Best small blender for smoothies and high-calorie recipes

[Harry Styron]

My wife (who has dementia) is under orders to add 500 healthy calories per day, and the FNP suggests smoothies with avocado, full-fat dairy, fruit and berries.

I don’t trust online reviews, so I’m crowdsourcing here for recommendations about “personal blenders.” Priorities for me are not noisy and easy to use and clean.

I also need recipes for tasty treats that will keep her above 100 lbs.

Thanks!

 

[1955]

My wife and I were given a Ninja a few years ago. It works really well, but it is too loud for your needs. We were also given this little blender that is about the size of a medium soft drink that was quiet and handy, but it broke after a month or two.

In a pinch, I’ll stir psyllium husk into milk in a kind of too-tall plastic cup with a fork, backwards and then forwards, imagining I am colliding electrons by reversing abruptly.

Somebody who drinks a lot of Long Island Ice Teas could use these cups and pretend they are hiding it. I’ve only had 4 in my life. But I’ve had more blenders.

 

[tap4154]

You don't necessarily have to get an expensive industrial size blender, those NutriBullets actually work very well. They're easy to clean, and they come with a variety of different size cups that you can use, with lids in case she doesn't finish the whole thing, you can store it in the fridge, and bring it out a little later for her to finish.

There's a number of different kits, this is just one. They come in 600 watts and 900 watts, but I've found that the 600 watts works well.

 

[teleman1]

My Wife makes me smoothies often. At the end of the day there is one that is on top and until you have one hard to understand how expensive it is. But get a Vitamix. Last the longest and crushes ice well. It really is the monster of them all. Just get the low end ones.

 

[radtz]

Is there such a thing as a not noisy blender? We use a Nutribullet. We have the smaller one. It's been working for years.

 

[Stanford Guitar]

I have a Ninja and love it.

 

[Duck Herder]

My wife (who has dementia) is under orders to add 500 healthy calories per day, and the FNP suggests smoothies with avocado, full-fat dairy, fruit and berries.

I don’t trust online reviews, so I’m crowdsourcing here for recommendations about “personal blenders.” Priorities for me are not noisy and easy to use and clean.

I also need recipes for tasty treats that will keep her above 100 lbs.

Thanks!

M

 

[985plowboy]

We make a lot of smoothies.
I’ve worn out several blenders over the years.
Ninja is the best we’ve ever had.
Cleaning a medium size Ninja and cleaning one of those little ones is still cleaning.
Get the ninja

 

[tap4154]

Is there such a thing as a not noisy blender? We use a Nutribullet. We have the smaller one. It's been working for years.

My sister swore by her Ninja for a while, but now it's in a cabinet and she uses a NutriBullet all the time. I love using the NutriBullet, but these days I actually use a cordless immersion blender to make smoothies. I keep it stored in a drawer, so it doesn't take up any counter space. It came with a large cup to make smoothies in, and cleanup is super simple. It doesn't really break up ice, but when I make smoothies I use frozen fruit mixes so I don't need ice.

 

[stormsedge]

Ninja.

Whatever you get...make sure all the pieces (except motor) can go in the dishwasher (if you use one)...some of the blenders had blade sets that weren't sealed well enough for the dishwasher.

 

[Ron R]

I love the Ninja as well. Got the one with the big blender and two single serve cups.

 

[ChicknPickn]

Yeah, look at the NutriBullet. I bought one when they first came out many years ago. About as simple as they come, plenty of power.

 

[bgmacaw]

We had a Ninja but the small smoothie tumbler doesn't work anymore. The plastic gears on it stripped out after about 6 months of use. The main blender and food processor parts still work OK.

To replace it, I bought a cheap "Sunbeam" unit that works well for smoothies and such. I'll probably replace it with something similar when it breaks.

 

[buster poser]

You can try the immersions or something cheap, but my heavy recommendation is as much Vitamix as you can afford, paired with the cup attachment/adapter. You won't need to buy another.

 

[Harbinger77]

I’ve never used a quiet blender.

would see if a magic bullet suits your needs. simplest smallest solution.

Ninjas are great but large footprint and it’s not the easiest task to 100 percent clean the pitcher and blades.

 

[tap4154]

I’ve never used a quiet blender.

would see if a magic bullet suits your needs. simplest smallest solution.

Ninjas are great but large footprint and it’s not the easiest task to 100 percent clean the pitcher and blades.

That's the main points. The NutriBullet take up very little space, and they're super easy to clean by hand. By the way I'm not against Ninja, they're great products, in fact I have one of their coffee makers and love it. However for the OP's needs, I think a NutriBullet would really suit him.

 

[Thoughtfree]

My wife (who has dementia) is under orders to add 500 healthy calories per day, and the FNP suggests smoothies with avocado, full-fat dairy, fruit and berries.

I don’t trust online reviews, so I’m crowdsourcing here for recommendations about “personal blenders.” Priorities for me are not noisy and easy to use and clean.

I also need recipes for tasty treats that will keep her above 100 lbs.

Thanks!

Mr. Styron, I salute you for what you are doing. Most admirable. Either I, 69 years old, or my same-age wife, may be in similar circumstances some day, near or far.