Blenders?

Hey guys I’m new here.. how much would you guys justify spending on a good enough blender to make smoothies.. and what’s the argument / or any ideas on blending your fruit & veg etc vers eating it steamed or cooked hot ?

Thanks,
James.
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Replies

  • RelCanonical
    RelCanonical Posts: 3,882 Member
    I like my Ninja Blender. It was a gift but I think it was the $50-60 one. I don't use it a huge amount so I can't testify to it's durability, but it does blend nicely when I use it. I'd say that the best way to process (or not process) your fruits and vegetables is the way in which you are most likely to actually eat them.
  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
    I just spent $20 on a Black + Decker blender in October. I have used maybe a dozen times for smoothies and once for soup. It works well and appears reasonably well built.

    I enjoy occasional smoothies and they are also a way for me to get my 2 year old to consume at least a couple leaves of spinach once in a while. My only opinion regarding smoothies vs. eating fruit and veg other ways is that it depends on what I'm in the mood for. Raw vs. roasted vs. grilled vs. steamed vs. pureed all have different textures and flavor profiles depending on preparation method and ingredient combination. Do what you enjoy.
  • neugebauer52
    neugebauer52 Posts: 1,120 Member
    edited December 2019
    Starting to lose teeth - getting there. Seriously: why not eat as mankind has eaten for thousands of years? Grilled meat on the bone I say...
  • lalalacroix
    lalalacroix Posts: 834 Member
    I have a pricier Ninja and I love it. Not only does it make smoothies well but it grinds things like coffee beans and flax seeds. Worth the price.

    However you choose to get your fruit and veg is great. Doesn't matter if you blend them or not.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    jameskrysa wrote: »
    Hey guys I’m new here.. how much would you guys justify spending on a good enough blender to make smoothies.. and what’s the argument / or any ideas on blending your fruit & veg etc vers eating it steamed or cooked hot ?

    Thanks,
    James.

    It only matters what you believe. Which goal will be easier if you use a blender more? That is what is important. Keep in mind that when you use it you now have another thing to clean.

    I get all of my nutrition from what I eat. I am not a picky eater for the things that matter so I have no need to hide vegetables inside a smoothie. I also do not need to make things more portable. I do own a blender but I use it for sauces, soups, salad dressings, and things of the sort. I use the stick blender as much as I can because the cleanup is easier.
  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
    I wanted a Vitamix but it was out of my budget. I got a Ninja and love it.

    I had an older, standard blender before and I had to keep stopping and stirring things as it would jam. My new blender is a good investment because I make smoothies often.
  • ElizabethKalmbach
    ElizabethKalmbach Posts: 1,415 Member
    I like the Oster brand blenders, because I have a lot of mason jars and I drink out of a lot of mason jars, and RATHER CONVENIENTLY, the bottom of some models of Oster blenders screw perfectly onto a standard mouth mason jar. Which makes it VERY CONVENIENT for me to pre-measure my smoothie ingredients into jars and stash them in the freezer for later.
  • Luke_rabbit
    Luke_rabbit Posts: 1,031 Member
    I spent $200 on the Breville Fresh & Furious. Stupid name, amazing blender. I made my friend a smoothie with it last week and she texted her husband that she wanted one as a Christmas gift. I've never been unhappy with a Breville kitchen appliance.
  • khristiana
    khristiana Posts: 131 Member
    I love smoothies and LOVE my Vitamix blender. It can also make soups, hummus, purees, "nice" cream.... Well worth the money. I've had mine for almost 5 years and it's a monster of a machine.
  • Evamutt
    Evamutt Posts: 2,637 Member
    After years of use our Nutribullet Rx went kaput, so we just got a new Nutribullet Blender/extractor for $100. We use it every day plus I make green "juice", a gallon a week for me & husband. I don't always cook veggies but do drink them every day
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,053 Member
    I started researching blenders but in the end decided to keep making smoothies in my Cuisinart food processor, so if you already have something like that, try it.

    I add protein powder and fat to my smoothies.

    During the part of the year when the heat is not on I have fruit and veggie smoothies which include greens like Swiss chard and kale. This allows me to eat more greens than I would otherwise.
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    I love my Vitamix and would choose any good blender (Ninja included from what I've heard from people I know who have them) over my Cuisinart food processor any day. At least in terms of smoothies, blending soup, and doing various other things. Mind you, there are also multiple areas where I'd prefer to use a food processor - both appliances are very useful.

    As to the question about drinking smoothies vs eating non-blended food, there are very few occasions when I would prefer or want to use a smoothie as a regular source of getting "enough" or an extra serving of produce. There are significantly more tasty (to me and likely many other people) ways to eat fruits and vegetables. The only major and perhaps common exception is soup. That, depending on the type of soup, is essentially drinking your food. I typed most of this while eating a cup of potato soup and I've made blended soup at least twice over the past one month time span (carrot and butternut squash).
  • kcmcbee
    kcmcbee Posts: 179 Member
    My super smoothie maker is a Vitamix. My use most often is a Nutribullet 900 and it does fine unless you want restaurant level smoothies.
    ***When to blend or not and why....here’s a link about why or why not for greens, fruit, etc.*** https://nutritionfacts.org/topics/smoothies/
  • Maxxitt
    Maxxitt Posts: 1,281 Member
    I recently got an Oster "pro" 1200 to replace a leaky Bausch and it works the best of any blender I've had. HOWEVER ... my cat fished the rubber gasket out of the dish drainer and dropped it down to my dog, who wrecked it. I thought replacing it would be easy (it's an Oster not some weird brand) but it turns out this particular size gasket is almost impossible to get, even from the company which apparently hasn't had it in for a year. I found one on eBay which obviously was cut out of a piece of silicone but it works (and I'll get a silicone mat and make a spare or two). So that's my cautionary Oster tale :)
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    I've got a 35+ yr old Oster blender that I seldom use BUT when I do need to use it there's nothing that can do the job better.

    You can get a comparable blender for $20-30 on eBay or Amazon. Not point paying more for one IMO, especially not $300+ for one of those ridiculously priced Vitamix blenders
  • jwoolman5
    jwoolman5 Posts: 191 Member
    I've had two reconditioned vitamixes and the only reason I got a new one a few years ago was that the old one from the 1980s refused to die and I wanted something more powerful, smaller footprint. and with a clear spoutless container.... (I just didn't have room for the old one any more and it was a pain to drag it out for use.) So per year they are actually a bargain. Made in USA, customer service is reliable, long warranty.

    I tried a friend's juicer but it was difficult to clean and the waste was incredible. High power gadgets like the Vitamix make juice out of all the edible parts of the fruit or veg, no need to strain and you don't lose anything. Just prepare as you would for normal eating. The Vitamix cleans up easily.

    When looking for a new one, I checked out others and the Blendtec sounds comparable in performance, no experience with cleaning it. I went with a Vitamix because it has a slight edge in my basic criterion: can it pulverize blackberry seeds into a smooth drink? The answer is probably sufficiently yes for both if you start it off by grinding the berries with minimal water and then add more water and other ingredients for another run.

    At the time, I was needing to avoid seeds and really needed something to annihilate the seeds in everything. With blackberries and raspberries, pulverizing the seeds releases the nutrition better for humans anyway. When #2 arrived, I was overjoyed to have my first strawberries in 2 years - I blended up a thick drink with strawberries in it. I keep experimenting with frozen fruit and veg (room temperature with ice works also), haven't found a bad combination yet. I like it thick like a milkshake. Sometimes add vegan protein powder, depending on what else I'm eating that day.

    The first thing I made in my old Vitamix was a honeydew melon "shake" just from honeydew and ice. It was wonderful. Closest thing to ice cream I had had in years (dairy allergy). I had hoped it would help me get more fluid and nutrition to help deal with a bad pollen season and bad congestion, and it definitely did. I also was more ambitious in those days and used it sometimes to make peanut butter and cashew butter, really simple to do. I even ground flour in it sometimes. This was the old one with a steel container. It can make soup out of veg and water pretty quickly also, heated by the blades.

    For #2, I got a "personal size" Vitamix S30 series that came with a tamper and two containers: one 20oz travel container that seems very well sealed and supposedly fits in car beverage holders and a 40oz container. I think the full size one has a 64oz container or thereabouts. Both containers use the same blade unit with gasket that screws into their base. I had thought I would mainly use the 20oz but soon discovered the 40oz works better for me. My office is about 20ft from the kitchen...

    A more recent full-size one has an adapter for really small blending containers.

    I was really happy with my first Vitamix (only regretted not going into debt for it earlier). Likewise with the second one. They have a five-month installment plan (about $50 per month for mine plus tax) and it's easy to find free shipping codes on the net for both Vitamix and Blendtec (usually at smoothie recipe sites). You have to watch their site for refurbished bargains or deals on new ones if money is an issue. They have a real 30 days money back guarantee for any reason, so it's safe to try it. And they last so long that they are cheaper per year than units that conk out in a year or so (usually after the warranty has expired!). The Vitamix warranty is 5 years nowadays. Pay attention to warranty periods for any blender because they are a good indication of how durable it is likely to be.

    I also happily used (and sometimes still use) a Tribest personal blender that also lasts a really long time and has an adapter available for wide mouth mason jars. This is particularly handy when I need to purée cat food for an ailing cat - I bought a separate blade unit and adapter for that purpose, clearly marked for the feline staff... It has a 20oz normal container and a smaller one and two blade units (for dry and wet). The footprint is much smaller than Vitamix's idea of a personal blender and so is the price, but the power is much less and I can see a real difference when blending certain things. Both are easy to clean, but the Vitamix is easier.

  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    I love my Vitamix. I got the refurb one for 260 online and even though I balked at spending that much I'm glad I did. I'm sure I'll have it for many years to come, and we use it a lot more than I expected...for smoothies as well as sauces, dips, soup, the best texture of chia pudding ever. We used our old blender maybe 2 times a month and use the Vitamix 3-4 times per week for the two years we've had it.

    What was honestly just a yearning to keep up with food & lifestyle vloggers and have a shiny red Vitamix in my kitchen turned out to be an awesome purchase. Unlike my stand mixer, which I use annually at most.

  • aries68mc
    aries68mc Posts: 173 Member
    I had a Nutribullet several years ago, but not for long...it burned out. So I got a Vitamix and I love it. It can do so much more than your typical blender. It was well worth it and I got it at a good sale price and could spread the payments over a few months. I use it for smoothies, shakes, soup and peanut butter just to name a few. I did get an adapter and cup to do single servings of smoothies/shakes. Glad I did.
  • Luke_rabbit
    Luke_rabbit Posts: 1,031 Member
    I spent $200 on the Breville Fresh & Furious. Stupid name, amazing blender. I made my friend a smoothie with it last week and she texted her husband that she wanted one as a Christmas gift. I've never been unhappy with a Breville kitchen appliance.

    I didn't have a lot of time when I posted the first time, so let me elaborate.

    This blender has limited parts. No gasket for your cat to knock on the floor and your dog to chew! Just a base, a bowl, and a 2-piece lid. Washing up is quick because it includes a self-cleaning feature.

    It also has a green smoothie feature that can beat that kale down completely!

    It was the washing up that made me rarely use my previous blender. For me, the ease of cleaning this blender and the outcome of the smoothies makes it something I use a few times a week rather than a few times a year. Obviously not an issue for everyone.
  • Safari_Gal_
    Safari_Gal_ Posts: 1,461 Member
    I’ve had a vitamix for about 6 years and I really like it. It’s pricey but it’s never given me any problems. (I’ve had nutri-bullets, etc and they had a shorter lifespan.)
    I like it for cooking soup in the heat setting and ice cream or sorbet on the frozen setting.

    I have a green juice or shake most mornings. It’s the only way i get so many greens in my diet. I wouldn’t eAt a salad that big. I just don’t. 🤷‍♀️

    One of the benefits of the vitamix is keeping the fiber in the juice rather than a traditional juicer.