Blender recommendation?

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Francl27
Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have a small Hamilton beach blender that I bought last year for shakes, and it's just not that great, there's always unblended ice leftover at the bottom, even if I let it run for a minute etc.

Any recommendation? I don't want to spend the money for a vitamix, I don't need something huge either, but something that blends ice, frozen fruit etc well would be great.
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Replies

  • aimforhealthy
    aimforhealthy Posts: 449 Member
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    IDK I use a $15 personal blender I bought at Walmart. It has a little blend-and-go cup and I can stick in the dishwasher. I've had it for a year and I like it.
  • YesIAm17
    YesIAm17 Posts: 817 Member
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    I have the "Personal Blender" from Living Solutions which is sold at WalGreens and I LOVE it. About $20.

    This is actually my second one. I bought one, and it stopped working. I am not sure if it was defective or if I put too much ice in it at 1 time (8 big cubes). I took it back and exchanged it. I don't put more than 4-5 ice cubes in at a time now, depending on size of the cubes, but I have not had a problem since. I also blend large frozen bananas in it with no problem (I have my frozen bananas broken into quarters before I freeze them so the 4 pieces of frozen banana may be easier on the unit than 1 big frozen banana).

    The cups on this are huge... I think about 1000ml.

    This unit has Pulse, Low, and High settings.

    I did try another similar blender by Farberware that I bought from WalMart, but it was VERY loud and only had 1 setting. This also had much smaller cups, probably about half the size as the Living Solutions one.

    I highly recommend the Personal Blender from Living Solutions! I am drinking my giant shake right now and loving it!
  • MercenaryNoetic26
    MercenaryNoetic26 Posts: 2,747 Member
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    Cuisinart. Lasts forever and you can easily replace blades and other parts. Plus if you're mixing casein, you need a good blender.

    Eta: cuisinart has several models. Mine blends ice great and 600 watts. Turns casein to fine pudding. I've replaced the blade twice in 12yrs.
  • Athena42006
    Athena42006 Posts: 26 Member
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    I have 2 personal Hamilton Beach ones.......one for work and one for home with 3 cups. I love it but I guess you are ready for more.
  • aimforhealthy
    aimforhealthy Posts: 449 Member
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    Yeah my $15 Walmart one is from Hamilton Beach. I put ice in a baggie and smack it a few times with a hammer to crush it up a bit before sticking it in there.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    How long do you blend things with it? Honestly I blend it for a minute and still get some crushed ice.. and it always smells like something's burning.
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
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    Yeah I am one of those that drop the money for a VitaMix and hands down it is the best blender I have ever owned or used... I have a few friends that use the Ninja blenders and really like them and they are alot less than the VitaMix... Best of Luck
  • YesIAm17
    YesIAm17 Posts: 817 Member
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    How long do you blend things with it? Honestly I blend it for a minute and still get some crushed ice.. and it always smells like something's burning.

    30 seconds with my Living Solutions Personal Blender and non-crushed ice cubes are completely broken down and mixed into to make shake.
  • aimforhealthy
    aimforhealthy Posts: 449 Member
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    Yeah, about 30 seconds. I get the burning smell, too, but it never seemed to hurt it.
  • YesIAm17
    YesIAm17 Posts: 817 Member
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    Yeah, about 30 seconds. I get the burning smell, too, but it never seemed to hurt it.

    I don't get the burning smell from the Living Solutions Personal Blender. My guess is that the smell is from the motor itself which at worst might make it wear out a bit sooner, but maybe not.

    My only concern would be if the smell was coming from where the spinning piece touches the cup, as that would be plastic and or rubber melting and hence the smell would possibly be carcinogenic. (so no matter what brand you're using please be careful and don't completely ignore smells).
  • Kevalicious99
    Kevalicious99 Posts: 1,131 Member
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    I agree .. the Vitamix is stupid for most people. (well for those of us not made of money) ..

    I have a NutriBullet and love love love it. You should look into one.
  • laurynwithawhy
    laurynwithawhy Posts: 385 Member
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    Ninja Ultima! Best blender ever - same as the vitamix (I say this from personal experience) and less than half the cost. Check around black friday - I bet you will be able to find one for under 100 bucks. It comes with small personal sized blending containers and I do like 4 pulses and the ice is completely crushed. It' amazing.
  • aimforhealthy
    aimforhealthy Posts: 449 Member
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    Yeah, about 30 seconds. I get the burning smell, too, but it never seemed to hurt it.

    I don't get the burning smell from the Living Solutions Personal Blender. My guess is that the smell is from the motor itself which at worst might make it wear out a bit sooner, but maybe not.
    For mine, it is indeed from the motor itself and not from the cup or rubber parts (full disclosure: I'VE SNIFFED IT :laugh: ) I don't keep it going after the smell starts, I'm just saying it hasn't seemed to do anything. You're right, don't ignore burning smells!
  • YesIAm17
    YesIAm17 Posts: 817 Member
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    Yeah, about 30 seconds. I get the burning smell, too, but it never seemed to hurt it.

    I don't get the burning smell from the Living Solutions Personal Blender. My guess is that the smell is from the motor itself which at worst might make it wear out a bit sooner, but maybe not.
    For mine, it is indeed from the motor itself and not from the cup or rubber parts (full disclosure: I'VE SNIFFED IT :laugh: ) I don't keep it going after the smell starts, I'm just saying it hasn't seemed to do anything. You're right, don't ignore burning smells!

    Real women admit when they smell, kudos to you. :laugh:
  • JourneyingJessica
    JourneyingJessica Posts: 261 Member
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    I have a Ninja Pulse. If a blender can change your life, this is it.

    I didn't know a blender could work so well

    Thins is what I have. I mainly use the blenders & ALWAYS use the single cups.
    http://www.qvc.com/Ninja-Kitchen-System-Pulse-48oz-Blender-wSlicer&Shredder-White,.product.K36578.html?upsh=1&sc=K36578-CSWB

    On a side note, I bought tiny ice cube trays, i feel it saves the blades. And every protien shake blends perfectly.
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/110506360654?lpid=82
  • Sontoun
    Sontoun Posts: 8 Member
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    We use our blender daily so I bought a Cuisinart, but it died! Luckily it died before the 90 day return policy expired! The Vitamix was too expensive! We ended up buying a Ninja for about $100. The Ninja is working great after a year and cuts through ice quickly for smoothies and protein shakes. Do be careful when cleaning the blades though because the blades are super sharp!
  • laurynwithawhy
    laurynwithawhy Posts: 385 Member
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    I have a Ninja Pulse. If a blender can change your life, this is it.

    I didn't know a blender could work so well

    Thins is what I have. I mainly use the blenders & ALWAYS use the single cups.
    http://www.qvc.com/Ninja-Kitchen-System-Pulse-48oz-Blender-wSlicer&Shredder-White,.product.K36578.html?upsh=1&sc=K36578-CSWB

    On a side note, I bought tiny ice cube trays, i feel it saves the blades. And every protien shake blends perfectly.
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/110506360654?lpid=82

    Thanks for the ice cube link, smart idea! I have a ninja too and it's awesome!
  • 271lisa
    271lisa Posts: 49 Member
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    Blendtec...it's awesome!!! Here is the youtube link...http://youtu.be/OjuM3B1NyX4. You can pretty much make anything with it. I use it to make green smoothies almost every day and it works great!! You can get it at Costco...well worth the money!!
  • Rawfoodsho
    Rawfoodsho Posts: 181
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    Personally I have had lots of blenders. I bought a nice ninja a few years ago and when I tried making any types of nut butters I kept having to stop it and stir it, it did the whole everything stops spinning thing often. When I would make smoothies they would still be super chunky. The blenders at walmart that are 10-20$ dont work for the things I need to grind up. Neither do most of the cheaper food processors. I have had the 100$ ninja the 50$ ninja multiple bullets as well as cheap 20$ ones from walmart and they all do not do the job when it comes to hardcore grinding. The only thing that works, is the Vitamix, I got mine from costco and clearly once you use one, you see why its 600$ plus. It literally works 100 times better than these other blenders, it pulverizes things in 5 seconds. I dont have to stop the blender and keep stirring up the contents every 30 seconds like I did with my ninja and other blenders. My three blade ninja blender leaves smoothies super chunky, yeah the ice needs to be basically small to begin with our it will hardly work. You could put rocks in a vitamix, unlike these other blenders that just PROMOTE that they can grind up anything I saw a ninja infomercial and it does not work the way they said.

    Also smelly blenders were mentioned, all the walmart blenders I have gotten that were like 20$ smelled like that. Some even started smoking and had to be unplugged and thrown out.
  • UCSMiami
    UCSMiami Posts: 97 Member
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    I have been using a Ninja Pulse for the previous two years. Used about once per day. Never fails. Grinds ice quite well.

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