Is a smoothie maker worth it?

[deesmomma]

Finding the right, healthy foods that my kids will eat for breakfast before leaving for school has become quite the chore. They absolutely love smoothies though and with all the things you can sneak into them, I'm thinking this will be a good bet for breakfast. What I'm wondering is, should I invest in a smoothie maker? Currently I just have a plain, semi-cheap blender and I can never get the consistency the way I like it. (I'm picky about texture.) I don't have a lot of money to spend on one right now, so if there's not a huge difference, I'll just stick with my blender.

What is your experience with smoothie makers, if any? Any recommendations? Also, any recommendations for good, healthy, protein-filled smoothies would be lovely!

[velochic]

How about a hand blender or a good regular blender? These "smoothie makers" are just blenders and they market them so you'll pay more.

We love just fruit smoothies. Whatever is in season plus a dollop of yogurt.

[Jaxinator]

I bought a Magic Bullet as an impulse purchase, and I absolutely love that thing.
Mine was only $30 though, and I guess they're really expensive regular priced.
If you can find one used, or on a good sale, you should try it out. It tackles ice really well too.
It's nice, you can make one serving really easily and no extra things to clean.
I mostly use mine for smoothies, hummus and grinding coffee when I buy whole beans, and use it close to every day.

[Arduinna]

I have the Margaritaville machine, and love the fact that it shaves the ice. It does make a better drink than my blender. I use it primarily for non alcoholic smoothy and freeze type drinks.