What you can make with a top of the line blender

As someone who lives on her own, I discovered quite some time ago that my standard size blender was almost always too large for my needs. I hated lugging it out of the cupboard every morning to make a post-workout, pre-work smoothie, and then being forced to wash the pitcher by hand because it was too large to fit in my miniscule dishwasher. I wanted to replace it with something that had a much smaller profile that would meet my smoothie making needs.

So for my birthday last year, I asked for and received a Cuisinart Compact Blender and my bigger, bulkier blender was relegated to the back of a kitchen cupboard. What’s great about this compact blender isn’t just that it sits nicely on my kitchen counter without taking up too much space, but that it comes with four travel cups that let you blend your smoothie right in the cup when you are on the go. It also comes with a larger 32-ounce blender jar for larger jobs like chopping or pureeing veggies, or whipping up fresh, homemade salsa. Those cups are also dishwasher safe and actually fit in my tiny apartment size dishwasher!

Super Green Smoothie 

Directions
Blend until desired consistency, adding more ice or almond milk as needed. Enjoy!

While the Cuisinart Compact Blender has been great for my smoothies, I’ve started looking around for a top of the line blender that has the capacity to do much more. Number one on my list is the Vitamix S50 1.2L Personal Stand Blender. This high-performance blender has laser-cut blades and a super powerful motor so you can use it to blende smoothies, hot soups, frozen mixtures, and more, even with minimal liquid. Perhaps best of all is that it features a number of preprogrammed settings, so you can toss in your ingredients and walk away while it does all the work for you. Its personal-sized container is perfect for those grab and go days and is also dishwasher safe.

Lemon Drizzle Cupcakes 

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 180C
2. Add the flour to a mixing bowl
3. Place the eggs, butter, milk, caster sugar and lemon zest in to the Vitamix 1.2L container and secure the lid
4. Turn dial to 1 and slowly increase to 10
5. Blend for 25 seconds. Pour the wet mixture into the flour and stir by hand to combine
6. Pour into 8 cupcake cases and bake for 15-20 min.
7. Meanwhile, to make the syrup, place lemon juice and granulated sugar into the Vitamix 1.2L container and secure the lid.
8. Turn the dial to 1 and slowly increase the speed to 10. Blend for 5 minutes, or until hot.
9. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and pour the hot lemon syrup over them. Serve when cooled.

The second high-performance blender I’ve been looking at is the Blendtec Classic 575. Some might consider it a little on the large side to be considered a “single-serve blender” but its sleek profile and powerful 3.0 peak horsepower motor make it a contender in my books. It touchpad control panel and preprogrammed cycles make it super easy to use, and its 4-sided jar maximizes its blending performance.

Creamy Lime Salad Dressing 

Directions
Add ingredients to jar in order listed and secure lid. Select “Dressings” cycle or blend on Medium Low speed for 30 seconds.

Serve over any combination of mixed greens.

I’m not 100% sure which high-performance blender I am going to go with, but I know I’ll be happy with whichever one I choose! Nut butters, soups, dressings, dips, here I come!