Blentec - http://www.blendtec.com I have the model with the four inch blade. Love it. Our son has a Vita-Mix. Also a great machine. Either is well worth the money. Both are capable of fracturing the cell well to release the nutrients. You will need 28,000 rpm and 2.5+ horsepower to fracture the cell wall.

A friend has a Vita Mix and loves it. But when I went to visit I thought he'd use that to make smoothies, instead he used the Magic Bullet and it worked just fine.

IMO save up and get a Vita mix if you are serious about smoothies. You'll end up wasting more money buying shitty blenders over and over again.

As for a recipe here's my go to post workout smoothie

1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup strawberries
1 Acai smoothie packet
1 Banana
1 container of Oikos vanilla greek yogurt
1/2-1 cup low fat vanilla soy milk
2 scoops of EFS Ultragen
1 tablespoon Honey

+1. For a few years I would buy a $50 blender and kill it within 4-6 months. Vita mix is expensive, but in the long run I am saving money. Plus a solid 7 year warranty. Love it and use it 1-2+ times a day for some many things.

Youtube "Green Smoothie." There's tons of great versions but I especially like the ones from "RunningRaw"

Go to Walmart, buy any blender they have ($20-$30). Save the receipt, when it breaks take it back to Walmart and they will give you a new one. Repeat.

My dual blade ninja blender is awesome for smoothies... No cavitation spaces, always blends well

I didn't want to spend the money on a Vitamix but my friend who works there recommended looking into the refurbished ones. They are a little cheaper but basically come with all new parts and the same warranty. We ended up getting the pro refurbished one with 7 years warranty. Once we used it for the first time, we quickly realized how awesome this thing is and all the other cheap blenders don't even come close to matching the quality of the smoothies that comes out of a Vitamix. It is not just about how durable the machine is, the smoothies come out just amazing.

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As others have said ... Get a good blender.

I don't measure ingredients ... Do it by sight ... So here's my best description:

- 1/2 of a frozen oj concentrate cylinder
- about 1-2 cups ice cubes
- 1/2 - 1 1/2 cups yogurt (vary flavor)
- a bunch of strawberries, raspberries, blue berries, black berries
- 1/2 - 1 cup collards greens (or kale)
- 1-2 cups milk (almond milk, 2%)
- water to top off the blender

Vary the amount of fruit to taste ... Adding more yogurt or using 2% milk (vs. almond milk) thickens the drink.

Sometimes I add in some vanilla flavor depending on type of yougurt used.

Takes about 10 mins to make ... Recipe seems complicated, but in reality pretty easy to throw stuff in a blender for a good drink.

Short version is ice, oj, 2% milk, water for an orange Julius type drink.

I got a cheap GE single serve blender at Walmart. Been using it or over a year and a half now and haven't had any problems with it. Between my wife and I we usually make 4-6 shakes a day.

Three of my favorites....

Sweet Parsley Smoothie
2 cups fresh parsley
1 fuji apple
1 banana
2 medjool dates (pitted)
2 ounces fresh lemon juice
1 cup water

Green Colada
1 cup spinach
2 bananas
1/3 pineapple
1/2 cup coconut meat
1 cup coconut water

Green Goodness
2 bananas
1 gala apple
1 bosc pear
1 cup kale
1/4 cup water

*note recipes make 2 quarts

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"Though she be but little, she is fierce" ~Shakespeare | Powered by HD Coaching | 2014 Wattie Ink Triathlon Team | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Funny, I saw the same infomercial. Get the nutribullet. Yeah, there was some hoky marketing, but this thing really works! It comes with some great starter recipes, and you can always get more on youtube. David Wolf is the spokesperson, and he comes up with some crazy recipes. I'm actually drinking his coffee replacement "nutriblast" right now.

It's under $100, so what if it blows up in 6 months? You probably spend more on Gu in that time. It has a 600 watt motor which is pretty decent for a small blender. It's quite a bit larger than the magic bullet. The best part is you just rinse it out when you're done. When I get home from work I grab it and throw a couple handfuls of spinach in, and whatever grabs my attention, apples, bananas, goji berries, garlic, you name it. This thing reduces it to soup in 15 to 20 seconds.

I never chew my food properly, so this thing does the chewing for me. I guess I buy the hype that the nutrients need to be broken down on the cellular for better absorption.

I've got a cuisinart blender (anyway, I think its a cuisinart) I got for a company 10yr anniversary gift. Going strong after 3+ years, gets a LOT of smoothie use and blending vegetables for salsa and other cooking. On average probably ~3 smoothies a week for 3+ years, that's more than 468 smoothies.

Recipe?! You don't need no stinking recipes. Just toss in a bunch of fresh washed fruit, ice and the KEY INGREDIENT - scoop of frozen Minute Maid Limeade. Do not be tempted to use generic limeade!
The limeade brings out the flavor of all the other fruits and adds some extra sweetening. My smoothies change depending on what fresh fruit is on sale - mango, strawberry, rasberry & apple . I can't think of a single homemade smoothie I didn't like.

Don't buy a bass-o-matic...

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some days you're the windshield some days the bug

Does Gallagher's veg-o-matic count?

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*****
If you're going to kick a tiger in the @$$, you better have a plan to deal with his teeth.

Sounds delicious!!!

Another vote for Vita Mix. We've had ours (a refurbished model) for nearly four years now; @ 2+ smoothies per day, every day, it's well-amortized. I'd also recommend paying a bit extra and get a "Dry Container". It's good for grinding nuts, seeds, coffee - that sort of thing for any of your recipes. I believe you'll be happy with a Vita Mix for a long time.

Think I'll whip up a veggie smoothie for dinner...

vitamix is in a class all by itself. I've owned a refurbished one for approximately 4 years know and have used it regularly for smoothies, hummus, soups, etc. Highest quality machine you can buy, hands down (go to a place that sells smoothies and I'd be willing to bet that they have some vitamix's behind the counter).

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"I'm gonna show you a hill that would choke a mule."

Get a vitamix. I'm a professional chef and, among other things, teach a couple classes a month at Sur La Table where I've had the opportunity to work with all different types of blenders. I agree with a few who have said to purchase a refurbished one if you want to save money. The Vitamix, hands down, is the best out there.

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leslie myers
http://www.foodsensenow.com

heard good things about the vita mix.....unfortunately after i purchased the ninja.....which i'm ok with so far....

+5 (or whatever # we are on) for the Vitamix. I am lucky enough that I work at a retirement center that has their own thrift shop. They were welling one for $30 and I was all over it. I had several cheaper blenders that never died but they just didn't blend like the Vitamix. I use it every day and like others have said, I buy a big bag of prewashed organic baby kale from Costco and throw in a couple carrots, a scoop of vanilla protein powder and whatever fruit I have around. best $30 I ever spent.

+6 for the Vitamix. I use mine every morning. I traveled to a couple of races this summer & brought my old Cusinart blender with me because it's smaller. I tried making my regular morning smoothie with it in the hotel room & I could almost see the smoke come out of the motor. The power of a Vitamix can't be compared to any blender under $150. I'm resigned now to travel w/ my Vitamix.

May as well make it #7. :)
My vitamix is roughly 13 years old and still going strong.

Wanted to check and see if you ended up getting the Nutri-Bullet and how it worked? I got one of the "brand-X" smoothie machines recently and am very dissapointed with it - i seems to just distribute stuff around the inside of the mixer rather than actually making a smoothie. Would love to hear which direction you went and your results.

If you are going to make more than 1 smoothie at a time, use what the pro smoothie shops (Jamba Juice, Smoothie Factory and Tropical Smoothie Grill) and get a Vitamix. Darn thing is a boat motor, powerful enought to turn cold water into boiling water in just a few minutes due to the friction. It will make a really smooth smoothie where others produce smoothies with a grainy or gummy texture.

A Vitamix is not cheap, but it will last for lifetime and can be used for just about anything, from making salsas, crushing ice to grinding wheat to make flour.

I am looking for a machine as well but I want it more for juicing than making smoothies. I read the latest Consumer Reports and they actually rate the Ninja as equal to the Viatmix but at 60 bucks compared to 450 bucks the better value. I am still torn, we have a Krups blender which does fine for smoothies but for juicing I'll likely go with a centrifugal juicer which I know is not what you asked. Rich Roll swears by his Vitamix though for smoothies and juicing so perhaps that is the ultimate machine that can do it all???