When I make soups, I cook the ingredients, and when finished, I use an immersion blender. It beats pouring hot soup into a blender. (I'm way too accident-prone.)

I bought my sister a Ninja Master Prep Professional QB1004 for her birthday. Her kids have ruined three blenders.

She loves it. The only thing she misses is a glass pitcher, but really? That's heavy!

I think it was only $60-70, which is a lot of bang for the buck, imho. I can't fathom spending $400 or more on a blender.

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This post was edited by happy_grrl on Thu, Dec 12, 13 at 12:46

All she does is remove the seeds and the bits you wouldn't want to eat. Food usually gets cut in half, that way.

I have seen her puree whole carrots and celery though.
I should pay more attention!

Buy a reconditioned Vitamix from their website. Still comes with a 5 year warranty. And I think there is a coupon for $50.

I recently purchased a Vitamix. My previous blender was a Ninja.

I primarily use the blender for smoothies. And I have to say - I think the Ninja did an equally fine job on them. I use a combo of fruits, greens, water, and sometimes ice (if the fruit isn't frozen) in my smoothies.

The Ninja was actually easier to use, IMO - less finicky about the order ingredients were loaded in, less finicky about operation (just turn it on, vs. start on 1 and Variable with the Vitamix and then ramp up to 10 and then flip the switch to high. )

The Vitamix is far easier to clean, and the pitcher lid is much more sturdy. Other than that, they seem equal to me in performance. If you're using your blender for things other than smoothies, perhaps your experience may differ. I honestly might have returned the Vitamix but I had already given my Ninja to a friend, so I kept it.

I have several friends with Nutribullets and they all think they are wonderful. They grind up veggies and seeds just fine. And, a Nutribullet only costs $100.00. I'm not sure what it can do in the "soup" department, but I think it would be fine for smoothies.

I've got a 20% off coupon for one of the local home stores, and am debating whether to use it to get another rollout tray for the uppermost pantry, or a Ninja/Nutribullet/etc.

I really appreciate the input, Meangoose, jellytoast and Louislinus.

Meangoose, do you remember what model of Ninja you had? There seem to be several. (PS is there such a thing as a goose that isn't mean?)

Craigslist

I think a goose unobserved isn't mean, much like a tree that falls in the forest makes no sound if no one is there to hear it.

I had this model: http://www.amazon.com/Ninja-BL660-Professional-Blender-Single/dp/B00939FV8K/ref=pd_sbs_k_1

The single serve containers were nice as well. They didn't blend to quite as smooth a consistency if I was using kale, but it was acceptable and convenient. They were also the BOMB for emulsifying salad dressing.

Thanks! something that can handle things like kale, and unpeeled fruits, whole veggies - that is what I am thinking of. Seems like either the Ninja or Nutribullet can do it.

Reconditioned VItamix direct from mfg or Craigslist. Used off of CL is fine. These things last ! One of my VM's is a 3600 model that was mfg'd in the early 80's.

agree with the posts above recommending a used or reconditioned vitamix. there really is no other blender like it, but I need to warn you that it is a veritable behemoth.

I have been searching Craigslist. They are still ~$300+ direct, refurbished from the manufacturer. One may be worth it, but I don't think that I want to spend that much just yet.

Anybody have or heard anything about the Oster Versa? 1400 watts, 28,000 rpm, metal drive system and a 7 year warranty. Looks an awful lot like the tall Vitamix. Kohls has it for $299 (which is more than the oster site!), but with a $50 rebate. I have a Kohls 30% off coupon and they are giving $10 Kohls cash for every $50 spent, so bottom line would be $120. I'm really tempted.

I looked at some review and videos that Bing came up with-- looks like it might be good for smoothies, probably not as good as Vitamix, but not sure about any other use.

Thought I'd pull the trigger on the oster versa today....but it no longer shows up on the Kohls website! Guess I'll have to wait for the ice to melt on our lane and see if they still have it in the store.

America's Test Kitchen ranks Vitamix as #1 and Breville as tie, for what its worth.

"When we rated blenders in our September/October 2012 issue, we highly recommended the Hemisphere Control Blender ($199.99) by Breville; it was the co-winner with our high-end favorite, the Vitamix 5200 ($449). But we promised to keep an eye on the BrevilleâÂÂs long-term durability. Since then, weâÂÂve made more than 400 smoothies in a single copy of the Breville blender, choosing a motor-challenging combination of juice, chunks of frozen fruit, and raw kale. We also purchased six more models for routine use in the test kitchen."

While they said they did have problems with a couple overall it is still a strong recommendation...and Breville generally has a pretty good reputation for support/repair from what I've seen.

Thanks, xipper. I did buy a used ninja off craigslist. If it doesn't work out, or I decide to upgrade, I will keep the Breville in mind!

I got a refurbished vitamix straight from the manufacturer
(Just over 300$) and it really is so worth it. I used to have a cheaper blender and now I don't know how I survived without the Vitamix! I use it a few times a day.

I definitely recommend trying Craigslist, but it is sometimes hard to find a Vitamix on Craigslist for a decent price. People are listing blenders that are over 25 years old for $150-200+, and way more for blenders that often are already 5-10 years old !! Sometimes you can get lucky though if you keep checking every day & don't mind that it may take a year or more to find one at a really good price (I did find my approx 30yr old 3600 model that we use at the beach on CL!). When one comes up, it typically gets snatched up quickly, so I would think it's hard to be the first responder. I do recommend holding out for a Vitamix. Until I got one, I never knew what I was missing.

I was helping my girlfriend look at Vitamixes on the website tonight (finally she's going to join the club since her old blender, one in a line of many that she has had, died this weekend) and I saw that the reconditioned Vitamixes are on sale off their regular price right now. So we called up there and they are on sale until this Friday Feb 28.

If you don't like the thought of a used blender from Craigslist, you can get a factory reconditioned one on this sale for $299 AND you get the Vitamix warranty and risk-free 30-day trial. The blender container, DVD, recipe book, and tamper are sent brand new, never used. And the motor is inspected/serviced before it goes back out as a reconditioned unit. I think most (all?) of the reconditioned machines were ones returned under their 30 day return policy, so they have hardly been used (or maybe never used!). Also, I have a code to get free shipping plus three more freebies(!) on any VM ordered from the manufacturer (new or reconditioned). Send me a private message from 'My Page' (above) if interested.

They also said anyone who orders the standard machine or standard with preset programs during this sale will get an entry into a drawing for: 10 Vitamix machines, 50 extended warranties, and 140 smoothie cups. How cool would it be to buy a machine and also win one !! ÃÂ : )

I have had a vegetable juicer for the past 40 years. [g] I've gone through phases of juicing for months at a time and then take a break from it. Then about 3 years ago, I juiced straight for 4 months and had juice and yogurt smoothies and very little else. I had my blood tested toward the end of that period and to my surprise discovered my triglycerides which were normally low, had gone through the roof. So, it was back to the drawing board.

I don't remember when I came across the book about Green Smoothies, but at some point I started trying those. I also balked at the $400. price for a Vitamix and the plastic container and looked for another way to do it. I already had a small food processor and I didn't see any reason why that wouldn't suit my purpose. And it worked perfectly fine to me. I actually prefer my smoothies with a little bit of "texture". Some small pieces of crunchy celery and frozen blueberries get added at the end and pulsed to mix them in but not break them down.

It was a small $50. food processor and for us, it has been a workhorse. The only issue left for me is the plastic container, which I don't see any way around, because I've looked and looked and I don't believe they make a food processor with a glass bowl.

You might try that before spending a lot of money on another appliance. I personally can't see how an immersion blender would work on a raw carrot. I also freeze some of the ingredients and never add ice.

I hope everyone is planning on sharing their favorite Smoothie recipes!

I was having a brain glitch when I last posted, because it wasn't a Ninja that I got, but a Nutribullet. $45. So far I am happy with it. Like someone mentioned above, it doesn't absolutely completely silken smooth liquefy everything like the Vitamix is supposed to do -- there might be a tiny bit of peel, or stem (and I do mean tiny) here and there. But it is so easy to use, and easy to clean too.

I haven't been following any recipes, just throwing whatever combo of fruits and veggies I happen to have around, Currently it has been mango, tangerine, and bagged chopped mixed salad with kefir, ground almonds or some of my DD's whey protein. Last week it was collard greens which lent a more noticeable "green" taste, but it was good. Whatever fruit is used seems to thoroughly mask the taste of the veggies, even cabbage.

I had used my "Lil Oscar" food chopper before to blenderize soup, but the bowl shape was kind of awkward for that and tended to leak liquid. Now in the nutribullet I can puree the raw veggies first for rapid cooking. The Lil Oscar is still great to mix up a batch of fresh apple and oatmeal for biscuits, or to puree cooked veggies. I wouldn't want to be without it.

My current favorite is just Kale, Celery, Avocado and Frozen Blueberries.