Cost of going Green Smoothies?

[Scanner]

Hey, I am thinking of varying up my diet a bit. . .trying to choke down my veggies can be hard so I am thinking of buying a Blender. I looked at a Vitamix and wow. . .$400 on amazon. Needless to say, I read up some reviews on some basic blenders for $60.00 and there seem to be good reviews on Osco. (except it's noisy like a jet engine from what the reviewer said).

Anyway, what's the average cost of throwing all of those fruits + veggies per serviing?

I am imagining walking out of the Supermarket with a $400 bill.

Any good apps? I haven't really ever used my Ipad for anything except music but I think recipes would be a good way to go.

I also hope this gets some veggies into my kid's innards.

[bennkar]

Summer is coming up - check yard sales for used blenders. They are commonly unloaded for a few dollars. For that price you can pick one up, try your recipies, and even if you want a blender but don't like the one you have, it didn't cost you much while you experimented. And if you don't like the blended food... you didn't waste money on an expensive machine.

[Bal.Leona]

You could also look into an immersion/stick blender, depending on what all you want to use it for. I haven't looked into prices for a while, but they're great for smoothies or liquefying soups and whatnot.

[DebbieL]

The favourite tool for making smoothies in our household (we're pretty much smoothie addicts) is the kitchen aid food processor. Works like a dream (and cleans so easy too - I just run the dirty pieces under water once I've poure the smoothies and leave in the drying rack). As far as the cost of smoothies, they are not necessarily expensive at all, and so worthwhile for your health. It is definitely a good way to get some nutrition into the kids without them suspecting a thing.

One of the products I LOVE which I add to my smoothies sometimes is called Amazing Grass Chocolate Drink powder. This stuff is so full of healthy ingredients you won't believe it. Costs about $40 or so for a 60 serving size container (17oz) through iHerb.com. It is chocolate, so goes great in smoothies with a banana.

My favourite smoothie (with the Amazing Grass Chocolate Powder):

For each serving: 1 frozen banana
1 scoop chocolate greens powder
1 heaping tablespoon natural peanut butter (optional, but yummy if you aren't allergic or anything)
Milk (enough to blend and make a milkshake type consistency)

This smoothie is so delicious when done right, and tastes just like a milkshake (I'm not kidding). The key to making a smoothie seem like a milkshake is the frozen banana and milk.

I also love making various berry smoothies. I'll add a nice serving of frozen blueberries (or whatever mixed berries), mix in some fruit juice (whatever flavour I have) and make it nice and creamy with a generous portion of nice yoghurt (also whatever flavour I have). I also sometimes add in a bit of freeze dried acai berry powder that I have (but be careful with acai - it's a pretty strong flavour). Naturally I use some fresh fruits/berries when in season, but I honestly prefer to have at least one frozen ingredient in all my smoothies (occasionally I'll even add a bit of frozen yoghurt for a treat).

I haven't tried this yet, but I've heard that you can blend in spinach without changing the taste of the smoothie.

I live in a very high cost of living area in Canada where we pay more for everything than most parts of the States, so prices are probably cheaper for things where you are. We pay about $0.69/lb for bananas and $6 for a 600g (about 20oz) bag of frozen fruit. I buy whatever juices are on sale at the time (pure fruit juices only - no "drink"). Yoghurt and other dairy is expensive here. Milk is about $3 for a 2 litre, and good yoghurt (Yoplait for example) is about $2.50-$3 per 650g container on sale.

[kork13]

I make smoothies whenever I have the opportunity. Alot of it is experimenting on what works. For the fruit portion of them, you could easily use canned fruits like mandarin segments, pineapple chunks, peaches, frozen berries, and the like. Those are all much cheaper than fresh. Bananas are also great for smoothies, and very cheap (as a tip: when bananas get "old" and the peels start turning brown, peel and freeze them in a ziploc bag--perfect for smoothies). From there, you can add increasing amounts of fresh veggies (you'll want them fresh). Shredded carrots and fresh spinach both work well in smoothies, and are a very healthy addition. I also add milk and/or yogurt for creaminess/flavor. Look around online for recipes, you'd be surprised what you can mask in a smoothie with some of your favorite fruits. If you balance canned/frozen/fresh right, you can easily get away with less than $1/serving.

[creditcardfree]

My favorite smoothie is: romaine lettuce, bananas and strawberries. Great way to get in greens. I just use a regular blender. I would definitely suggest this as a first route.

I like everyones ideas for smoothies. I will have to try those.

[Scanner]

Thanks. . .I checked out craigslist for used blenders and food processors but never got much. I don't have a dishwasher (yet) at my new place for what it easy to clean.

Will have to do more research into this and what fits my needs (and budget - wow the KitchenAid was about $350, but maybe it's worth it).

[Slug]

I bought this one on Amazon. It's been good to us through the years. It shreds anything that I put in there and doesn't seem to waste any juice (i.e. the pulp is pretty dry). You can mix back in some of the pulp if you like. We compost the rest.

[cypher1]

What are some good brand names or types of blenders? I'm not really into smoothies right now, and mainly use for my protein shakes at the moment. I'm sure once i get a nice one, I'll be experimenting with smoothies. I may just scour Craigslist in the meantime.

[Scanner]

Link didn't seem to work on my end. . .wouldn't you really want a blender vs. a juicer for Smoothies? (I assume it was a juicer you referred me to)

[DebbieL]

Thanks. . .I checked out craigslist for used blenders and food processors but never got much. I don't have a dishwasher (yet) at my new place for what it easy to clean.

Will have to do more research into this and what fits my needs (and budget - wow the KitchenAid was about $350, but maybe it's worth it).

Kitchenaids are definitely worth it. You can find them on sale. Ours are about 12 years old now and still going very strong. It is so easy to clean up this Kitchen Aid food processor after use - I literally remove the blade, and just rinse the whole thing (container, lid, blade) under running hot water. It is clean in a few seconds. I just do it right away after use so nothing has time to get stuck on. If I have peanut butter or something sticking a bit I just get out a cloth, but honestly 9 out of 10 times just a quick run under hot water cleans this thing up good as new after most smoothies.

[Frugal]

I agree, I would check Craigslist or a garage sale and get the blender used. We got ours for about $60-70 on sale...