Staceyshoe Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 Have any of you found a decent blender for making green smoothies (including the ability to liquify leafy green veggies) that is also affordable? I keep seeing Vitamix and Blendtec recommended, but I'd like to find something for less $. :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 Well, I can tell you that a Cuisineart food processor does NOT work ( It's what I had in the house and definitely leaves little bits, especially of kale.) Right now, I'm using a vintage Moulinex that I borrowed from a friend that works better, but there's still room for improvement. Can't find kale here, but it work OK on spinach and grapes. On an old thread about green smoothies a couple of people mentioned Hamilton Beach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 I have seen these and I think they are built for raw foodies so would be able to make a decent green smoothie. If I didnt have a decent blender already I would get one- they are so cute! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momofkhm Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 For green smoothies around here, I use my Magic Bullet. BUT I can't do kale. It comes out in tiny bits. As long as I stick with spinach, I'm fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 I just use my Black & Decker blender from Target. It doesn't completely liquefy the kale or spinach, but it gets them into teeny, tiny pieces that are easy enough to drink through a straw. It crushes my frozen strawberries and mango chunks perfectly well, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UmMusa Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 I looked into those blenders when I first started making green smoothies, and I was like 'no way am I going to pay $500 for a blender'. No Way!!! So I use a $20 blender (Oster maybe?) and it works great for me. I haven't seen the results that the Vitamix produces so I dont' know what I'm missing! I also only use spinach, so maybe that's different. I tried kale once and I hated it.. maybe it's because the pieces weren't actually liquifies. Bottom line: do you want to spend a few hundred dollars on a blender? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4wildberrys Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 Vitamix! I know they are really expensive----but you will NEVER need to buy another one, probably ever! I have had mine for over 10 years---making 2 smoothies a day, grinding coffee beans and whatever else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReneTL Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 If I had the money, I would go with the Vitamix, but alas....I went with this one instead and it's done well for me. It's a consumer reports best buy I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaMa2005 Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 For green smoothies around here, I use my Magic Bullet. BUT I can't do kale. It comes out in tiny bits. As long as I stick with spinach, I'm fine. :iagree: plus I have learned that if I nuke the spinach for about 1o seconds, it will liquefy much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anita in NC Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 I use the Hamilton Beach personal blender that was around $15. http://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach-51101-Personal-Blender/dp/B00065L6CU/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1302878088&sr=8-6 It has lasted several years at this point and I make smoothies almost every day for the kids, hubby and myself. The only down side is I have to make everyone's smoothie one at a time but most of the time they like different things in their smoothies so it works out okay. It easily does spinach, ice, apple slices, frozen fruit, etc..... This is the blender that replaced my Kitchen Aide brand blender that broke numerous times because it couldn't handle ice and frozen fruit and I just couldn't justify the cost to keep fixing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staceyshoe Posted April 15, 2011 Author Share Posted April 15, 2011 Thank you all for sharing your experiences! It's good to know that other blenders do work. Right now our family is going through celiac testing. If we end up needing to do lots of GF stuff, I may spring for a Vitamix. Otherwise I really prefer not to spend that much. Can't wait to go researching the blenders you mentioned . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayson Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 Vitamix! I know they are really expensive----but you will NEVER need to buy another one, probably ever! I have had mine for over 10 years---making 2 smoothies a day, grinding coffee beans and whatever else. totally agree. it costs so much $$$ but we use it almost daily for years. so easy to clean. I doubt that anyone in our house would ever eat chard or kale except in smoothie form. and homemade hummus can't be beat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephanier.1765 Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 totally agree. it costs so much $$$ but we use it almost daily for years. so easy to clean. I doubt that anyone in our house would ever eat chard or kale except in smoothie form. and homemade hummus can't be beat! Can you share how you make hummus? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayson Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 Can you share how you make hummus? Thanks! our favorite is red pepper hummus. substitute with spinach or leave out. the recipe in the vitamix book is not too good in my opinion. here is ours: add to vitamix in this order: - juice of 1 lemon - 1/2 tsp black pepper - 1/4 tsp sea salt - 1/4 tsp ground cumin - 1 tbsp tahini - to make this, grind 1 tbsp sesame seeds in a coffee mill, placethe powder into small dish, add a bit of virgin olive oil and mix until it is an oily paste. - 1 garlic clove, 2 if you like a garlicy hummus - 1 roasted red pepper from jar, rinsed and charred parts rubbed off - 1.5 can chickpeas, drained. you can add 2 cans though - water to taste. i haven't measured how much water we add. maybe 1/4 cup? if it's not blending well then add more water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 Before I sprung for my Vitamix, I had a L'equip. It was $150 retail and I got it for $50 on ebay. It surprisingly worked fairly well. http://www.bestjuicers.com/lequipblender.html Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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