Nutribullet - worth it?

twohooter_2

Has anyone experience if the nutribullet they could share please? I am always interested in ways of improving my general health and fitness and in particular would like to shed a few pounds.


I never normally watch the shopping channels on tv but this morning whilst flicking through the channels I came across one which was selling the Nutribullet. Of course, the sales pitch was slick and they put up a convincing argument for getting one instead of using a blender or food processor - both of which I have. I am usually such a cynic when it comes to gadgets such as these but this really has caught my imagination. I am wary though of spending such a large amount of money (around £100) on something that would end up in the back of the cupboard.


Apart from the obvious fruit and veg smoothies I was thinking I could make frappucinos, iced coffee and healthy slushies. It seems so quick to use and easy to clean but maybe the novelty would wear off! I would be very grateful to hear from anyone who has one either with positive or negative views. Thanks

Cornucopia

twohooter wrote: »

.... would like to shed a few pounds.

...spending such a large amount of money (around £100) on something that would end up in the back of the cupboard.

There you go, wish granted.

I would give the smoothie-making a go with a normal blender or a hand-blender first. Hand-blender = even easier to clean than a Nutribullet.

The economics of shopping channel products is horrendous from a consumer POV. Think of how much all that air-time costs.

missbiggles1

We bought one a few months ago and use it lots - it certainly makes it easier to up your intake of veg.

The only problem for us is getting fresh spinach regularly enough - tried it with frozen but didn't like it. Solved this problem by growing our own which wouldn't be suitable for everybody.

It's the only thing I've ever bought through a shopping channel and I was only watching because I couldn't sleep but I'd recommend it.

twohooter_2

Thanks Missbiggles. Yes, most recipes seem to use spinach as the base. I tend to eat a lot of spinach in salads as I love it- sadly have no space to grow it so have to buy from supermarket. Although I saw it initially on the shopping channel I have since looked at other places that sell them and they seem to be everywhere from Tesco to John Lewis, Amazon etc. Most of the reviews are very good.


I have tried using my stick blender to make smoothies but unfortunately I always end up with lumps and the spinach in particular likes to wrap itself around the blades!

A.Penny.Saved

The Nutribullet is not high end or the best that is available even though the people selling them would like you to think that.

There are many copies of the Nutribullet type smoothie maker, some with large jugs (Ooo Errr lol) and some with personal sized jugs for one person. Some Smoothie makers get better results than others. At the high end is the Vitamix and Blendtec which produce very smooth Smoothies without the coarse fibres that lower end blenders leave behind such as you have experienced with your regular blender. There are many lower priced copies of the Vitamix/Blendtec and it's the same with the Nutribullet, there are ones which cost around £25 and some higher end blenders which cost around the Nutribullet price but with larger jugs and more features. Some are built better than others and offer longer warranties where low end stuff is expected to fail quickly.

I have been looking into this myself, searching online, reading reviews and comparisons and attempting to separate the wheat from the chaff. Lots of exaggerated claims, inflated figures, higher rpm, higher Horse Power, higher wattage etc etc. Many of the higher end blenders can heat food as they blend because of the friction, which causes the food to warm/heat for making heated drinks and soups. The slower blenders cannot do this. The better blenders can make hot soups in a few minutes. You could of course hear it in a pan but you might not be able to get rid of tough fibres and seeds if the machine is not built for it.

I would recommend you look on youtube and search for reviews and comparisons because there are quite a few on there. If you do decide to get a smoothie maker then there are lots available and many lower priced alternatives. The Nutribullet is no where near the best and it's made of cheap parts such as plastics which can easily fail. Most stuff these days is only designed to last until the warranty expires and then they expect people to go out and buy again. The high end blenders have 5 to 10 year warranties.

It might be worth reading the reviews on Amazon .com & .co.uk as the Americans usually have many of the same products but sometimes using different brand identities or names. One blender is called the Sage Heston Blumenthal Kinetix Control Blender whereas in the US it is called the Breville Hemisphere Control but it's the same blender. That is just an example.

Ninja Blender is one to look out for, it's not THE best but I would say that it is better than the Nutribullet [NB] and should last longer. Notice that the NB only has a one year warranty, that says a lot about the build quality, they are not meant to last very long. It might be worth you getting something cheaper, look around for something and read the reviews on Amazon. Spend less than £50 and then if you really get into it you could replace it with something better and more up market. Something which can really liquidize everything and provide great quality smoothies. Something decent is probably going to cost you over £200. The Blendtec is £367.50 on costco and some of the Vitamix blenders are a lot more than that.

http://best-smoothie-maker.com

AbbieCadabra

i got the basic nutri ninja from costco a couple of months ago as i was having extensive dental work & knew i would have to have a nearly liquid diet for a few weeks. i still use it daily now & think it was money well spent.

costco online have the upgraded version BL480UK with different settings for £100, inc delivery. (think the basic one i have was £80).

shellywatt26

I bought a Nutri Ninja recently and I love it. It's much smaller than our blender, so sits on the counter, so I use it more - almost every day. It's also SO much easier to clean. The container is the cup - just take off the lid with the blades and replace with a non-leak lid to consumer / take it out with you. Then just pop water and washing up liquid in and give it another wiz when you're ready to clean, and that's it!

A.Penny.Saved

It might be worth considering the drinking cups on the Ninja and Nutribullet. I came across this review of both which mentions the beakers, however I do not know whether this still applies or whether there has been an update to address it.

Some people like the Magimix blender which is around the Nutribullet/Ninja type of price but looks more like the higher end blenders. Some people seem to like them but other people have some criticisms about the blades and how they perform. I suppose it comes down to what is important to you. Whether some texture is okay or if only baby food will do. Some of the upmarket blenders proudly say that theirs produces the smoothest blends with no fibres and all the plant cells broken up to enable full absorption of the plants nutrients. How on earth have humans managed without blenders for the last few millennia....perhaps their digestive systems have done what they are supposed to do and break the plants up with the aid of their digestive bacteria!

It gets a bit stupid IMO because I enjoy chewing. Some of these ideas are just expensive solutions looking for a problem to solve.

BTW I see a newbie managed to find this thread and had to tell us about their experience. lol