any blenders actually blend?

My Ninja Prep works just as good as the Vita Mix at work.. It's about a year old.

If you use your blender a lot then it's worth the investment. VM and Blendtec (BT) blenders are the most commonly used in restaurant settings because they get the job done and they last. VM has a 7 year warranty and you can buy refurbished blenders from their site that will come with the same 7 year warranty. I use my blender every day, many times more than once a day.

I was just going to say the same thing My grandma has had her VitaMix for about 17 years and it's still good as new. My mom bought one about 10 years ago and uses it everyday, sometimes more than once. We've made everything from soup to ice cream in it. The soup is hot right out of the VM container...it's pretty sweet.

OK - to me it is hands down if you can afford a vitamix buy it! I think it will last the rest of your life.

That said I have used the magic bullet and liked it but it didn't do a great job with frozen stuff. If I was just blending my protein drink it was great but when I added ice or frozen fruit I never really got it all broken down the way I wanted it. I did drink a lot of protein drinks right after my surgery and completely wore out a magic bullet. It did take two years.

Then I bought a Ninja (I bought it at Costco thinking that if I don't like it or it doesn't do what I want I can always return it.) I must say that it is great. It manages the frozen items much better than the bullet did. I like the blades up and down with it and I get a more consistant blend rather than smooth at the bottom and less smooth at the top. I also like that the one I bought has three sizes, one being a pitcher size where I can make smoothies for the whole family.

Still ... I am contemplating buying a vitamixer. I just think it will be sort of like my Kichen Aid stand mixer. I've had it for twenty years and it just keeps going and going, I use it all the time, have an attachment that shreds that i use all the time. Four hundred dollars may not be a lot if you never have to another one again...

Good luck and let us know what you decide!

The idea of green smoothies is a turn off to many (just like spending $400 on a blender!!! lol)
but once you taste (buy) one ... you get hooked.

Green smoothies are made with either spinach or kale or parsley or romaine or other greens along with liquid of your choosing (I use coconut water) and added fruit. Many people use bananas and berries.
I also add 1 T flaxseed to mine.

You will NOT taste the greens but will benefit from all the vitamins and minerals that the greens hold.

On the Blendtec vs. Vitamix: There is a yahoo group that is billed as the "Vitamix Group" but the owner of the group has both blenders. He's used both of them extensively and his opinion is that it just boils down to personal preference. I personally have not used the BT but have seen them in action and would buy either one.

I have a Bosch and have the blender attachment for it. It is also a fantastic blender but I feel my VM has the edge. Things just get smoother and it is a bit more durable than the Bosch. I also didn't like that when I grind flax seeds in it they get stuck under that stupid little ring that is such a pain in the hiney to take apart and put back together just so. The VM I just put some soap and hot water in it and run for a few minutes and it's clean.

Green smoothies are amazingly good! My kids BEG me for them and even my picky husband likes them. He has had issues with kidney stones though so I use romaine lettuce as the green base for his (spinach is high in oxalates. There is controversy about whether restricting oxalates in a diet is necessary for kidney stone sufferers but he feels he'd rather not risk having to pee out another rock!)

One bonus on buying the Ninja at Costco is that Costco has a fantastic return policy. If you get it and find that it's not what you hoped it would be they'll take it back. I'm a kitchen appliance connoisseur so I like trying out new toys, er, appliances.

I bought a Hamilton Beach from Wally world the others day, 29$ if I remember right, it's pretty heavy duty, even has a glass pitcher instead of plastic. So far it's worked great for me, I make my shake with 5 frozen strawberries. one banana, 2 scoops yogurt, 2 scoops powder and just enough water to let it mix. No chuncks, mixes real well.