[Threefold]

Help! Our cheapie costco blender broke and is not fixable.
Rather than spend another $30 on a blender that will last 6 months, I'd like to spend $100 on one that will last forever (or close to it

).
So, tell me what you use and it's pros and cons.

:

 

[eirual]

I have an Osterizer that I can't complain about- it does well. I've had one with a plastic container and one with a glass. I recomend the glass since, especially if you're doing stuff like smoothies or things with ice, the plastic gets scratched up on the inside. I got a glass one when we got married and really like it. The motor/base of the other one is in fine working order, I figure I'll save it just incase the glass one craps out. My mom still has her tacky green Osterizer from the 70s and it's going strong.

 

[RAF]

We just got a new blender too. It was the Back to Basics one with the smoothie spout base. It has two bases with two blades you can interchange, and one even comes with a food processor attachment. It has worked really well so far. We tried out the kitchenaid one which is around 100 dollars, and it couldn't even chop up strawberries, so our smoothies were all chunky. This one though chops everything up fine, and doesn't even slow down when you add frozen things to it. We got ours on sale for around 40 or 50 dollars. I think normally it is around 60 or close to it.

 

[Chanley]

Vitamix!!!!

I take it to parties to make mixed drinks and smoothies for the kids. (frozen lemonade, pineapple coconut smoothies, chocolate peanut butter etc...)

 

[ZeldasMom]

I like an immersion blender for smoothies and soups.

 

[weliveintheforest]

I have heard the Vita Mix is the best. (if you tell them you heard about it in the book "Eat to Live" by Joel Fuhrman, you get a discount, according to the book

)

 

[Threefold]

Thanks for all the tips!
It was an Oster that pooped out after 6 months, so I think I'll avoid that one.
I'd love a Vitamix, but I think they're a bit out of our price range

I think I may just get the 600watt motor Cuisinart 2 speed on sale right now in town. Looks pretty heavy duty and has a 3 year warranty.

 

[yitlan]

I just did a bunch of research b/c we needed a new blender. I looked on epinions and cooks.com and gneeral google searches. Here's the one I went for and the other contenders. Theone we got is a Jenn-Air Attrezzi and we've made a bunch of smoothies and it works great! Here it is:
http://www.overstock.com/?page=proframe&prod_id=1781563

The runners-up:
http://www.overstock.com/?page=proframe&prod_id=1665771
http://www.tabletools.com/tabletools...roduct_ID=2312
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?redirect=true

A vitamix was just out of our budget right now, but my mom has one she loves.

 

[kdmama33]

If you decide to go with overstock, they have a coupon code for 8% off and flat rate shipping. I don't have it handy, but you can google for it easily.

 

[kdmama33]

yitlan, does the one you purchased handle things like large frozen strawberries well? I have a Magic Bullet, which I love, but I've been thinking about getting something larger. I love the Bullet because it really works like magic -- it pulverizes frozen fruit and veggies, and still works to just pulse and chop, too -- but it's a small-scale magic. Large-scale magic would be better for busy mornings, kwim?!?

 

[yitlan]

I actually got my Attrezzi to replace my Magic Bullet. I LOVED my Bullet, but my husband was a bit too rough with it and stripped some gears. He is not easy on appliances. Anyway, yes, I know he's done strawberries. Organic, so they're not HUGE, but full sized. I also just did cracker dough in it that someone posted here and it worked GREAT on that. Otherwise, we've just done smoothies with frozen fruit and ice cubes and it's done really well.

 

[USAmma]

Magic Bullet hands down. My dd is tube-fed and the MB has allowed me to blend her food smooth and put down her tube, rather than giving her pediatric formula. It's awesome! It can even blend up stuff like sandwiches and burritoes to a smooth puree. Tonight it blended up a soup I made with extra firm fried tofu, tomatoes, and onion. I strained it just to make sure and the only thing the straner caught was tiny bits of tomato skin. The rest when down her tube.

If you want larger scale smoothies you can just blend the chunky stuff in the MB and then add milk and other things as needed to each glass after you have poured in the blended portion. When I was mixing dd's formula from powder I would make a highly concentrated batch in the blender and then add the appropriate amt of water in a larger jug. Smoothies work the same way in our house.

 

[Threefold]

yitlan and overstock sold me on the Jenn-Air Attrezzi. It was over %50 off and $1 shipping all weekend.
And it's pretty.

:
Silly me buying an appliance on looks, I know. . .
But it has to be glass and large capacity with at least a 500watt motor, so this one looks great.

Thanks so much to everyone!
eta: thanks kdmama, I missed your post and just went to overstock straight from the e-mail notice about yitlan's post. Ah well, your kindess is noted

 

[yitlan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by the_dalai_mama And it's pretty. : Silly me buying an appliance on looks, I know. . .

I know! It was last on my list b/c I thought I wanted some of the Oster accessories. And that Juice Lady one was so highly rated. But the huge capacity of the Attrezzi and it's servability sold me. It had all the bells and whistles I truly cared about. And I knew dh would probably just break the accessories on the Oster!

 

[ashleyhaugh]

that looks so cool... i totally want one..... and i need a new blender..... hmmmmmmmm tempting