Green Smoothies, blenders...a question

[HS mom]

I read a blog, The Lazy Organizer, and recently Lara (the blog owner) wrote about green smoothies, a blender drink you make from fresh or frozen fruits and fresh vegetables. Here's her recipe. Anyway, do you see the blender? That is one expensive blender, and I'm sure it's a great blender, but not in my budget right now.

 

Can anyone recommend a (cheaper) blender that would do the job--blend spinach? I don't have a blender and I'd like to try adding these smoothies to my family's meals. Thanks for any help.

[Blueridge]

She doesn't sound as though she likes her smoothies very much!:D I have a Bosch mixer/blender that is very strong, if that is less expensive than her blender. You could also get the most powerful blender you could afford, and strain some of the pulp out before drinking it. If you add enough fruit juice to help the blender liquefy the spinach, I would think most blenders could handle it.

Ginger

[Anita in NC]

I had a Kitchen Aid which I WOULD NOT recommend because the teeth kept breaking off the bottom after fixing it 3 times I gave up. It just couldn't handle frozen fruit. Argh!

 

I now have a Hamilton Beach individual blender that was $15 from Amazon. It works great. Although it is small I can get two smoothies from it at a time. In a way it is good because the kids can each pick what they want in their individual smoothie. Clean up is so easy because it is so small it is easy to rinse.

 

We also love spinach smoothies. Usually 2/3 fruit and 1/3 spinach.

[Quiver0f10]

I have a regular blender I got from WM for @ $20 that I use. I like carrot juice, frozen bananas, frozen blueberies and frozen chopped spinach. The blender is still goign strong.

[Maria/ME]

Looks like this blogger has gone raw. I did that for awhile with a cheap blender and I had to strain ALOT. It got old fast.

 

So if you really really want to pursue making green smoothies for a long time coming, hold out for a decent and pricey blender. On the other hand, do some research among the raw food community (I know, you just want to do smoothies but trust me they will know the answer to this one) or write this blogger and ask what is the BEST blender for making green smoothies but at the lowest cost. I"m sure they'll all have some great ideas!

 

I added blue/green algae to our smoothies, too, as a way to get some 'green' goodness! With a really great blender you can add kale, chard etc and your kids will NEVER know. And by liquefying the greens this will be digested and used faster than if their body had to break it down.

 

Wish you well on your smoothie journey!

[Sunshyne]

I have a kitchen aid blender, and I've heard people have had problems with the teeth breaking. However, I use it all the time for green smoothies with frozen fruit and it works great! It was around $100 at amazon.com

 

 

HTH!

[Whisperlily]

I use my Magic Bullet for green smoothies all the time without a problem. I find that spinach blends well, but if you're going to be blending more fibrous greens such as kale, you might see tiny "pieces" in your smoothie.

 

I don't mind, since we're not talking about "chunks" but rather tiny speckles. If you really want to invest, the VitaMix, Bosch, and other high powered blenders do work the best, but in my opinion it doesn't make sense to buy something so expensive, just so I won't be able to see speckles in my perfectly smooth-tasting smoothie. :)

 

Since you'll be blending frozen fruits, any mid-range blender should be fine. I like my Magic Bullet so I can do individual smoothies.

[Ferdie]

Not sure about your blender. We have a Oster from Costco that gets used every day. I am going to try the spinach smoothie today so I'll report back later.

 

I wanted to thank you for the recipe. I am tyring Gwyneth Paltrow's Detox Diet this week so I am having smoothies everyday, (almond milk and peaches, coconut milk and mango, raspberry and rice milk. Yum!!) She suggests adding greens supplement (ProGreen), but it was $25 at the health store so I didn't get it. I am going to try adding the spinach instead. Thanks!!!

 

Happy Blending!

 

Update: I just made my first green smoothie. Yeah! Both my dd and I loved it and you can't even taste the spinach. No problems with the blending.

 

I followed the recipe you linked except I got a little nervous about the spinach and did 2 cups instead of 3 cups. Also my flax seeds were already ground, since I had some in the fridge. I added a cup of rice milk and a scoop of protein powder. Yum!!

Edited March 4, 2009 by Ferdie

[susie in tx]

I have the 7 year old version of the blender from the OP's link. I love it. Before I had it, I was going through blenders on a regular basis. My current blender gets used every day. While it was expensive to purchase in the beginning, it has served us well. Sometimes, you can get used Vitamixes for less than the BlendTec, but I do love my BlendTec. I paid less than $300 for it when I bought it.

 

For a while, there was another blender that the raw food community was recommending, but I can't find it right now. Argh.

[HS mom]

Thanks for the brand leads, the advice, and the tips. All very helpful.

 

I would not mind specks, not at all, Whisperlily. But I think chunks would be a definite problem. That's what led to my question. :)

 

Eventually, I'll get one of the powerhouse blenders, but I'd like to get started. Maria, I bookmarked your blog. I'd be interested in hearing more about the diet changes you made: what worked, what made a difference, what didn't. I am trying to use more unprocessed foods, and have been changing the way we eat for about a year. I like the idea of adding smoothies. Next project will to be look at juicers.

 

Ferdie, I'll check back to see how it worked. And how it tastes...

 

Thank you all!

[PCA]

I make vegetable smoothies every morning for my family. We use alot of vegetables spinach, carrots, kale.... I use the Vita-mix and its fantastic. If you are going to make them every day it is well worth the investment of a good blender.

[ekarl2]

I use my Magic Bullet for green smoothies all the time without a problem. I find that spinach blends well, but if you're going to be blending more fibrous greens such as kale, you might see tiny "pieces" in your smoothie.

 

I don't mind, since we're not talking about "chunks" but rather tiny speckles. If you really want to invest, the VitaMix, Bosch, and other high powered blenders do work the best, but in my opinion it doesn't make sense to buy something so expensive, just so I won't be able to see speckles in my perfectly smooth-tasting smoothie. :)

 

Since you'll be blending frozen fruits, any mid-range blender should be fine. I like my Magic Bullet so I can do individual smoothies.

 

I'll second the magic bullet ... I LOVE mine! $60 at Bed, Bath and Beyond. My mom is ill and I make her smoothies sometimes with raw spinach, blueberries, banana, strawberries, yogurt, etc. The MB makes it easily, quickly, and cleanly.