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Drink up for
your 5 a day

The newly open Robeks smoothie
bar serves up super fruits acaí
and acerola

You have to wonder who would be crazy enough to challenge the monolithic corporations that surround us, but there will always be dreamers, rebels and just-plain-crazies to ensure our inalienable right to freedom of choice.

When it comes to fruity refreshment, Jamba Juice has long been the undisputed champ, with hundreds of stores in well over half the nation. And wherever you see one of the juice and smoothie bars, there are sure to be addicts clinging to the 16- or 24-ounce pools of various blended combinations of fruit, juice, sherbet or yogurt.

But Jamba's competition, Robeks, has come to town, recently opening at the Market City Shopping Center, next door to Catch of the Day.

My interest in the newcomer was in its menu of salads and sandwiches, which goes beyond Jamba's offerings of dry baked goods.

Once you get to Robeks, however, you can't help but be lured in by the smoothie menu, every bit as vast as Jamba's, which has a six-year lead on the upstart, which is handicapped by its non-sexy, non-catchy name that is said to be a combination of the founder's and his wife's names. Oh well, the product speaks for itself.

Right now, with mango season about to begin, Robeks is pushing its Mahalo Mango combination of papaya juice, frozen mango, pineapple sherbet and non-fat yogurt. And Passionfruit Cove, a combination of passionfruit and mango juices, strawberries, peaches and pineapple sherbet.

It almost doesn't matter which one you pick. With all the luscious fruit flavors and promise of a dose of vitamins A, B2, B6, C and E, depending on your fruit selections, you can't go wrong.

I felt the need for the Rejuvenator, a blend of raspberry juice, strawberries, pineapples, and raspberry and pineapple sherbet with the extra kick of nutritional boosters: 6 grams of soy protein; Vita-bek, with 20 vitamins and minerals; energizing ginseng Power-bek; Intelli-bek with ginkgo biloba to enhance memory and concentration. Can't tell you whether or not it works, I wasn't paying attention (so much for increased concentration).

The main difference between the two smoothie makers is that Robeks drinks taste less sweet, which reduced my guilt quotient somewhat. After looking at the calorie counts of Jamba Juice products -- around 280 to 330 for 16 ounces -- I've been hyper aware that in many of the products, you're getting a lot of sugar-added sherbet. People suck 'em up like water, but you're actually taking in the equivalent of a dessert through a straw.

Robeks also makes nutritional information available on a take-out menu, and at first glance the calorie counts of 164 to 265 look much lower than Jamba, but just be aware you're looking at information based on a smaller, 12-ounce serving. The numbers would go up in a 16-ouncer, but I'm a writer, please don't make me do the math. (My apologies to all my former math teachers.)

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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM Dmitri Spadacinni holds up the Robeks Acaí bowl and smoothie at the Market City Shopping Center. Acaí is an Amazon forest berry high in antioxidants, calcium and omega fatty acids.

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THE FOOD IS actually prepared off-site and delivered in the mornings when those sandwiches and salads are at their peak. There are wholesome veggie sandwiches of eggplant, zucchini and red bell peppers, and minimal, but tasty chicken pesto on foccaccia.

It's not all that comfortable to eat at the narrow counter here, but you can get decent, healthy fast-food fare, made better if you can wait a while to have the sandwiches (about $5.75) toasted and the Greek, Southwest or Chinese chicken salads (about $5.95) are retossed for you.

No, this is not how people prefer to eat, I thought, as I watched people pass by Robeks's windows en route to high-calorie, high-fat meals, but good health does take changing our plate-lunch habits.

Robeks main claim to fame is its Brazilian-style Energy Bowls, made with 3.5 ounces of acaí (ah-sah-yee) or acerola cherry, blended with other fruit to a frozen yogurt consistency, then topped with banana slices and organic granola.

The acaí berry, slightly bigger than a blueberry, grows on 60-foot palm trees in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. It's slightly bigger than a blueberry, with berry flavor, and more importantly, has nearly 2.5 times the antioxidants of blueberries per 4-ounce serving.

The acerola, or Amazon cherry, has a citrus flavor and nearly five times the vitamin C content of guavas, and 16 times the vitamin C content of oranges per 4-ounce serving.

Robeks regional director Dmitri Spadaccini, who's looking for entrepreneurs to help Robeks grow in Hawaii, says the acaí is extremely popular with UH athletes and triathloners. Many stop by for an Energy Bowl before workouts, races or games. Local surfers who traveled to Brazil are also familiar with the power of acaí and acerola.

We're just beginning to learn about the nutritional values of the two super fruits, but I have the feeling that those spending thousands on Botox and plastic surgery would be better off in the long term spending a few bucks on these Energy Bowls. The acaí and acerola are very cool.

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Robeks Market City Shopping Center, 2919 Kapiolani Boulevard #204 / 737-5907 Smoothies Food Service Ambience Value Hours: 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays; 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays; 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays; and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays Cost: $3.25 to $4.95 for 12- to 32-ounce smoothies; $4.95 to $5.90 for 24- to 32-ounce power drinks