited as I was, I admit that I was also a bit skeptical.  I am normally of the mindset that to get more energy, one needs to drink coffee, tea, soda or something with lots of caffeine.  Coffee, specifically, is my normal go-to drink when my energy is running low.  So I had doubts that this cranberry juice drink would do much at all to perk me up.  On the other hand, I was pretty sure that it would be worth it even without any energy perks, because I do enjoy the Ocean Spray brand and figured as long as it tasted good, it would be good to try. 

Ever since I’ve been unemployed, I find myself dragging quite a bit.  I used to have plenty of energy, but the lack of a job has drained me both emotionally and physically.  The job hunt is no fun, so by afternoon I find myself seriously in need of an energy boost in order to keep up with my dogs and get stuff done around the house.  Plus with hubby’s awful late night schedules, my sleep patterns are all out of whack because I try to stay up to greet him when he gets home in the wee hours of the morning.  So, by afternoon my first thought is to brew a pot of coffee or grab a soda from the fridge.  For one week I changed this urge and grabbed a 10 ounce bottle of Cranergy when I needed a pick-me-up.

I do have to say that I really liked the Ocean Spray Cranergy Energy Juice Drink.  The flavor wasn’t as strong as say a normal cranberry juice drink or cocktail, but you definitely get a taste of cranberry in this drink, plus a hint of the grape juice as well.  It’s not as tart or tangy as some cranberry drinks can be.  However, I did notice that there is a bit of the Splenda aftertaste.  It’s not overly strong, but it’s there.  So if one doesn’t like the flavor of Splenda, this probably isn’t a drink for you.  Fortunately, I don’t mind the flavor and so it didn’t bother me.  It’s a refreshing juice drink that won’t overwhelm the taste buds and at the same time gives you a delicious mix of cranberry and white grape juice.

As for the natural energy lift, I admit that I was wrong in my assumptions prior to tasting this drink.  I did find myself feeling more perky and pepped up after the Cranergy drink.  It wasn’t an instant or shaky type of energy boost like you sometimes get from caffeinated drinks, but it was definitely a noticeable event.  I was easily able to finish chores and run around with my dogs without feeling like I was sagging.  The first day of the challenge, I thought maybe it was all in my mind, but by the end of the week, I really do believe the cranberry had lifted my energy levels.

The one negative thing I have to say about the Cranergy drinks that were sent is in relation to the size of the bottles.  To me 10 ounces is barely a couple sips.  In order to fully be refreshing, I would have liked larger size bottles.  I do believe various sizes are available at the store and I plan on searching them out to continue drinking Cranergy.   I don’t think I’ll completely stop drinking coffee and soda, but as a flavor change I will keep some Cranergy drinks around.

In short, I’d recommend Cranergy to folks who like cranberry drinks and those looking for a non-caffeine way of perking themselves up.  It truly works and is a delicious and refreshing way of getting that added bit of energy in the afternoons.  Plus it contains 50% fewer calories and less sugar than other energy drinks.  That’s not too shabby at all.

A few nutritional facts about Ocean Spray Cranergy (as taken from the bottle):

Contains 23% fruit juice

Calories:  40

Cal. from Fat: 0

Sodium:  60 mg

Total Carb.: 10 g

Sugars: 10 g

Protein: 0 g

Ingredients:  Filtered Water, Grape Juice from Concentrate, Cranberry Juice from Concentrate, Natural Flavors, Citric Acid, Fumaric Acid, Green Tea Extract, Sodim Citrate, Asscorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Pectin, Suralose (SPLENDA BRAND), Maltodextrin, Niacin, Blue 1 & Red 40 (color), Pantothenic Acid, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B12