Can You Make Decent Green Smoothies in A Regular Blender?

[akh78749]

I can't really buy a Vitamix right now and I really want to make green smoothies. Will it pulverize greens enough not to make the smoothie have a weird texture? I am afraid it will taste funky.

Anyone tried this?

Amy

[sport]

It will work very well. Do the greens in the water and get them well blended before you add the thicker things like fruit.

[Rawkinlocs]

I used a Hamilton Beach blender for 2 years before getting a Vitamix.

I made successful green smoothies with it...just have to blend long enough. What I'd do was add water, my fruit, then greens and blend until there were no visible green particles. THEN...I'd add frozen fruit and/or ice to cool it since it will get a little warm with all the blending to get the greens broken down.

You can also look into the L'equip blender for about $140. It's pretty powerful...kinda inbetween a standard blender and a Vitamix! It grinds flax seeds, nuts and crushes ice. My motor burned out on me but I honestly think it was my fault for the way I used it back then and I never got around to sending it in for repair or replacement...but they DO have a 6-year warranty on it. You can read more about them here: http://www.discountjuicers.com/lequipblender.html

[pamojamo]

I don't yet have a Vitamix and my smoothies are delish straight from my cheapo blender. Good luck.

[mypinkbow]

I had a inexpensive blender from Walmart that cost probably $30-50 (dont remember the price) prior to getting my vitamix and it worked just fine.

[moonstone523]

Decent? Huh! You can make GREAT green smoothies with a plain jane blender. Mine was less than $10. A no brand blender. I do nothing to the greens. I thrown them in first, add frozen bananas, and frozen mangoes, water and coconut milk. VIOLA.

A WONDERFULLY DECENT GREEN SMOOTHIE. :cool:

Get to blending. You'll soon find out.

:D

[akh78749]

Thank so much! Wow, I am learning so much from this valuable website.

I went ahead and made a green smoothie last night with my regular blender and it came out fine. My boyfriend kept laughing at me saying I was silly for not realizing that a regular blender would work fine. It wasn't completely smooth, but it was good enough. I did kale, pear and banana. It wasn't spectacular, but it was pretty good. I am looking forward to really getting into it. And I am going to try and find a food processor this weekend. I feel like I am just discovering "cooking" again, which I love to do. So far, I love being raw! It feels like a whole new world just opened up.

Thanks for the tips. :)

Amy

[Sarah]

I am always frantically pressed for time in the morning - does anyone know if it is feasible to prepare green smoothies in advance (evening before) and store refrigerated overnight? Will the taste or nutrition suffer horribly? I suppose I could just try it ;) , but would like to benefit from the experience & expertise of others! Thanks so much.

[jaurequi]

I am always frantically pressed for time in the morning - does anyone know if it is feasible to prepare green smoothies in advance (evening before) and store refrigerated overnight? Will the taste or nutrition suffer horribly? I suppose I could just try it ;) , but would like to benefit from the experience & expertise of others! Thanks so much.

Hi, Sarah,

You can. You will lose some nutrition; they are best consumed right after made. However, if that's all you can do, it's still highly nutritious and worth it.

If I had this problem, I would prepare all the fruit and greens the night before, put them in the blender container (or other) and leave it in the fridge. In the morning, just blend and go :)

Best,

[Sarah]

Jarequi,
Thanks so much for a great suggestion - it hadn't even occured to me!! That does sound like a reasonable compromise!

[veganman]

I find it takes along time as my mixture gets so thick. I usually do 1 bunch kale or collards or spinach, a pint strawberries or 8 kiwis or 1 mango, 1 banana, and maybe 3 stalks celery. I find I have to add a lot of water for everything to move and then it ends up being 2 quarts of smoothie.

Is that how it is with you all too?

[rawpriestess]

I made smoothies for years and years with a super cheap old blender back in the 80's, it works fine, if you are adding ice or frozen hard fruits, you may end up with some chunks, which are the best part, mmmmmmmmmmm

[Green Life]

I had a Vitamix years ago, made smoothies with it. Then, it just burned out on me and the company wouldn't replace it, don't remember why. Anyway, I am now making my smoothies with a $12.00 blender from Walmart. Works just like the Vitamix except for the blending time. With my cheapo blender it takes about three times as long to get roughly the same texture. If there are chunks left or whatnot, I will just strain it in a Jelly making bag, or you can use a nut milk bag. Or, chew the chunks.

Green :D Life

[robertandenith]

I have a hamilton beach smoothie blender and omg this thing is just SUPER for smoothies, I just have to let it run a decent time. No vitamix here! :D

[robertandenith]

forgot to add...

I noticed that when I place the greens in the bottom then add the liquids and fruits later in the blender, the greens get blended pretty well. If I add the greens last, there would be 'chunks' of greens in the smoothie even if I let it blend for a long time.

[veganman]

I am not having a problem with chunks, just that the blender has a hard time turning due to the thickness....

[Brianna]

I have a Hamilton Beach and it doesn't work to well for the tougher greens like kale. My Bosch used to work for kale, but then it was more expensive. Now I just got a Vitamix and I'm excited to try it out.

[Rawkinlocs]

I have a Hamilton Beach and it doesn't work to well for the tougher greens like kale. My Bosch used to work for kale, but then it was more expensive. Now I just got a Vitamix and I'm excited to try it out.

Hmmm...my Hamilton Beach did great with kale...even collards! Maybe it depends on the model (?) I just had to blend it a while to get it all broken down...not TOO long, but longer than I do with the Vitamix. You'll LOVE how quickly the Vitamix whips up those smoothies! :)

[Brianna]

Hmmm...my Hamilton Beach did great with kale...even collards! Maybe it depends on the model (?) I just had to blend it a while to get it all broken down...not TOO long, but longer than I do with the Vitamix. You'll LOVE how quickly the Vitamix whips up those smoothies! :)
I'm so excited!!! I haven't decided yet what I want to try first!!!

[robertandenith]

I have a smoothie blender, like specially to make smoothies. I remember getting this blender when I started to get into smoothies, like 4 years ago or so. But obviously, I am using it more now. I usually cut the kale and take the stem out of the leaves. I only use the leaves and the stem I use it for juicing :D

[maria84]

You can also look into the L'equip blender for about $140. It's pretty powerful...kinda inbetween a standard blender and a Vitamix! You can read more about them here: http://www.discountjuicers.com/lequipblender.html

Thanks so much for suggesting this, Rawkin! L'Equip seems to be a really good company overall I've noticed. I hope this blender can make super smooth, creamy sauce like a Vitamix too. That would rock!

[maggiesdaddy]

I used a cheap blender for a long time and it worked well. I now have the blender that Montel used to promote (can't remember it's name at the moment" and it is to heavy to get out most mornings so I also have a Ninja. It is fantastic! It isn't too expensive, so if your blender doesn't work for you I would give it a try and just keep the receipt in case it doesn't work like you want it to!

[k8sl8]

I live in a motorhome for the summer so space is a major issue... I use a bullet blender!! Obviously takes a little longer and I don't do a LOT of greens, but works great for regular smoothies. I don't use ice - just freeze banana or other fruit. Works much better. Sometimes there is a couple little round fruit marbles, but hey - that's what I have teeth for. No excuses: You can make anything work if you have to! I have a Vitamix in my 'real' house, but seriously, this does work just fine!

[IrisC]

Hi Guys,

You can also try Omni Blender (www.3blenders.com) it works really well. Its only $250 with 7 years warranty. I used it on blending wheatgrass. Really blends well..you can also check this website http://thesunnyrawkitchen.blogspot.com/p/presenting-omniblend-v-much-more.html

Hope I can share my wonderful experience with omni blender.

[Namaste Mama]

I have a Oster Beehive and it makes amazing soothies, even with Kale. i use it for grinding flax seeds and sunflower seeds and even making almond butter. I highly recomend this blender.