Quick and Healthy Meals for People on the Go

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Don’t have Time to Make a Nutritious Breakfast?

Make delicious breakfast smoothies in five minutes

With today’s inexpensive blenders making delicious smoothies has never been easier.

10 years ago when I lived in downtown Chicago, I learned the way you load your ingredients in the blender makes all the difference in the world. Before I would just add the ingredients and blend. But, when I purchased the BlendTec blender and read the manual on how to load the blender properly,  I notice a significant change in how my mixed drinks came out.

The smoothies were creamier and tastier. There were no chunky, unblended items in the bottom of the drink and I also noticed that the blender’s motor did not heat up or make too much noise.

In this blog post, I am going to show you how to correctly load any blender to make creamy rich smoothies and other low carb drinks.

This post will also include reviews of 6 popular blenders on the market: Vitamix, Blen-Tec, Nutri-bullet, Ninja, and Oster.

 How to Load Any Blender

If you are making a smoothie or another low carb drink from scratch use about one cup of liquid.

  • Start off by adding ½ of the liquid first, then add the rest of it at the end. Layering the liquid this way insures that you will have a properly mixed drink.
  • If you are using a protein powder such as plant base brand like VEGA it is best that you add it after the liquid. The powder thickens the smoothie and helps create a creamier blend. Plus, the powder will dissolve in the mix and give a rich and creamy consistency. If added at the end, the smoothie will have a chalky or powdery consistency.
  • Next, add the high moisture foods like kiwis, strawberries, blueberries etc.
  • Finally,  add the solids such as nuts and ice.

Now for the fun part, Ladies and Gentlemen start your blenders.

In about 50 seconds or less you will have frozen tasty nutritious low carb treat.

Which blender is right for you?

Immersion blenders, counter top blenders, single serve blenders there are so many blenders to choose from. But they basically do the same thing. They blend ingredients.

When choosing a blender there are only two things to consider:  Price and what you are going to use it for.  For example if you are on the go and budget is a concern then there plenty of single serve blenders available. These blenders come with 8 – 16oz cups that mount directly on the base of the blender. You, just add the ingredients, blend and go. Clean up is a snap and the cups are dishwasher safe.

If you are going to blend frozen or solid ingredients then purchase a blender that has at least 500 watt motor on it. 1000 watts would be ideal but not necessary.  You want to be sure that thicker items like vegetables and ice will blend easily without burning out the motor.

Browse through these pages for blender options. Whether you are making a breakfast smoothie, salad dressing or delicious soup, there are all kinds of blenders that can  prepare any drink or meal in not time at all.

The Blenders That Professional Chefs Use In Restaurants

According to Professional Blender Survey, 700 food industry professionals were surveyed.  48% of the chefs named Vitamix as the blender of choice for all their culinary demands. Surprisingly, the brand name was least influential.  The professional chefs cited performance, durability, and speed as the highest ranked strengths of their Vitamix blenders.

Vitamix blenders are a bit more expensive between $600-$700. The Vitamix blenders, are not only used for shakes and smoothies but professional chefs in commercial kitchens make doughs, marinades, salad dressings, and sauces.

You may be able to find a refurbished model for less money. Be sure  there is a money back guarantee.

2 Award-Winning chefs State that Vitamix is There go to Blender in their Busy Restaurants

Professional chef Volk, mixologist and owner of Portland Hunt, in Portland, Maine says “The speed and reliability of Vitamix machines is what makes them so essential.” 

Anna Henrie Henricks of Sweetheart Bakery in Portland, Oregon  uses the Vitamix to make all the dough in her bakery.

Now if the Vitamix can withstand the conditions of a busy commercial kitchen then it should be able to take on the demands in a home kitchen.

Other Commercial Brands that professional chef’s use included:

  • Waring
  • Cuisinart
  • Hamilton Beach
  • Oster
  • Viking
  • Blen-Tec
  • Thermo mix

But I don’t want to buy a commercial grade blender!

That’s ok, if you don’t want to spend that kind of money on a commercial high-end blender. There are other inexpensive options that can be just as effective for half the price.

You don’t need to spend $600 or $700 on a blender. Many blenders with a 300-500 watts motor are capable of crushing ice and making creamy smoothies. The cost range is from $20 – $ 100 and they come with the same features and attachments as the more expensive models.

For example, the Nutri bullet is small and compact and for the price it really packs a punch. The Nutri bullet has a 700-900 watt motor and is capable of crushing ice for shakes and smoothies in no time at all. Read my full review here.

I ‘ve tried to include the most popular brands on the market in my product reviews. The main features to look for is power in watts and pitcher size. So if you are going to use it everyday to make smoothies and soups you want to stick with on the counter blenders with a large capacity pitcher.

Small single serve blenders like the Nutri-bullet is good for 16oz. drinks.  Smoothies and shakes are mixed right in the drinking cup which makes this little gem of a blender ideal for people on the go.

If you found other blenders that were not on the website that you think deserves a mention, feel free to review the product in the comments section below.  Other readers would benefit from your insights.

As always, if you have any questions regarding blenders  please feel free to leave them in the comments section below.

Here’s to good blending