Nutribullet

[PasPer2]

Has anyone tried the Nutribullet?

I have been juicing for a few weeks but my brother has just got a nutribullet and he claims it takes juicing to another level :-)

[Saracen]

He's right about taking it to another level, but mainly because I'd say the Nutribullet isn't a juicer, it's a variety of blender.

Juicers typically extract juice from fruit, leaving everything but the juice behind. And surprisingly (or not, if you think about it) a LOT of the goodness in fruit, etc, is in skin, pulp, even bits like apple core, and pips.

With a good blender, you'll blend everything you put in into a smooth drink, but it's much more than juice.

So, blenders. There are basically two types. Low(er) cost blenders use sharp blades to cut the contents into ever-smaller bits. They tend, however, to not get everything, and slowly but surely, the blades lose their edge.

High end blenders use blunt blades, but very powerful motors to pulverize, rather than cut. Blade speeds are extremely high, like up to 38,000 rpm, or close to 400kph. These tend to blend pretty much anything, from fruit into a smoothie, or ice cream, to nuts like peanuts or walnuts into peanut or walnut butter. My blender is powerful enough to actually turn a veg collection into HOT soup. There is no heater, it's cooked merely using the friction caused by those blades. And takes under 10 minutes, from putting raw veg (say, carrots, coriander, a garlic clove and seasoning) to pouring out steaming hot soup.

So, Nutribullet?

Essentially, a small scale version of one of those high-power, blunt-bladed blenders. You will be making a drink which is enough for a couple of glasses, rather than a jug that will do two or three people for about 3 days, if you have a large glass each, every day.

I don't have a nutribullet, but I did look hard. I do have a high-end blender.

I made a mix today, for instance, which was -

- a couple of small carrots (rinsed, but complete, inc skins)
- a small bunch of grapes, complete. Large bits of stalk removed.
- a large slice of pineapple. Outer skin removed, but core left in
- a large apple, quartered, but complete
- a couple of peeled Clementines
- small handful of Kale (normally spinach, but I was out)
- few blueberries
- ice, and some water

The result is a glass each, and a jug full in the fridge.

The Nutribullet, as I understand it, will do the same thing, but with MUCH smaller quantities. I also don't know if the Nutribullet is powerful enough to cook soups, or make nut butter, or grind rice grains into rice flour, etc.

It should, however, make much the same smoothies, etc, as a heavy blender.

Oh, and if you're tempted by the type of blender I'm talking about, be warned, they're expensive. Think four or five Nutribullets.

So the Nutribullet is a way of achieving the tyoe of extremely well blended smoothies the heavy blenders will, albeit in much smaller quantities, at a MUCH more modest cost.

Personally, though, the "whole fruit and veg" drinks are WAY better than juice. You get far more of the fruit or veg, and hence far more of the goodness, so if you're after part of your five-a-day from the drink, you get MUCH closer with the Nutribullet or high end blenders than a juicer.

And whenever I've had a whole fruit drink from a low end blender, they haven't been able to blend it properly, and you end up with a load of bits in the bottom of the blender that didn't blend .... and some on your tongue when you drink it. I don't get that with the high end blender, and I'm told you don't with the Nutribullet, but haven't tried it myself.

I DO endorse the 'whole fruit and veg" drinks. I'm told the Nutribullet does them well, but I know my heavy Vitamix blender does.

[snedger]

Hello
I got one October 2013.
Didn't really expect much and some of Amazon.com reviews suggested usage problems.
Glad to be proved wrong.
It totally blitzes (almost) everything - exception so far is mixed seeds and dried goji - seeds completely blend, goji only partially blend leaving a very pleasant texture.
Reviews suggested leakage problems - just need to make sure not to overfill and you can really tighten down the lid - not a drop has spilled for me.
Other complaints are about cleaning - if the blades are rinsed immediately after use then no problem, if left until food is stuck on, then not so easy.
I've had juicers before, prep and cleanup were a real pain.
I've even tried whole kiwi fruit, nothing hairy in the totally smooth blended drink.
I ended up getting mine mail order from Selfridges, 'cos the TV company that took my order had actually sold out - Selfridges gave me the best tracking experience of an order I've ever received.
Noticed at the weekend that Robert Dyas are selling them.
Cheers

[PasPer2]

I tried a "Nutriblast" as they market them, at my brothers place and it was very thick, to the point where you could have used a spoon :-)

I appreciate that you get the goodness from the fibre but something's are better juiced, like carrots & citrus fruits, then thrown into the nutribullet to add Kale, spinach, banana etc.

How much were they in Robert Dyas? £99 on some obscure tv shopping channel. Edit. Same price at Robert Dyas - ordered :-)

[peterb]

I appreciate that you get the goodness from the fibre but something's are better juiced, like carrots & citrus fruits, then thrown into the nutribullet to add Kale, spinach, banana etc.

You might want to read this first.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/10...ing-craze.html

If you are crushing or blending the whole fruit and retaining the fibre and bulk, it probably isn't so much of an issue, but juicing - just extracting the juice - may not be so good.

However, as Saracen pointed out earlier, the nutribullet is more of a blender than a juicer.

[Dooms]

Currently drinking a Broccoli, pear, spinach, kale, kiwi, lemon and banana smoothie. Very tasty

[Saracen]

I tried a "Nutriblast" as they market them, at my brothers place and it was very thick, to the point where you could have used a spoon :-)

I appreciate that you get the goodness from the fibre but something's are better juiced, like carrots & citrus fruits, then thrown into the nutribullet to add Kale, spinach, banana etc.

How much were they in Robert Dyas? £99 on some obscure tv shopping channel. Edit. Same price at Robert Dyas - ordered :-)

Carrots blend beautifully. Citrus fruits. Well, they would blend just fine, but the pith tends to be very bitter. So, a lemon, for instance .... use a fine grater to remove the yellow skin. It's great as a flavouring. But don't grate into the pith. You could then peel the rest of the pith off and discard, or extract the juice. I tend to do the latter, using a manual juicer (kind of serated glass spike/bowl) if I want juice for later, or to store. If I want juice right then, cut lemon in half and squeeze over your other hand (to catch pips) into whatever you want lemoned, be it glazed veg, chicken stuffing or a cake mix.

Other citrus veg, like oranges, in a smoothie, just peel to remove the pith and bung the rest, maybe halved, in the blender. I.e. all but the skin.

As for the "thickness", smoothies are quite thick. Of course, you can dilute a little with water, and if it's too thick, the balance between water/ice and fruit/veg isn't quite right, until you get it how you like it. You can, of course, add fruit juice instead of water, but be careful on what juice you use, if shop-bought, or you end up sugar-laden, or with loads of additives, which personally is what I'm trying to avoid.

[PasPer2]

My juicing favourite is 4 carrots, 2 apples, 1 orange & a lime. Can't wait to experiment with other bits and bobs. Might have to take the plunge and buy a recipe book :-)

[Saracen]

My juicing favourite is 4 carrots, 2 apples, 1 orange & a lime. Can't wait to experiment with other bits and bobs. Might have to take the plunge and buy a recipe book :-)

Nutribullet comes with one, doesn't it? My Vitamix certainly does.

Failing that, loads on the net. It'll certainly get you started.

[jakks123]

Hi

I Just bought a Nutribullet. I am not sure if I am using it correctly I have followed the instructions, but to get the thing to work I have to press down with 2 hands really hard until i'm blue in the face, I must be doing something wrong as this does not seem right, If I put any more pressure on the cup I will break it.

[abaxas]

Incoming mind dump....

After years and years of having different blenders, juicers, etc. I now just use a stick blender.

Just make the drink more 'loose' with some milk/yoghurt/juice of choice and by far it's the quickest, easiest and easy clean way of doing it. Also a decent one is like 40 quid and has other uses, not just 'health' drinks.

Also, don't bother with any specific recipe , just buy loads of fruit and veg and then blitz up things that are starting to look sad. With the obvious exception of onions, cabbage , potatoes and garlic

If you find the mix too lose, just thicken it up with some oats or weetabix.

[Zak33]

I've got the Magicbullet from years ago... shopping channel purchase a very long time ago.. it gets used for so much stuff

Smoothies (I chucked the juicer attachment away.. it was a mess to clean and I want the whole content in the smnoothy) work well if you ignore the colour! Because with the good combos... they go brown!

Spinach go into most of them. Banana... water.. frozen fruit.

But here's the thing... ignoring health...

get some plain nachos on an over proof plate and begin heating under grill

melt some cheese and chilli flakes in the bullet with microwave lid on.. the when bulbbling.. swap to the blade and blitz

them pour the melted chilli cheese over the hot nachos, and if you have them.. slice some jalapeno's and drop those on too.. maybe a totato salsa if you've planned well.

ALso use the bulet to blitz ice cubes into snow for cocktails.

Also make soup in it often.. .... pinch of a stoick cube.. some water.. vegetables (brocolli and celery) ,, micro wave until soft.. swap microwave lid for blade.. whazz it up... drop some blue cheese in.. whazz...soup... 3 minutes

Same with butter nut squash etc

it is AWESOME for baby food..... in short.. ours gets used a LOT

Pasta sauce...tomato plus herbs, and chilli.. microwave.. then blade and whazz.....pour over pasta.


BUT.. as son as the volume required goes into two or more mugs... as Abaxas says... hand blender for many things.

[Zak33]

or weetabix.

now THAT is a good idea... I will try that.

[lankeyphil]

Good bit of kit use it a lot for making curry pastes and sauces worth a go if you can find one cheaper think the cost at rrp is a little high tbh

[Oriforc]

Isn't the Nutribullet just a very expensive blender? I have a blender I bought for £20 from Tesco years ago which does everything the Nutribullet does...

[Saracen]

Isn't the Nutribullet just a very expensive blender? I have a blender I bought for £20 from Tesco years ago which does everything the Nutribullet does...

It won't, though.

As per long post earlier, cheap blenders rely on sharp blades. Expensive ones, and smaller but still relatively pricey ones like nutribullet use blunt blades, and rely on sheer grunt from powerful motors.

My big blender blends just about anything, including blender-wreckers like ice, or celery with the tough thready bits on the outside left in.

There's even a demonstration video (originalky done with a Blentec blender, but Vitamix machines have been used too) where they demonstrate 'blend anything' by blending iPhones. Don't try that with your £20 Tesco job unless you're finished with it.