Is the NutriBullet Worth the Money?

Short Answer: NO

Long Answer: It Depends

Making the choice to buy the NutriBullet over other blenders is one that anyone should research. Many of the people that go out and buy the NutriBullet do so because they watch the infomercial and are amazed at what he or she saw. In reality, the NutriBullet is not the world's greatest blender.

Factor 1: Frequency of Use

If you are 100% sure you will be using the NutriBullet everyday or at least 3 times per week, the NutriBullet is not for you. This blender is not designed for heavy and frequent use. Many on the internet post problems they run into with the NutriBullet because they use it so often. 

If you are going to just use the NutriBullet less than 50 times a year, this will be a great blender for you to buy. If you are looking for a blender that works well as both a blender and a food processor for light blending jobs, the NutriBullet would also be a good match.

Factor 2: Price

Choosing a blender for less than $100 can be a difficult task. The NutriBullet hovers right on the border between $95 and $100, making it a very affordable choice for anyone in the blending market. However, I personally recommend the Oster 7 Speed Blender as the best blender for less than $100. With the Oster, you will actually save $35 instead of buying the NutriBullet. Between the Oster and the NutriBullet, I find the blending abilities of both blenders very similar.

If you can spend more than $100, I would recommend purchasing the big brother to the NutriBullet, the NutriBullet Pro 900 Series. The NutriBullet 900 corrects many of the issues of the NutriBullet, namely by offering higher blending speeds, a more durable product, and larger blending containers. You will only end up having to spend about $50 for a significant upgrade.

Factor 3: Trust

The NutriBullet company is not known for being the most customer friendly planet in the world. While a 1 year warranty is supposedly offered with the NutriBullet, you will have to pay money to have the machine shipped and repaired should anything go wrong in this 1 year. Along with that, it is notoriously difficult to even get into contact with the appropriate customer service representatives.

At the end of the day, any blender costing less than $100 will have less than stellar customer service. The Oster 7 Speed Blender has been received much better than the NutriBullet with far less complaints about its lifespan when compared to the NutriBullet. In my opinion, the only sure bet is to go with a new Vitamix model. However, Vitamix blenders run closer to $400 which is a huge jump in spending.

Overall

The NutriBullet is designed for a specific demographic. If you are looking for a blender you are planning to use occassionaly to make fruit smoothies and operate as a food processor, the Ninja will serve you well. I think the best bet is to end up spending more money to purchase a better blender, whether it be the NutriBullet 900 or a Vitamix Series Blender.

By Mat McNeile 

My NutriBullet Review

Product Review: NutriBullet NBR-12

Company: Amazon via seller NutriBullet

Price Range: $90-$105

Discount:  Save Money at Amazon

Pros:

Blend quickly and efficiently with the NutriBullet. A lack of time should never be an excuse for not making a smoothie when you own the NutriBullet. Making a smoothie out of fresh fruits and vegetables is as simple as adding fruit, ice, and water to the blending cup and pulsing the blender. Total time to make a smoothie can very easily be under five minutes. Once the smoothie is made, take the blending cup with you and drink from it. Nothing could be easier.

Fruit smoothies taste great and come out well blended. With 600 Watts of power, the NutriBullet can handle fruit blending jobs with ease. Throw in a banana or two, some strawberries, ice cubes, and a bit of water. You will get a perfectly blended smoothie with no chunks left in it after blending. Be sure to break fruits into smaller pieces before adding them to the NutriBullet. You will run into problems if you add too large of pieces to the blender. Simply break your bananas into fourths, cut apples into quarters, and prepare all of your fruit into sizes that would be appropriate for 'finger foods' serving size.

Health benefits of blending are too good to pass up. Almost all Americans are woefully inadequate when it comes to consuming the recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables. For many, the problem lies in the fact that they do not have the time nor the knowledge to prepare dishes of fruits and vegetables. Smoothies recipes with the NutriBullet correct this problem so easily. Drink as many smoothies as you want in a day. You should build your diet around staple grains, but smoothies are a great addition in order to get those antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins.

Cleanup is a breeze. Rinse out the blending cup and run the blending blades under warm soapy water after every blending. Throw the two components in the dishwasher and you are done. There is no bulky blender to deal with that is practically impossible to clean at the bottom of the container. The NutriBullet is as easy a cleanup as any cup in your house is.
 

Cons:

Be aware of the lifespan and durability of the NutriBullet NBR-12 . The NutriBullet is truly not made with the idea that it can withstand daily use. Many people out there want to use the NutriBullet as a be-all and end-all appliance for their blending purposes. What many fail to realize is the NutriBullet is designed for people that blend once or twice a week at most. Any blender that runs in the range of $100 or less is not designed for the smoothie fanatics of the world that blend 365 days of the year. For that you need a Vitamix, not a NutriBullet.

Do not expect to blend leafy greens or carrots in smoothies. This blender only has 600 Watts of power, it is not going to liquify 100% of the most fiber rich vegetables thrown at it. If you attempt to blend leafy greens, you will be left with little chunks that are unpleasant to drink. Do not blend carrots for drink consumption! Carrots will come out super chunky and will likely cause you to choke. In order to drink green smoothies, I recommend using Vitamineral Green with the blender as this green powder will provide almost all the nutrient benefits of greens, but easily assimilates into the drink.

Guarantee:

The Amazon A-Z Guarantee is the best guarantee in the market. In the event that the product is not delivered, delivered in a broken condition, or is not meeting the quality expectations of the buyer, the item may be returned to Amazon for a full refund. A 30 day window exists to file a claim to Amazon over any problem that may come up with the product.

Value for money?

The NutriBullet NBR-12 is a good purchase for anyone wanting to spend less than $100 on a blender. I truly do not feel this machine is made for the most serious of smoothie drinkers in the world. For anyone looking for a blender to use a couple of times a week, I think the NutriBullet is a decent choice to make as it gets the job done at one low price.

Where to buy:

Amazon - NutriBullet NBR-12

Continue to read reviews at Amazon: 

"The Nutribullet is a great product doing exactly what the infomercial says and shows." - Randy

"I contacted customer service by email and they sent me back some questions to answer." - Greenwinifred

"We tried spinach, carrots, kale, banana, orange, pineapple, apple, blueberries, grapes and strawberries, ice and flax seed whole." M.F.

By Mat McNeile

Ten Best Blenders for Less than $100

 Oster BVCB07-Z Counterforms

NutriBullet NBR-12

Ninja Pro Blender NJ600

Hamilton Beach Power Elite Blender

Ninja Master Prep

Hamilton Beach Wave Crusher

Oster 8 Speed Blender

Hamilton Beach Stainless Steel Single Serve Blender

Cuisinart Blend and Cook Soup Maker

Oster Beehive Blender

4 Ingredient Oatmeal

 My favorite breakfast that I eat almost every morning is oatmeal. Oatmeal is one of the healthiest foods can possibly eat. Oats are rich in fiber, minerals, and high in calories. Along with that, the fat content of oats are high, which is great when you follow a low fat vegan diet. One of the great things about oatmeal is all the variety that goes into making oatmeal a unique and special dish. Most days, I like to keep it with the simple recipe listed below.

4 Ingredient Oatmeal

- 4 Cups of Rolled Oats

- 1 Sliced Apple

- A Few Dashes of Cinnamon

- *4 Cups of Water (Feel free to add soy milk or almond milk)*

I added all of these ingredients to my Instant Pot. Be sure to add the oats and cinnamon before pouring in the water. This will make the oats and cinnamon mix much better than putting the water in before the oats or cinnamon. Any kind of apple works great with this oatmeal, I usually just buy whichever apples are the least expensive at the store.

Rolled oats cook up great. The nutritional value of rolled oats is nearly the same as steel cut oats and whole oat grains. Steel cut oats will need to be cooked much longer than rolled oats, that is why I prefer using rolled oats for the most part.

Nothing picks me up as much as a nice bowl of oatmeal every morning. Plenty of calories can be found in oatmeal and the fiber keeps you going all throughout the day. On the side I may eat a piece of citrus like grapefruit if I have any on hand.

Joyoung CTS-1078 Soy Milk Maker Review

Product Review: Joyoung CTS-1078 Soy Milk Maker

Company: Amazon via seller Joyoung

Price Range: $100-$135

Pros:

Soy milk is so easy to make. With the Joyoung CTS-1078, the process of cooking and liquifying soybeans could not be easier. Soak your soy beans the night before (sprinkle baking powder over the soybeans to make the beans much softer). The next morning or next day, rinse the soybeans and place them in the Joyoung CTS 1078. Add water up to the marked level and set the programmed function to cook soy milk. In twenty minutes, you will have hot soy milk ready to drink.

Cleanup of this soy milk maker is easy. The Joyoung CTS 1078 does not require cleaning an internal filter. This means you can basically just rinse off the entire machine in the sink without having to scrub tiny parts. You can not really wash this machine in the dishwasher. This should not be a problem though, rinsing out the Joyoung is quick and effective. Keep in mind though, the Joyoung CTS 1098 needs to be washed right after making the soy milk in order to prevent any sort "crust" from developing on the container.

Make more than just soy milk. The Joyoung CTS-1078 Soy Milk Maker comes with multiple cooking functions that make for an easy time preparing nut and seed milks, soups, and even oatmeal. Just like soybeans, you will want to soak whatever you are making milk from the night before. Almond milk comes out great. Sunflower milk is good too. Soups are okay, I still think the Vitamix does the best job at making soup out of any appliance. Oatmeal is cool to make, you can make a mix of soy milk and oatmeal at the same time for an extremely rich and creamy complete breakfast.

Keep the okara for tofu, soy burgers, and anything else. After making the soy milk, the leftover fiber caught in the filter can be used for a whole variety of things. Okara is healthy to eat and is awesome if wanting to make homemade tofu. In my opinion though, okara is not nearly as healthy as people claim though. Whole soybeans are more health than okara. Whole anything is better than its isolated fiber or juice. If you truly want to make soy burgers, I would soak soybeans over night and then cook in the Instant Pot. After the beans are cook, pulse them in a blender to have a thick paste to be cooked up into a thick burger.

Cons:

The Joyoung CTS-1098 gets very hot. As the soy milk maker cooks, the appliance heats up on the exterior to a high temperature. It gets so hot, it is almost dangerous to touch. Keep kids away from the machine while it is operating, they could easily hurt themselves. I wish it came with a better form of insulation, but I think it is easy enough to just avoid touching the body of the Joyoung.

Guarantee:

Joyoung provides a one year warranty on their soy milk maker if any defect comes up as a result of the manufacturing of the product. for a Chinese company, Joyoung is incredibly customer friendly with English speaking customers and attempts to help the user with any problems that may come up.

The Amazon A-Z Guarantee is the best guarantee in the market. In the event that the product is not delivered, delivered in a broken condition, or is not meeting the quality expectations of the buyer, the item may be returned to Amazon for a full refund. A 30 day window exists to file a claim to Amazon over any problem that may come up with the product.

Value for money?

The Joyoung CTS-1078 is a great option for anyone on the market for a soy milk maker. I would say this soy milk make is more of a dependable machine. It works fantastically and will make your soy milk or plant milk with no problem. Overall, this machine could last for years and years even with use every other day. With the savings that come with making your own soy milk, you will definitely save money when using the Joyoung CTS-1078.

Where to buy:

Amazon - Joyoung CTS-1078 Soy Milk Maker

Continue to read reviews at Amazon:

"Very good product, easy to wash and use." - Jing He

"The soy bean milk made by it is so fresh and great." - Ying

"Anyway, it is a good product, You will not regret it." - Weibing 

By Mat McNeile

Vitamix 5200 Blender Review

Product Review: Vitamix 5200 Blender

Company: Amazon via seller Vitamix

Price Range: $480-$550

Pros:

Discover a dependable and powerful blender that would complete any chef's quality kitchen. With the Vitamix 5200 Blender, you will unleash two horsepower worth of speed for the blender. With that amount of power, blending anything is practically possible in the kitchen. Green smoothies are not a problem, they come out perfectly smooth without any chunks whatsoever. Make the silkiest smooth hummus you have ever tasted. Nut butters come out creamier and better tasting than anything bought from the store. 

Vitamix blenders have it all: power, durability, quality, and sleek design. I make it no secret that Vitamix blenders are my personal favorite out of all blenders reviewed on this website. While there are certain qualities to be enjoyed in all blenders, the Vitamix seems to encapsulate the best of all worlds. With the Vitamix 5200 model you will receive all the standard features that make Vitamix models the gold standard in blending in my opinion. You will receive:

• One of the best blending containers on the market. It is 64 oz total and made of an extremely thick and durable plastic that is BPA free. The container comes with a rubber top lid that attaches firmly to the blending container and has the center removal hole that liquids can be poured into or the tampered inserted into. Also, the blender handle comes with a nice handle on it that is easy to grip.

• Stainless steel blades line the bottom of the blending container. These blades are sufficiently sharp, but not dangerously sharp like many of the Ninja Blenders. I have never cut myself on these blades, but I know they are extremely powerful as they turn anything into the silky smooth consistency I so often desire. Vitamix makes all components of their blenders with quality, the blades are attached to metallic and rubber gear parts rather than plastic. This shows the long lasting lifespan Vitamix builds into each blender. 

•  An unsung feature of Vitamix blenders is how great of a design the tamper is with the blender. With the Vitamix 5200, you will be able to easily blend even the most difficult of blending jobs. For tricky things like nut butters that use little to no water, just use the tamper while blending to keep pushing everything down. You will never run into a problem where the tamper is hitting the blades, it is actually designed to be perfectly synchronized with the blender.

When it comes to the power of the Vitamix 5200, choose the blending speed best for the job. While the blender can reach speeds up to 240 mph when set to the max blending speed, this does not mean you have to run it that high. This is a variable speed blender. You get to move an easy to control dial up or down to determine the actual speed of the blender. If you are making something like vegan fruit ice cream, you may want it on the lower end of the speed spectrum so as to not to heat your ingredients too much. For something like a hot soup, the higher the speed the more heat that will build up. Along with the variable speed function, it is easy to pulse the blender with the flip of a switch.

Clean up of the blender is easy. Simply rinse out the blender in the sink after finishing up with the blending job. From there you could just add dish soap and warm water to the blending container and run it for 15 seconds or so on a medium blend speed. You could also place it in the bottom rack of the dishwasher. Personally, I clean my Vitamix manually using the blending method that swirls the soap around the container. It is quick and I do not have to worry about cleaning it with other dishes if I am using the Vitamix on a daily basis for smoothies.

Cons:

While the included Getting Started DVD and Cookbook are nice, they are not a must have exclusive. Vitamix does a good job at providing recipes and recognizing that they have a large vegan following. For many appliances I buy that include cookbooks, I simply do not care about at least 75% of the recipes as they are meat or dairy based. The included cookbook is nice, but you can find nice recipes on Pinterest and all over the internet. When it comes to the DVD, I would say just go to Youtube and watch videos by Okraw or whomever your favorite Youtuber happens to be. So while it is nice to get added benefits, I would say they are not stellar things that really add much value.

Guarantee:

Vitamix offers a 7 year warranty on its motor base and blending container. This will cover both any faults in manufacturing and any problems that come up from normal wear and tear. Vitamix is truly one of the premier companies when it comes to customer service.

The Amazon A-Z Guarantee is the best guarantee in the market. In the event that the product is not delivered, delivered in a broken condition, or is not meeting the quality expectations of the buyer, the item may be returned to Amazon for a full refund. A 30 day window exists to file a claim to Amazon over any problem that may come up with the product.

Value for money?

The Vitamix 5200 Blender is a great workhorse blender. With its variable speeds and quality design, this is the kind of blender that could easily last a lifetime. I realize most people are shocked by the high price of Vitamix blenders. In my mind, a blender that provides a lifetime of satisfaction and use is well worth a one time investment. If a blender actively makes you healthier, it will save you thousands of dollars down the road and may even prolong your life by a considerable amount of time.

Where to buy: 

Amazon - Vitamix 5200 Blender

Continue to read reviews at Amazon:

"Easy to clean." Johnny O

"I have made soups, sauces and dips." - Prisrob

"This machine is amazing. It does everything from making great vegetable juice (with no waste...even the pulp is liquified...unlike my juicer)" - Kathleen Honeck

By Mat McNeile

Oster VERSA 1400-watt Professional Performance Blender Review

Product Review: Oster VERSA 1400-watt Professional Blender 

Company: Amazon via seller Oster

Price Range: $230-$250

Pros:

Discover a blender with similar power to the Vitamix, better looks, and a lower price. I have discovered my new favorite sub-$250 blender currently on the market. Let it be known, my favorite blenders still remain the Vitamix series. However, I find it extremely important to get information out there about other more affordable brands for people new to the blending lifestyle that are not yet ready to invest in a Vitamix blender. With all of that being said, the Oster VERSA delivers in so many regards.

Blend smoothies, bean dips, and soups with programmed settings. Based upon my own experiences with blenders, all I ever really make are smoothies and bean dips, with the occasional soup thrown in every now and then as well. Oster recognizes that this is what most people who blend are actually doing, and went out to make a blender that will perform these tasks automatically. Simply press the button on the blender and it will blend your ingredients into the consistency you want. Of course you can manually control the blender as well with a power dial to determine how fast you want it to run, or you can press the pulse button for fast blending.

For a mid-line blender, this machine comes with plenty of great features. I do not understand why other blenders than the Vitamix do not include a tamper, the tamper is an incredibly helpful tool when blending. Thankfully Oster included a tamper with the Oster VERSA Blender which really adds an extra layer of control. Another benefit of this blender are the stainless steel blending blades that remind me a ton of the Vitamix. If I am making this sound like an extreme Vitamix contrast review, it is. Oster really took a page from Vitamix's book to make this blender.

This is a personal taste, but I love the looks of this blender. The sleek black design of this blender looks great kitchen, but what really appeals to me is the almost neon red lining of the blender. Oster really made an aesthetically pleasing blender in my view. Its looks almost remind me of the 80's or just some slick night club with a neon sign shining in the dead of night.

Cons:

Other reviewers claim this blender is hard to clean, I do not believe this to be the case. Truth be told, I do not have a dishwasher so I have not experimented with the blender in the dishwasher, but it appears the blender can be placed on the bottom rack based on what others have said. In any case, you can clean this blender manually easily enough by first rinsing it out after blending, then putting dish soap in the blender and running the blender for up to ten seconds. You will have your blender come clean after that, you may want to wipe down the sides with a sponge and around the rim to have no crust stick to it.

While Oster does claim this blender can make soups, I am hesitant to say to go out and do so. Other reviewers claim having burnout issues with Oster blenders. I have never had a blender actually burn out on me before, but I have mainly used Vitamix blenders for workhorses and they have a reputation for extreme craftsmanship. When it comes to soup blending, you will need to run your blender for a solid 5-6 minutes at a time. Personally, I would not wanted to repeatedly stress a mid-line blender with this kind of workload.

Guarantee:

Oster includes a 7 year warranty on the blender to cover any defects in the manufacturing. For anyone hesitant on the quality of middle of the road blenders, an extensive warranty should be a promising sign.

The Amazon A-Z Guarantee is the best guarantee in the market. In the event that the product is not delivered, delivered in a broken condition, or is not meeting the quality expectations of the buyer, the item may be returned to Amazon for a full refund. A 30 day window exists to file a claim to Amazon over any problem that may come up with the product. 

Value for money?

The Oster VERSA 1400-watt Professional Performance Blender is my new favorite when it comes to mid-tier blenders. Its power and performance come close to matching the Vitamix, but they do not quite reach the blending perfection the Vitamix offers. Smoothies come out great and bean dips are made with the automatic function. There is little to not like with this blender and I would recommend it to anyone looking to get into the world of blending.

Where to buy:

Amazon - Oster VERSA 1400-watt Professional Blender

Continue to read reviews at Amazon:

"This is a very powerful blender." - Pickles

"This jar fits better under the cabinets and limited counter space." - Jean Ferrier

"I own both a Oster Versa and VitaMix, and I think both a great blenders." - Quality Man

By Mat McNeile

Breville 800CPXL Die-Cast Stainless-Steel Motorized Citrus Press Review

Product Review: Breville 800CPXL Die-Cast Stainless-Steel Motorized Citrus Press

Company: Amazon via seller Breville

Price Range: $200-$240

Pros:

Start your morning off right with freshly squeezed orange juice. With the Breville 800CPXL Citrus Press, nothing could be easier than juicing oranges. Cut your oranges in half and juice them, two simple steps are all it takes in order to enjoy true orange juice. With a motorized arm and a quiet motor, squeezing juice in the morning is near effortless and you will not disturb anyone in the house due to the sound of the machine. Nothing tastes better than a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice when starting the day off.

Once finished juicing your fruits, cleanup is a breeze. As with any juicer, remove the parts that actually touch the juice and rinse them off in the sink right after finished with juicing. I find it best to just wash these parts with soapy water and a sponge then and there, but they could be cleaned in a dishwasher. One part that can be troublesome is the top dome that pressed down on the citrus. In order to clean this in the sink, you would have to manually detach it from the juicer every time. Wiping it down with a soapy paper towel works well when cleaning it.

Treat this machine as a piece of art in the kitchen. With a stainless steel construction, the Breville Citrus Press is a real attention getter. Do not be ashamed of this appliance and attempt to hide it under the counter or in a cabinet when it is not in use. Take pride in this citrus press as you would with a piece of quality art. Truly this is one of the nicest looking appliances you could possibly own. When touching the machine as well, you will notice that it is made of true quality. While we may know that some blenders that have a plastic aesthetic are awesome appliances, most Vitamix blenders will simply not look anywhere as cool as the Breville Citrus Press. In order to keep your citrus press shining like new, wipe it down with a paper towel or microfiber cloth that has been soaking in distilled white vinegar once or twice a week.

Bring freshly squeezed citrus drinks to parties to amaze friends. I will be honest, when I bring vegan hors d'ouvres to parties I am not always well received by non-vegan party goers. When you are eating a healthy whole foods vegan diet, your taste buds will be different than the typical party guest on the SAD. However, fresh citrus juices always amaze everyone. My personal favorite recipe involves about 14 naval oranges squeezed into a 64 oz Vitamix container, a head of parsley, and frozen mango chunks. Blend all of that up and pour into some portable container (mason jars). I sort of get disappointed when people inevitably begin mixing this homemade healthy drink with their alcohol, but oh well.

Cons:

There are a few issues with the juicing arm. For the first part, the juicing arm simply doesn't feel as high of quality as the rest of the juicer. It would have been far better if Breville made the grip be stainless steel instead of the black rubber plastic style end. Also, I would have preferred if the design of the press arm was a straight post rather than being curved, the curved design seems sort of weak. Another issue with the arm of the Breville Citrus Press is that it actually swivels back and up, this takes up more space than you would expect. It can be an issue if your entire counter top space is only under cabinets.

Guarantee:

Breville offers a 1-year limited warranty on the product to cover any defects in manufacturing. This will not cover any self-inflicted damage upon the blender by the user.

The Amazon A-Z Guarantee is the best guarantee in the market. In the event that the product is not delivered, delivered in a broken condition, or is not meeting the quality expectations of the buyer, the item may be returned to Amazon for a full refund. A 30 day window exists to file a claim to Amazon over any problem that may come up with the product. 

Value for money?

The Breville 800CPXL Die-Cast Stainless-Steel Motorized Citrus Press is a great item to buy for anyone who wants to drink citrus juice in the morning, but doesn't want to spend tons of time making the juice or running a loud motor that wakes up the entire house. Making juice is incredibly easy with this machine, and I like that it handles limes and lemons fairly well. For the added bonus of receiving an appliance that looks like something that could go in an art gallery, I give this juicer two thumbs up.

Where to buy:

Amazon - Breville 800CPXL Citrus Press

Continue to read reviews at Amazon:

"It is very easy to use it and clean it." - Vasileios Skylogiannis

"Fresh orange and or grapefruit juice every morning." - Paul Berkovitz

"Overall, this is an excellent product with bold design and good looks." - G. Lowitz

By Mat McNeile

Ninja Mega Kitchen System BL771 Review

Product Review: Ninja Mega Kitchen System

Price Range: $200-$250

Features:

• Multiple Ways to Blend
• Automated Functions
• 2 Horsepower Motor

Pros:

Unlock the power of high speed blending at a fraction of the cost. With a 2 horsepower motor, the Ninja Mega Kitchen System Blender will nearly blow your socks off. Most Vitamix Blenders employ a 2 horsepower or a 2.2 horsepower blender. However, Vitamix blenders usually run in the ballpark of $400 +. For half the cost receive a powerful blender that is up to any of the tasks traditionally reserved for the Vitamix. Liquify entire garden bounties into a rich smoothie or soup base in less than a minute.

Employ a blending container for each specialized task in the kitchen. When it comes to blending, there are often a multitude of things one wants to do with the blender. One of the most annoying things though is having a single blending container size. With the NutriBullet, you are stuck with a small blending container. With the Vitamix, you only have a large blending container. Oftentimes this deters me from going through the hassle of using the blender in the first place. If I want to use the speed and power of the Vitamix to make hummus, I would either have to make a ton from scratch or have one heck of a time cleaning up the blending container because I chose to make enough for only one or two servings. The Ninja Mega Kitchen System Blender comes with a 72 oz professional blending jar, an 8 cup food processing bowl, and 2 single serve cups. Blend all of your big smoothies in the 72 oz jar and knead your own homemade dough. Prepare salsa and chop difficult things like carrots or beets in the 8 cup food processor. Make your morning smoothies in the single serve cup. Life made easy with the Ninja Mega Blender.

Smoothies and frozen drinks are really the star of this blender. As I have said before, I love Vitamix blenders, but sometimes I want to drink a small amount of smoothie at one time from a single serve cup. This meant I would have to keep a NutriBullet on hand if I truly wanted to have the best of both worlds. With the Ninja though, you can prepare a single serve smoothie in the morning quickly and efficiently. Smoothness is a guarantee, quality comes out very comparable to that of the NutriBullet. Now though, making smoothies for multiple people in the 72 oz container is not as great of quality as the Vitamix. Small chunks will be left in the smoothie when using the Ninja, the Vitamix always pulverizes everything. When making purely fruit smoothies or frozen fruit treats, this is never a real problem. Green smoothies tend to come out alright, I would not say they are perfect in the 72 oz container though. The only thing I would not recommend are blending seeds or seedy fruit. For the most part then, the single serve cups should work well when it comes to making smoothies (2 cups included, make multiple smoothies in the morning without having to need the 72 oz). Where the 72 oz truly shines is in dough kneading and frozen fruit treats.

What are the differences between the BL770 and BL771 blender models? With the BL771 model currently being reviewed, a Bowl in Bowl/3-cup Mini Prep Bowl is included with the purchase. The BL770 model lacks this Prep Bowl and includes nothing the BL771 lacks. I really like using the Ninja Prep Bowl to chop/mince things like onions and root vegetables. Basically, it is a massive labor saver when it comes to chopping things into tiny pieces.

Cons:

Be aware of the sharpness of the detachable blending blades. Personally, I am not a fan of detachable blending blades which are a common feature in Ninja Blenders. The 72 oz blending container comes with a massive six blade tool. Each of these blades are extremely sharp and can easily nick you if you are not careful around them. Especially when it comes to cleaning the blades, you may run into quite a bit frustration if you do not have a dishwasher and have to clean the undersides of each blade. Thankfully enough the single serves do not employ such a dangerous technology. My advice is just to be careful around these blades as you would be around any knife in the kitchen.

Guarantee:

Ninja offers a 1 year warranty to replace any parts that malfunction as a result of faulty manufacturing. Nina does charge a service fee and charges the customers return postage that will total out to be nearly $40.

The Amazon A-Z Guarantee is the best guarantee in the market. In the event that the product is not delivered, delivered in a broken condition, or is not meeting the quality expectations of the buyer, the item may be returned to Amazon for a full refund. A 30 day window exists to file a claim to Amazon over any problem that may come up with the product.


Value for money?

The Ninja Mega Kitchen System represents a great mid-ground between top of the line blenders and sub-$100 models. While I would not say the Ninja Mega Kitchen is of equal quality to the Vitamix brand of blenders, I find that it gets the job done well enough. Making smoothies is just fine in the Ninja and sometimes more preferable than using a Vitamix due to the single serve cups. With a wealth of opportunities to take advantage of with the Ninja due to all the blending containers, I find the Ninja Mega Kitchen System to be a great choice for people that like to both make fruit smoothies and do plenty of other tasks in the kitchen. Overall, I give the Ninja Mega Kitchen System 3/5 stars.

Where to buy:
Amazon - Ninja Mega Kitchen System

Continue to read reviews at Amazon:

"It's incredibly easy to clean." - John A. Oathout

"The ice and fruit and veggies are pulverized to a fine icy smooth slush." - Robin Ann Miller

"This blender works great for smoothies and making raw homemade baby food or even raw soups." - Hollie