Ours came in the mail the day after we got home from our trip and I couldn’t wait to try it out and see if it was everything that dreams are made of . . . isn’t that what every product with an infomercial professes? I opened it up and loved how small it was. I did a comparison with this quart sized bottle so you could see how it really isn’t that big at all. Every time I use it I put it right back in the cupboard out of the way. It’s great. The basic idea behind the appliance is that it emulsifies all of the veggies, fruits, and whatever else you put in it. This way, you are getting all of the nutrients out of them possible, instead of just blending them up together. I had been using a $40 blender from Walmart (that was fine) and was excited to compare.

With the Nutribullet, you fill the cup half full of greens (spinach, kale, collards, chard, etc.), then half full of fruit, then add 1/4 c or so of super foods (gogi berries, almonds, walnuts, chia seeds, hemp seeds, the list goes on). You then add water to the max fill line and blend! To blend you tip the cup upside down once you’ve screwed on the blade, and simply press down and turn and it blends. It literally takes about 30 seconds to be completely “emulsified.” Cool. We started using it every day at least once a day and I have to say, I’m impressed. I fill it chock full of spinach/kale, banana or avodaco (1/2 of either), frozen berries/fruit, almonds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, and kefir. Then I add my water and blend. Because I pack it to the brim, my smoothies are a little on the thick side. But the infomercial shows a more juice-like version, which is easy to achieve by simply adding more water. I’ve done both with success. The machine is quiet, it gives a nice smooth texture, and it’s SIMPLE to use and clean. The cup comes in a large and then there are two small sizes. My only complaint is that I wish there was a larger cup size so that I could make a big enough smoothie for all of us. I make two each morning in the large size, one for me and the girls and one for my husband. It’s easy and takes less than 10 minutes to do both and clean up, so it’s really not a huge downfall for me.

Overall, I love this purchase. It’s a good middle ground if you aren’t satisfied with your cheap blender, but can’t upgrade to a $400 one! For someone like me who makes A LOT of smoothies, this Nutribullet is fantastic. I wish I were getting paid for this review, but I’m not. I’ve just really enjoyed how simple it’s been to make our smoothies and for either my husband or I to grab the stuff and make our own to go on a busy morning. My husband leaves early on Sunday mornings for meetings at church and I’ve taken him one several times to drink when I show up with the girls hours later! It’s been awesome for us and I wanted to share because if I had not seen that random infomercial and taken the chance, I never would have known about this nifty little device. So now I’ve done my part and spread the word. Plus, it comes in a lot of cute colors – I couldn’t decide.

Now on to smoothie prep. I have been trying to do more food preparation lately. It’s a goal I’ve had for a long time, and with this new baby coming this June, I want to already be in the habit so that we keep our good habits and my girls and husband have healthy snacks to eat whenever they need them. I will post about the other prep I’ve been doing, but first of all, is smoothie prep. When I shop for produce I try to buy it in bulk when I can to get the best deal (hello, Costco). Costco sells huge bags/containers of organic spinach and baby kale. I buy them both. When we aren’t going through a bag of greens as quickly as I anticipated, I do a little smoothie prep. I’ve only done this a few times and have learned already what works . . . and what doesn’t! I add in greens, half a banana, a slice of lemon, half an orange, frozen berries, frozen mango, frozen pineapple, apples, almonds, etc. The first time, I threw the chia and hemp seeds that I use in my smoothies right into the bags that I put in the freezer (pictured). This wasn’t such a great idea because the chia seeds tried to stick to the bags when I went to dump it into the Nutribullet container. Lesson learned. Everything else has worked great. I don’t throw in ALL of those things, just a mixture of the fruit with the greens!

When it comes time to blend on an extra busy morning (Sundays), I throw the contents of the bag, some kefir, my chia and hemp seeds, and the water and blend!

My favorite smoothie from the Nutribullet so far:

spinach
frozen mango
fresh pineapple
half a banana
almonds
chia seeds
water

It’s so fresh and tropical . . . I just love that combo! We’ve also done yogurt, frozen berries, and banana for a treat. It was delicious. Lots of other great recipes and reviews can be found at:

Whether you have this particular blending device or something else, doing a littler preparation ahead of time can really save your skin on mornings when you just don’t think you have the time. My smoothies are so much a part of my routine I don’t think I could ever give them up. They pack a lot of power and nutrition in them that my body needs to start the day. They keep me “regular,” they give me energy, and they keep me full. My girls have loved the smoothies from the Nutrimill. I think it’s because it really grinds up those chia seeds well, which my other blender didn’t. It’s a better texture and they gobble them down (unless I add too much kefir and it’s a bit too tangy for them). I’ve also noticed that because of the amount of greens I’m able to pack into this tiny machine, I definitely do get more full from them than my others, where I was adding a lot more fruit to fill up the space. MMMMmmm, I love smoothies!!!