January is always a good time to consider smoothies!

Smoothie Photo by Giorgi Iremadze on Unsplash

Sometimes I forget about items in my house, so I have to circle back around and remember or re-purpose items I already have for new uses.

I have had two blenders for years and WANT to make smoothies, but never do because I am in hurry to do xyz in the morning. My son kept telling me to get a bullet or a single use blender, but I was hesitant for monetary, practical and environmental reasons!

Then I found myself at Costco where everything is tempting. It’s January and for Americans, we all are bombarded with health and exercise advertisements. I found myself gazing at this cool blender system that had a single use attachment. I googled it, great reviews. But a still small voice said, « You have an immersion blender, you should try that.»

Voila!

I had bought it to puree things for soups, which I do about two times a year. The smoothie container it came with was being used to store straws, like for six years, never wanting to do a smoothie. I was VERY skeptical. However, I am motivated because I need to get blood pressure down and eat more fiber—all the aging things.

I thought, let me just experiment and if this fails, I will go back to Costco.

It didn’t fail!! I found a great recipe in one of my Ninja blender recipes and put it in the container and in 5 minutes or less, I had a smoothie of two portions! I was sheepishly delighted at how easy it was to use, at how the container fits nicely in your hand as well as pours easy and clean up was minimal! It’s like it was made for your hand, duh. Why has this taken me so long to figure out? Hahaha…

One of the lies I am trying to fight is that take out is faster, and this will help! I want to save money, stop polluting with take out containers, and have more control over my ingredients! I was excited to not buy something else, and it was a delicious smoothie.

I always think of items I would take if I moved back overseas and this would make the list! It’s portable and small and less clean up than a blender! When you live in rural Africa, it’s easier to eat fresh when you have limited storage, power is a maybe and the market is an everyday walk, so this hand held blender would pair nicely with all that! I already love it for pureeing soups, and now I love it for smoothies! Also, the Ninja blade always intimidates me, so I liked the softer blade attachment when you live in place that might not have an ER or have younger people in your midst that might be using these appliances. Lot’s of plus items here!

For the record, if voltage is an issue, I would buy this in country or in a stop through England or France on your way to your final destination—it would fit in your hand held luggage, although the blade might be an issue!