The Best Blender for Healthy Smoothies
This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using this link. Please see my disclosure for more details.
The Best Blender for Healthy Smoothies
Smoothies are a great way to get your fruits and vegetables each day. Many experts recommend getting five, seven, or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day. That’s a lot! And it can be difficult to fit them into your meals and snacks. A high-speed blender is a great way to get the nutrition you need in a quick, delicious, and easy-to-drink smoothie.
But you’re not limited to just fruits and vegetables. You can add other healthy ingredients to boost the nutritional value (protein, seeds and nuts, nut butters, coconut oil, spices, etc.).
If you’re like me, you probably already have a blender. And if you’re like me, it probably sits in the back of your cupboard because it’s a pain to use, clean, and store. I don’t use mine unless I have no other option. So I didn’t really see a need to have a blender just for smoothies. (And, again, if you’re like me, you don’t want to stuff gadgets in your cupboard that take up space and add to your stress.)
I’d like to say that I decided to be really healthy and so bought a blender for making smoothies, but that’s not actually the case. I bought one because it was on sale for a good price, and I had jaw surgery looming on the horizon and wanted something that would allow me to have something besides disgusting meal replacements (yuck!) while I was healing. Two years later, the surgery is still in the works (but that’s another story, and we’re not going there), but I discovered what a great help this blender is in making smoothies for our family! I never would have thought that I needed a high-sped blender, but now that I have one I love it.
What is a High-Speed Blender?
It may seem obvious by the name, but the thing that differentiates high-speed blenders from regular blenders is their speed. That speed doesn’t mean only that your food will blend faster, but with a much more powerful motor it will blend hard or fibrous foods completely. Especially if you use mostly frozen or hard fruits and vegetables, you’ll have a silky-smooth drink without unblended pieces like you may have with a regular blender.
A lot of people may hesitate to shell out good money for a high-speed blender when they already have a regular blender. And that’s completely understandable; I’m right up there with the best of the tightwads! You can certainly use your regular blender if you’re happy with it and it serves your purpose. But it’s worth considering whether a high-speed blender may be worth the extra cost. And the truth is, there are some more affordable options (around $100 or even less), so you don’t need to shell out $500 or more to have a good quality high-speed blender.
What are the Advantages of a High-Speed Blender?
To help you decide if a high-speed blender is for you, consider the following benefits:
- As already mentioned, they blend your food more thoroughly. You can add hard foods like beets or carrots. (You’ll still want to chop them into smaller pieces to make sure they blend well. If you have large pieces, they will eventually blend, but the rest of your ingredients won’t be cold any more so your smoothie won’t be cool.)
- Frozen fruits and vegetables will blend more smoothly.
- The high-speed blender I use doesn’t have a bunch or pieces that you have to take apart, clean, and put back together like my regular blender does.
- You can fill the blender cup the night before and freeze or refrigerate it, then in the morning you just add water (or other liquid) and blend! It’s a great time saver.
- I’ve found that having a high-speed blender for smoothies has been a game changer for me. It’s easy to prepare them, and cleanup is simple, so I end up making healthy smoothies for my family almost every day.
- If you make your own smoothies rather than buying them, you can save money and choose exactly what ingredients you want. (You can also “hide” healthy ingredients in them that don’t really taste good on their own, but you can’t taste them once they’re blended in with all the ingredients that DO taste good!)
Best High-Speed Blenders for Smoothies
The high-speed blender I’ve had for the last couple years is the NutriBullet Rx. It has a powerful 1700-watt motor. That’s a lot of power for the price, especially compared to other brands with similar power.
It blends for about 30 seconds, then slows down for a few seconds (so the ingredients can redistribute and take out any air bubbles), then blends again for a total of one minute. If you need more blending, you just turn it on for another cycle. It comes with two different jar sizes (I use the big one for two smoothies and the smaller one for one smoothie, but they both are pretty big servings). You can also make blended soups with the Nutriblast feature. It blends and heats the ingredients at the same time. It runs for several minutes, and you use a vented jar for that mode. I’ve used this feature a few times and it works really well, so it’s another delicious way to get in your healthy vegetables for the day.
Another advantage of the NutriBullet Rx is that it doesn’t have a separate rubber gasket on the blade assembly. That’s one less thing to take apart, wash, and reassemble.
The Nutribullet Rx has a Nutriblast feature for making hot blended soups. The action of the blades heats and blends the food at the same time. It takes several minutes, but the soups come out really good. It’s kind of hard to get all your vegetable servings each day, and this is a great way to do it. (Just make sure you use the blender jar with the vented lid because it will build up a lot of heat.)
Of course, you can use the NutriBullet Rx as a regular blender, too. The blade screws onto the opening of the jars, so with the main jars you don’t have a lid with an opening to pour ingredients in while you’re blending. But if you want to use it for regular blending, you can use the vented Nutriblast jar, which does have an opening on the lid. The one difference you’ll see if you want to use it as a regular blender is that it doesn’t have variable speeds, there’s just one speed.
Check it out on Amazon.
Other Options for High-Speed Blenders
You may be looking for something a little more affordable, and perhaps you don’t need all the features of the Nutribullet Rx (such as the Nutriblast soup option and large blender jars). In that case, check out the Nutribullet Pro Plus. It has a powerful 1,200-Watt motor and comes with two single-serving blender jars. I haven’t personally used this model (mine is the Nutribullet Rx with a 1,700-watt motor), but it has good reviews on Amazon. And if you’ll be using it for single-serving smoothies, it may be just what you need.
If you want a full-feature blender (not just for smoothies), see the Vitamix E320 Explorian Blender. It has 10 variable speeds and a pulse feature to make chunky salsas and thick soups. It has a large 64-ounce container. You can use it to make hot soups without a stove, because the high-speed motor powers the blades to reach speeds fast enough to create friction heat, bringing cold ingredients to steaming hot in about six minutes. It also has good reviews, but I have not personally used this model.
FAQ About Nutribullet Rx
- How do I keep the gasket from leaking?
- The gasket on the Nutribullet Rx is sealed to the blade assembly. Do NOT remove the gasket to clean it, because that will loosen the gasket, and it won’t function well.
- When the blade is new, you have to be especially careful to screw the blade tightly onto the jar. Turn it blade side down and make sure it’s not leaking before you put it on the motor. After you’ve used it for awhile, this doesn’t seem to be an issue, but I still double check every time I go to blend.
- Washing the blade by hand instead of in the dishwasher can help keep the gasket from being damaged or melting from the heat.
- Is the Nutribullet hard to clean?
- No, it doesn’t have a lot of parts so cleaning it doesn’t take a lot of time
- Rinse with water immediately after using to keep food from getting stuck. I usually go ahead and put 1/4 – 1/2 jar of water and a couple drops of dish soap right away each time I use it and blend for a few seconds, then remove the blade and use a sponge or cloth to clean any residue remaining on the jar and blade. (Then rinse well of course.) That way I don’t have to go back later to wash it, and it’s ready whenever I need it.
- To remove stuck-on ingredients, fill the jar about halfway with water and add a drop or two of dish soap. Screw on the blade (making sure it doesn’t leak) and blend for 20-30 seconds. This will help clean the blade from food that has hardened.
- The manufacturer states that NutriBullet cups, lids, lip rings, and blades are all top-rack, dishwasher safe. However, I prefer to wash them by hand because it’s pretty quick and I figure they will last longer that way. (I have found that in general, acrylic plastic tends to crack over time when I put it in the dishwasher.) To me, it’s worth a couple minutes to not have to replace the pieces of my high-speed blender.
- The motor base doesn’t really need cleaning unless something gets dripped on it, and you can wipe it with a damp cloth.
- It seems expensive, is it really worth it?
- That’s a question that only you can answer. If you’re not going to use it, then you are spending money on something that will just clutter up your kitchen. But if you will be using it every week (or even more often), it’s definitely a good investment.
- Buying smoothies from a store or restaurant can get expensive. They typically cost at least $6 – $7 each, and you can usually make them for less than $2 each. If you make your own instead of buying one every weekday (about 20 times a month), that’s $80 – $100 in savings. The blender will really pay for itself in a short time!
- Try making your own nut butters and dairy-free milks (almond, oat, rice, cashew, etc.) to save even more.
- Does it take a lot of time to make smoothies?
- Not really. Look up recipes online and have fun experimenting with different ingredients!
- I like to put most of my ingredients in the blender jar at night and put it in the freezer or fridge. Then in the morning I let it set on the counter a few minutes (while I make the rest of our breakfast), add bananas and liquid, and blend. Mmmmm! Quick and easy.
- Compared to driving to the smoothie place, parking, ordering and paying, and waiting for your smoothie…well, I’d say that blending your smoothie in your own kitchen (you don’t even have to change out of your fuzzy slippers!) probably takes less time. (And my second favorite part: it also saves you money!)
The Last Thing You Need to Know about High-Speed Blenders
- A high-speed blender may be a great idea for you if you’re looking for a simple way to add fruits, vegetables, and other healthy ingredients to your day. The Nutribullet Rx is an affordable option with a powerful motor.
- You can prepare your ingredients the night before and store in the fridge or freezer to have them ready to blend in the morning, saving you time and assuring that you don’t miss your fruits and vegetables for the day.
- Cleanup is easy – just put water and a drop or two of dishwashing soap in the jar and blend for a few seconds, then use a sponge or cloth to clean it inside and out. Rinse and let dry, and it’s ready for the next day!
Do you use a high-speed blender? Do you like the brand you own? What ingredients do you like to use? Share your comments below and help other readers discover the benefits of high-speed blenders.
