McDonald's Fruit Smoothies are gluten-free, dairy-free and delicious | #cbias

There's something about smoothies I love, so I was excited to try McDonald's new fruit smoothies, I did my research and not only are they gluten free, when made without yogurt, they are dairy free too.  A fast food treat that I can enjoy is always cause for celebration in my books.  I'm certain I  had seen some coupons for McDonald's smoothies around my house, but I have a tendency to keep and lose coupons until after they expire so I didn't bother looking for them.

I piled my boys into the car, dropped the boy off at preschool and the baby and I were on our way.  Once again, we headed to the Ironwood McDonalds so the little man and I could enjoy our visit in the Playplace.

 

When we arrived the baby was in good spirits and there was no lineup, so I had a chance to really look around.  Pretty much the entire menu and all the signage inside the restaurant reflected the McCafe branding. I like the clean look and style, though I'm pretty sure not all the items available are on the menu boards anymore and sometimes I find that a little frustrating.

 

But I digress, when it came time to make my purchase, I knew without a doubt I would be trying the Mango Pineapple Smoothie, I'm a sucker for the tropical flavours and I'm not actually a huge strawberry fan.  Raspberry on the other hand, I would have a hard time passing up.  Although I was certain I'd only be having a smoothie, I couldn't help but order a Big Breakfast at the last minute.  I recently discovered that without the english muffin, the eggs, sausage and hashbrown are all gluten-free and dairy-free and for only $3.49 its hard to go wrong.

 

Despite missing his nap, even after an extra 15 minutes of driving, the baby was an amazing date; he happily had a little snack and a few bites of hashbrown while I enjoyed my Mango Pineapple smoothie and Big Breakfast.  The smoothie was delicious, the flavours blended well and tasted natural and fruity.  Almost as important as taste, the texture was smooth, the ice was uniform and the entire drink melted evenly making it easy to drink every last drop.

Before we left the baby had a quick crawl around the PlayPlace to burn off some steam.  One of my favourite things about the PlayPlace is that the room feels very safe and secure; there is only one entrance and that all of the edges are padded and protected.

After that we headed off to pick up my new menu planner from Staples and brief stop at home before running back to preschool to pick the boy up before lunch.

You can check out all my photos from this shop on Google+ and you can find McDonalds on Twitter @MCD_Canada.

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias #CBias, however all opinions are my own.

Lunch on the run at @McD_Canada while on the hunt for #EqualCanada #Cbias

I've never really been one for fast food, even before I was gluten-free, though I've always had a weakness for McDonalds cheeseburgers.  The hubs however, has a bit of a love affair with fast food and eats out a little more than he probably wants to admit.

In the past, we have taken the boy to the Ironwood McDonalds (in Richmond, BC), as its the only location that still has a Playplace, but we've always just had a beverage and shared some fries among us all.   Now that we are re-introducing wheat, dairy and soy into the boys diet I'm excited about heading out for more than fries.

So when my Mom and I were out with the boys doing a few errands and lunchtime was upon us, I knew exactly where I wanted to go.  We drove across town to Ironwood to pick up some coffees and chicken nuggets.

I haven't tried the coffee since McDonalds unveiled their new McCafe branding, though I'd heard good things about both the taste and flavour.  I was happy they had decaf, though I did find that it tasted a little bit old (which frequently happens with decaf).

My Mom uses sweetener in her coffee, so when I was ordering ours, I inquired about Equal sweetener and found they didn't carry it.  I was surprised to find that they only have one sweetener option available.  I explained to the cashier that it would be great to see more sweetener options as many people are very specific about their sweeteners and also mentioned that Equal is available in Canada in two varieties, including the popular sucralose option.  In general I think that having more options for something as simple as sweeteners can really make a difference to the customer and as such is good for business.

To ensure that my opinion was heard I inquired about a comment card, however that cashier didn't seem to know what I was talking about and the assistant manager simply informed me there was no comment box available and that decisions 'like that' were made at a national level and would require discussion at the highest management level.  After explaining that was exactly why I wanted to leave a comment, the assistant manager was able to confirm that I could leave my comments on the website listed on the back of the receipt and that she would pass my comments on to her superiors.  Of course, I followed up with the online form when I returned home.

While I was ordering food and discussing Equal sweetener with the staff, my Mom and the boys had a quick play in the playplace before we ran home to enjoy our delicious McDonalds take-out.

You can connect with Equal and McDonalds on Twitter @EqualCanada and @McD_Canada and on Facebook at Equal Canada and McDonalds Canada.

“This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias #CBias, however all opinions are my own.