My first time at the Tropical Smoothie Cafe

I've just discovered a new favorite - Tropical Smoothie Cafe. I'd seen the sign on the little window at the strip mall, they moved in quite a while ago, but I'm not a big smoothie fan so it really didn't call to me. But my daughter loves smoothies, so she was always trying to get me to take her there. Finally, we were driving past and she begged me again so I told her that I'd take her but she had to pay for it. I know smoothies are thick and all, but me being such a cheapie, I can't wrap my brain around paying $5 for something in a cup! (And no, I don't buy beer at the stadiums either!) I need to stop equating smoothies with slurpies. Slurpies are less than a buck, smoothies are like a meal replacement.

When we pulled up to park, I noticed another poster on the window of a Jamaican Jerk Chicken Wrap! Suddenly, I was interested! I actually planned on waiting in the car, but they had WRAPS! I love wraps, you could put asparagus and tofu in a wrap and I'd eat it! I think I beat her getting inside, lol.

I had no idea this was anything more than a smoothie shop, but it's so much more. They have wraps, wraps, and more wraps! And not just wraps - but exotic gourmet wraps that are thick and filling and way too much for one person. The Jamaican Jerk Chicken that drew me in from my car has chicken, southwestern rice, corn, black beans, asparagus, onions, mozarella, and Jamaican Jerk sauce!! There's also a Chicken Mango Habanero, featuring chicken, crunchy wontons and Mango Habanero sauce along with cheese and veggies. I opted for a new one that wasn't even on the menu yet, they had it handwritten on a sign at the counter - Spicy Fajita Wrap. Pretty typical fajita ingredients, only with chicken instead of steak, and a chipotle sauce. It was AWESOME. DELICIOUS. I couldn't even eat it all, I ate half and saved the other half.

Right now, I'm planning to try every wrap on their menu. Seriously. Chicken seems to be their main item, but they also have one with Tuna, one with Turkey, and a Veggie wrap that even sounds good - southwestern rice, corn, black beans, asaparagus, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, parmesan cheese, balsamic vinaigrette dressing in a garlic herb tortilla. I could definitely try that one.

My daughter loved the smoothie, it just tasted like a smoothie to me, but they do offer them with Splenda, which is a nice option for low carbers! Their wraps are the same price as the ones at my job, but about twice as thick. I could buy one and have lunch for two days, something I will likely do soon (next week!).

The wraps and sandwiches are supposed to be good for you, and I guess they are, there's nothing fried, everything is fresh and accompanied by veggies. They also have soup and really scrumptious looking salad, in addition to a kid's menu of wraps. Oh, and I can't forget about the fresh baked cookies - the wraps and sandwiches come with chips, cookie or fruit - the cookies are literally to die for. I said to my daughter, "what do they PUT in these?" She said with the straightest face, "crack". We walked out with an embarassing supply in my purse. So there goes the healthy aspect of it, but I couldn't leave without extra.

If you haven't tried them and there's one near you, check out their website and then give them a try the next time you want something different than the usual. We're just about burned out on Subway but we've really been getting into sandwiches and subs for our "take out" lately, as opposed to pizza and burgers. It's good that the kids love it too. And even though I always get wheat bread for my subs, I was concerned about the carbs in the bun. Wraps aren't always much better but I don't stress over it as much. I figure, if I'm not enjoying what I'm eating, then I'll just end up sabotaging myself later. It's a mental thing, I feel better anyway when I have a wrap than when I have bread.

Funny thing was, I woke up this morning thinking that I wanted a wrap, and I went to the Mr. Pita website to see if there was a location near me, and I ended up there instead. I've never tried Mr. Pita, but they do have a really large line of wraps, less gourmet, just everything from peanut butter to salami and cheese. Right now though, I think I'm sticking here for my wraps until I get sick of them.