Smoothie Blender

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Sam
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Re: Smoothie Blender

Post by Sam »

Black and decker 12 speed cyclonic and 650 watts. Blueberries and strawberries and mangos, all frozen. Handful of ice. Teaspoon of flaxseeds. Splash of 2% milk and two dollops of yogurt. Had to pulse and stop and redistribute the stuff like 20 times. Too much work. Is that normal?

Thinking of a ninja 600 or the nutribullet. Chris I can't find a $50 ninja. The 600 is at Macy's for 99
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Squire
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Re: Smoothie Blender

Post by Squire »

Here's my smoothie recipe:

Toss some ice in a shaker, add one teaspoon sugar, two ounces Bourbon, 8 oz milk*, shake, strain, dust with nutmeg.

*use real milk, that defatted stuff tastes like chalk.
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Squire
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dosco
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Re: Smoothie Blender

Post by dosco »

Squire wrote:*use real milk, that defatted stuff tastes like chalk.
I find that the organic skim tastes very much like 2%.

Not like whole milk, though.
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GA Russell
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Re: Smoothie Blender

Post by GA Russell »

I see that Amazon has on sale today the Oster Versa 1400 watt for $124.99.

Yesterday it was $217.12.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EO1 ... UTF8&psc=1
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jww
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Re: Smoothie Blender

Post by jww »

Our Vita-Mix has been a great asset to improving our smoothie-making experience. It wasn't cheap, but it's outstanding.
Wendell

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Re: Smoothie Blender

Post by brothers »

We drifted away from the countertop blender, and now I have a stick blender that seems to fit our purposes pretty well. I bought it for making shaving soap, and it's coming in handy for other kitchen projects. :D

Wife - why did you buy this blender? Me - Oh, I'm going to make some soap. Wife - Oh, OK. Me - we can use it for other stuff too. Wife - . . . (no comment, she's already walking away)
Gary

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jww
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Re: Smoothie Blender

Post by jww »

Hehe .....

Are you not concerned that making soap fouls the product and leaves tastes that can't be washed away???
Wendell

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Re: Smoothie Blender

Post by brothers »

That was the main concern at first. I think I've only used it 3 times to make soap. I clean it thoroughly just as soon as l'm finished, then the blade goes into the dishwasher.
Gary

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scruffy
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Re: Smoothie Blender

Post by scruffy »

My wife just bought a Nutribullet for juicing. It is really easy to clean. It will mix anything as long as there is liquid in it. I have used it to make soup, pesto, juices, and smoothies.
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Re: Smoothie Blender

Post by ShadowsDad »

We've had our present Vita-Mix for MANY years and it's still going strong. Nothing it does is easy. It always gets used hard and put away wet. Not inexpensive but really good kitchen gear. One of the items I would replace immediately when it does stop working. I can't tell you how many times I've popped the internal breaker on it from overworking it and working it too hard.

Wendell, do you make your own milk kefir? This thread has a bit of dust on it and in the interim I've gotten my own scobys and make 1/2 gallon every few days for my use and the dogs get quite a bit in their food every day. I drink approx' 10 ounces a day of kefir. I also have learned quite a bit about it.

The supermarket kefir is basically drinkable yogurt with the handful of bacterial cultures that yogurt uses. The real stuff has to be made at home with scobys (Symbiotic Colonies of Bacteria and Yeast). The scobys are also called "grains"; nothing to do with wheat and barley, etc. . The don't contain a handful of cultures as does yogurt type kefir, but hundreds of cultures. Once one has scobys and uses them, the grow and multiply. The product, depending on how much it's worked can be slightly effervescent, and yes, it tastes much like buttermilk. Unlike yogurt which requires a temp' near 110°F, kefir made with scobys is done at room temperature. After a day of allowing the scobys to do their thing they are strained out and put in a jar in the refrigerator to wait for the next use. Or they can be eaten. They won't hurt. The grains grow and multiply and then can be given away, or fed to the chickens, whatever. The key is to always retain enough grains and feed them often enough so that they stay healthy. I make 1/2 gallon of kefir at a time and I do that about every 5-6 days. We have a friend who can't drink that much and she makes a pint of kefir every other day or so. At this time I have so many grains that I only let the scobys work for about 12 hours and the drink is plenty sour. If I let it go longer it hurts nothing and makes for an even sourer product and it gets quite a bit thicker. Typical home made kefir from scobys is the consistency of milk.
Brian

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Rufus
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Re: Smoothie Blender

Post by Rufus »

Brian, I'm relieved that you explained what "scobys" stands for, as I was thinking "scabies". #-o :mrgreen: I must try kefir, as I love plain, full fat Greek yogurt. I used to make my own yogurt, but when the maker clapped out I became lazy and now buy it at the grocery store.

Back on topic, I still can't rationalising the cost of a Vitamix, even the cheapest model. Everyone who owns one swears by it, but the price... :shock: I've been using a Kitchen Aid Architect blender for several years to make our morning smoothies and it has performed flawlessly. It cost about a quarter of a mid-range Vitamix...that's a lot of shaving brushes or TOBS shaving cream and aftershave.
Bryan
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jww
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Re: Smoothie Blender

Post by jww »

At the risk of sounding smug, I will say that when it comes to our VitaMix, I feel that we got value for what we spent. Under $500 CDN at Costco a few years back, it came with a 7 year warranty, and their support has been outstanding. We have had similar experiences with other household items such as an Electrolux vacuum which we purchased new for around $800 CDN new when we moved into our current home. We have been here now for 18 years, and the vacuum is still going strong. In that time, most people will have gone through a number of cheaper units, accounting for around the same cost or possibly even more. I can also relay like experience with our 10 year old Meili dishwasher.

I would say that while the initial outlay for such products is higher than mainstream brand names, we have experienced higher end quality and life span.
Wendell

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Re: Smoothie Blender

Post by brothers »

We've had excellent results with our (16 year old) Oreck vaccuum cleaner and Cuisinart hand-held stick blender.
Gary

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ShadowsDad
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Re: Smoothie Blender

Post by ShadowsDad »

Wendell, we've found pretty much the same thing. Of course it's possible to buy high priced garbage, but by careful shopping so far I haven't gotten burned by getting the high ticket item. We've bought run of the mill and have gotten burned.

Like that Frigidaire oven we just recently replaced. I allowed the dealer to sell me an oven and we got a piece of garbage. I did my research and this time I went to the dealer and told him what I wanted and I love the thing. There is a certain satisfaction or ease of use in knowing that the gear will just work without hassles or aggravation.

As far as kitchen gear goes, stuff I'd buy again in a heartbeat... The Blue Star oven, Vita-mix, Ankarsrum Assistent (not misspelled), and for outdoor cooking the Primo. Yup, out SS Cuisinart immersion blender doesn't get the respect it's due, but that too. I knew there was something else, the Matfer "black steel" pans. I love the things much more than the cast iron pans that they replaced.
Brian

Maker of Kramperts Finest Bay Rum and Frostbite
Or find it here: Italian Barber, West Coast Shaving, Barclay Crocker, The Old Town Shaving Company at Stats, Maggard Razors; Leavitt & Peirce, Harvard Square
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Blue As A Jewel
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Re: Smoothie Blender

Post by Blue As A Jewel »

Squire wrote:
jww wrote: and a tablespoon of blue agave syrup. It just works.
I'm a great believer in the health benefits of agave myself.
Most Agave sweeteners sold today are made by treating the sugars with heat and enzymes, which destroys all the beneficial health effects of the Agave plant. The end product is a highly refined syrup which should be used in careful moderation.
- Ravi -

You can mistrust me less than you can mistrust him. Trust me.
CMur12
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Re: Smoothie Blender

Post by CMur12 »

Blue As A Jewel wrote:
Squire wrote:
jww wrote: and a tablespoon of blue agave syrup. It just works.
I'm a great believer in the health benefits of agave myself.
Most Agave sweeteners sold today are made by treating the sugars with heat and enzymes, which destroys all the beneficial health effects of the Agave plant. The end product is a highly refined syrup which should be used in careful moderation.
Good to know and good to see you, Ravi!

This sweetener is based on fructose, which we tend to get way too much of in our diets. As I understand it, fructose is metabolized by the liver, rather than the pancreas. As such, insulin is not involved, but we tend to get so much fructose from processed foods that it can cause "fatty liver." I avoid agave syrup, myself.

- Murray
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Blue As A Jewel
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Re: Smoothie Blender

Post by Blue As A Jewel »

CMur12 wrote:
Good to know and good to see you, Ravi!

This sweetener is based on fructose, which we tend to get way too much of in our diets. As I understand it, fructose is metabolized by the liver, rather than the pancreas. As such, insulin is not involved, but we tend to get so much fructose from processed foods that it can cause "fatty liver." I avoid agave syrup, myself.

- Murray
Thanks Murray! Thank as well for the better insight into the issues with Agave. As far as sweetners go I use either coconut sugar, raw honey or stevia cut with chicory (inulin).

I was pretty unhappy at my last job and ballooned to over 300 lbs. I was diagnosed with diabetes and high blood pressure. I was put on Metformin and HBP medication. My oldest son bought me a gym bag and a pair of runners and dropped them at my feet and said "Figure it out".

I had the luxury where I could leave my job. I did a 60-day juice fast to kick start a weight loss. I now run 5-8k three times a week, I've reduced the Metformin to a single pill, down from 4 and my BP is 117/70.

I also invested in a Vitamix and use it daily for low sugar smoothies, soups and a whole mess of other stuff.

So in the words of Eddie Murphy in Trading Places "Feeling good Louis"!
- Ravi -

You can mistrust me less than you can mistrust him. Trust me.
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MotifSky
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Re: Smoothie Blender

Post by MotifSky »

brothers wrote:We've had excellent results with our (16 year old) Oreck vaccuum cleaner and Cuisinart hand-held stick blender.
oh, can't not to agree with you, even of this topic is old! I have such Cuisinart model too for several years and I can say that it's one of the best in case of blenders, it's very good for making almost everything! :)

Image

Also as I know Blendtech blenders are very good :) Black and Decker (which someone mentioned here) are nice too, also some TigerChef and Kitchenaid models like on these examples from Cozzy too :) Ninja blenders are very popular but they have some minuses in using as I noticed in many reviews about them :P
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