Since no answers yet....I did go a search and found the "Holiday Specials" post where the Magic Bullet didnt get good reviews.

So I have a feeling if anyone has a Magic Bullet blend they may not post here.

You could email me privately.....:)

Here is a link that might be useful: Holiday Specials

I lurk more than post on this forum now, but I do have a Magic Bullet (a gift from my mother-in-law for Christmas a couple years ago).

If you want to make single serve milkshakes, it will work for that. It pretty much minces to bits anything you might want to chop, so onions, peppers, tomatoes, etc - all just get pureed. It's hard to control the "level" of chopping...I gave up quickly. It does work for pureeing cups of soup to add back in...but only small amounts.

I use mine for grinding eggshells to powder for my homemade dog food. That's really all I use it for now. I use a full blender for shakes/drinks, and I bought a food processor for everything else, and it's much, much better than the magic bullet, in my opinion (even in my small kitchen).

Just my .02... :-)

Thanks for you input jamie.

Jamie,
Could you post how you prepar the egg shells for grinding? Do they need to be sanitized in any way? They would be good for my birds. I never felt right giving them whole shells thinking they could cut themselves on the sharp shells.
Thanks,
Annette

My son [13] is in love with the Magic Bullet. He is a peripheral cook - he sees me cooking and like his dad he loves 'equipment'. I have the top end Cuisinart food processor [I use all the time now], 2 minis [I don't use], and a stick blender [I do use for soups and sauces].

Andrew wanted to buy me the MB this past Xmas, it's now in stores like Kohls, and I said thank you but no. I find myself using the Cuisinart but never the smaller units. Maybe it's because I cook for 4 but I think it's more about how well the Cuisinart performs. And after I got the tip here to cover the container with saran so you need not clean the top and feeder it's been an integral part of my food prep. And I am not a stay at home mom, I work all day when my kids are at school but I enjoy getting them off the bus and making a fresh, good dinner. So I guess I'm saying a real food processor might be something to consider :). Dodge the bullet and get a processor you can put more than a handful of ingredients in...in the long run I think you'll be happier.

Just my $0.02, I've been wrong lol.

I LOVE MY MAGIC BULLET !!! I use it all the time. It's great if you want to grind up lots of Garlic, making Smoothies,making salad dressing,....etc.....It has so many uses and easy to clean. Diana55

Would an immersion blender be more useful? The one I have has a chopper attachment.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen Aid Immersion Blender

we use ours every morning for our protein smoothie. and like diana, i also use it to chop up lots of garlic once in a while and freeze in small portion for future single use.

I have one, thought I had to have one for frozen drinks etc. It works well for that, & for quick bread crumbs. I wouldn't buy it again though after I got an immersion blender.

Amaqan; re the eggshells for birds. You should bake the shells for about 5 minutes at say 300 in order to kill any salmonella that might possibly be present. They're a good source of calcium for pet birds. Just crunch them up inside a baggy or something and not to worry about any sharp pieces.. the birds can handle it.
On the other hand where a little blender comes in handy for pet birds. I used to make a mash of breadcrumbs and scrambled eggs for my birds.
First make breadcrumbs in the blender from about 1/2 piece of bread..then add a portion of scrambled egg to it and mix it in the blender a few seconds,, the birds love it.

My dtrs love their magic bullets. They seem versatile, but so far I don't have one.

I love to cook and have lots of equipment - blender, immersion blender (which I never use), food processor, stand mixer, hand-held mixer, mini chopper, mezzaluna. I find I use my trusty old chef's knife more than anything else, so I can't justify getting a magic bullet. But I'd love to have one, anyway!

I like mine for some things.
Bread crumbs, oat flour, instant pudding, pastes, purees of small amounts.
I agree that it is hard to control the "dice" of veggies, but you can just pulse it a couple of times for things like fresh salsa.
It only comes with 1 and 2 cup containers, so quantities are very limited. If you've seen the infomercial where they make muffins........forget it. Unless you plan to mix and pour 2-3 times to fill a muffin tin. I wish you could buy a 4 cup container for it.

Mine sits right next to the FP which I use for the bigger stuff.

If you love gadgets and have the room, it's fun. If not, I wouldn't bother. I did find a similiar machine (can't remember the brand right now) for half the price and bought them for 2 DD for Christmas. About $20 for those.

Deanna

Thanks for all of your replies:)

I really do like kitchen gadgets, but just not enough room for them all.

When reading the posts there are a lot of pros and cons on the Magic Bullet.
sands99 talked about using her 4 cup Cuisinart processor. That got me to search for a mini processor, since I only cook for 2. I dont want another blender, have had to many of those already. The last one is now in use in the basement for mixing up compost (that will take a whole new post)and soiless mix for hosta seedlings.

Found the Mini Prep Cuisinart food processor that I think will fit into my food prep better than a Magic Bullet will.

Thanks again for all the input. Also thanks to pkguy for the idea to add egg shell to bird feed. The egg shells would be great to add to our suet recipe.

I don't have a MB, but have thought about getting one because I recently began making my own skin care products (facial scrubs, moisturizers, toners, etc.) and it would come in really handy for those kind of things rather than dragging out the big food processor for those small amounts.

My girlfriend has one and absolutely loves it! She only cooks for two, but makes soups to freeze in portions, smoothies, etc. She also feed her dog a raw diet and uses it to chop his meats and veggies.

I love the eggshell idea! Thanks for posting that! Our songbirds will love it this spring!

Linda

I'll admit, I don't bake my eggshells...but I buy local eggs, and wash very thoroughly (if they had salmonella, my dogs would get it from the eggs, which I also feed raw). But I would imagine birds would be much more sensitive to anything on them than my dogs might be, so baking is a good idea. I had read that the baking was just to remove mineral oils put on the shell to help preserve the eggs and dry the shells out well, not to guard against salmonella.

I just wash them out well with hot water, then store in the fridge until they're really dry. Then I grind them way down into a powder for the dogs...since I mix it with their raw food (one of my dogs can't have whole raw bones, so it replaces the calcium). It takes no time at all in the magic bullet to grind them to powder, if that's what you decide to do.

I actually bought the food processor specifically to make dog food with (pulverizing veggies/chopping meat). I can't imagine using the MB for that...it would take me hours with those small quantities! :-)

I don't imagine the Magic Bullet to be very sturdy. It's a very lightweight plastic blender with a small motor in it. Fine for occasional light use but nothing more.

We have one and it gets used at least twice a day for protein shakes. I usually use it to make blue cheese dressing or other dressings. I've tried chopping harder things (cheese - nuts, etc.) with not great results so I stick with the liquid stuff.

For virtually everything that you want to do as listed in your OP, the stick blender with the chopper attachment is the answer. I have a Braun for many years and love it. It purees right in the pot when making soup, chops to various sizes in the small chopper attachment, makes any and all kinds of drinks & smoothies, etc. And, it's so easy to clean ... I love mine! Plus, it has a small profile and so doesn't take up much room at all.

arline

My friend bought one and she loves it.

Get a VitaMix, and with the dry container you can grind your own flour.

I'm late repling so you already made a decision. However, if anyone may be considering a Magic Bullet, I'll add my comments.

I love my Magic Bullet and it is used every day. DH makes milkshakes. The girls love smoothies. I puree high-protein pancake batter that is made with oat flour. It is good for dips and salad dressings. I also use it to blend some of the soup to put back in. You may be able to find one on sale for $49.

I have a Cuisinart but don't pull it out for small jobs and it is harder to clean. The Magic Bullet fills a nice niche for our family.

Kari