Ninja Blender Product Review

My mother bought me a Ninja Professional Blender set (the exact one pictured below) as a gift. She raved about how handy it is, especially for making icy drinks and smoothies. After using it for a few weeks, I was a total convert. The Ninja is a fantastic kitchen tool!

The set comes with the motor attachment, three different mixing containers -- small, medium, and large, plus lids and blades.

I love how it has the three mixing containers because sometimes I may need to use the Ninja for two things in one meal. Or maybe leftover smoothie is in the refrigerator, and I need to blend something else. No problem. With three mixing pitchers, there is always one clean in the cabinet, ready to be used.

Real Power

One huge benefit of the Ninja is that it is seriously powerful. It grinds through ice cubes with no trouble at all. No coffee frappuccinos with hunks of ice. The Ninja blends it smooth so that using a small straw is no problem.

Our favorite is to make frozen lemonades in the summer. Mix these ingredients in the Ninja and blend until smooth. Add sweetener to taste.

• Freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Sugar (or artificial sweetener)
• Ice cubes
• Water

Easy Clean Up

The parts are all top rack dishwasher safe. But even if you prefer to hand wash them, they are not too hard to clean. I do recommend rinsing them immediately after use, though. But then again, that is just good dish washing procedure. Dried on food is always harder to clean off. Generally a few swishes in hot soapy water is enough to clean the blades.

I use lots of onion, pepper, and garlic in my kitchen. I love both the flavors and the health benefits that those aromatics provide. When time is short, I pull out my Ninja to do the messy chopping work. It doesn't take long at all -- just a couple of seconds -- to mince onion or pepper. Finely chopped veggies are perfect for people who are a tad picky. If they can't see the veggies they don't like, they usually gobble up the foods.

I love to chop up carrot or zucchini with my Ninja and add that into sauces and casseroles. Added nutrition without any "What's in this?" questions.

Here is a list of different things I've successfully chopped with my Ninja:

• mushrooms
• onion
• garlic
• carrot
• pepper
• cranberries
• walnuts
• almonds
• zucchini
• oranges
• fresh herbs -- parsely and cilantro, for example
• apple
• tomato (for puree)