One of the funnest parts of starting a new hobby is usually the gear that accompanies it. Newfound cyclers start with a cool new bike and then of course they start gathering all the accessories; the helmet, the shorts with the cushion, the lights for night riding, maybe even a heart monitor or an iPod arm strap. It’s fun and exciting to get all geared up and go out for an awesome bike ride. The same goes for any hobby from playing golf to sewing or photography… There is always gear. The drawback is that once the interest in the hobby fades or life starts getting in the way, the gear finds its own little spot in your home to collect dust, act as an accessory or gets tossed in the goodwill pile. I am aware of this cycle… We have all been victims of it at least once! The lesson I have learned is to test drive your hobby before you commit to the gear. That will save you money and storage space.

The kitchen is similar but different. When you move in to your new place or start a wedding registry, you tend to accumulate kitchen appliances. Blenders, mixers, food processors, cheese graters, etc. If you enjoy cooking you are familiar with these tools and may even be partial to some brands. If you’re not familiar you may put some of this stuff on your registry anyway because it looks cool and you think you might need it one day anyway, as you are convinced you will start cooking at some point. We fell into both of these categories, so our kitchen is pretty stocked up with appliances. The cool thing about that is that when you make the switch, you don’t have to go out and buy all new things. You probably have tons to work with already in your home.

When I started eating healthy, I already had a salad spinner, a good peeler, a food processor…I even had a mandolin (which I am totally going to write about in another post)

But I did go out and buy a couple of new things that I didn’t know about, like a kitchen scale and some green bags to preserve my veggies. I was really excited about those.

And then I learned about blenders. Smoothies require a blender and I already had a blender that I received as a wedding gift so I had no issues. (Or so I thought). There began my long journey to find the right blender. A few months after using my run of the mill wedding gift blender, it died on me. It wasn’t too tragic because it was big and bulky and a pain to clean. I had heard of this bad boy blender called the Vitamix but it was so expensive I thought to myself… I’m not going to fall into the new hobby trap. What if I buy this Vitamix and I stop making smoothies in a month and now I wasted the money.  So I ruled out that option. I did, however, think it would be the perfect opportunity to invest in a magic bullet! Everyone was talking about them so I got it and I was in love! I would make my cups of smoothie, one for my husband and one for me…and it blended so much better than my first blender. But after 9 months that fell apart. It didn’t work the same anymore and I was now making smoothies for my sons too and the individual cup situation was getting annoying. Then I learned about the Ninja. And it was only $99! How could I go wrong??? Oh, it went wrong.  I didn’t enjoy the ninja at all. The lid is overly complicated to put on and take off and it breaks quite easily. The blender is a decent blender but my smoothies were always chunky. I couldn’t stand to have a carrot smoothie because of the texture. So I bought a cheese cloth to squeeze the juice out but that takes forever.

To make a long story short, I bought 3 different types of blenders, a juicer, and a cheese cloth in my quest to make good juices/smoothies. When my last purchase, the Nutribullet, started giving me trouble I caved. I have been eating healthy now for almost 3 years. I make smoothies probably 5 times a week. I need a blender that will last me more than 1 year. If I were to add up all the purchases I made in this quest, it would have cost the same as a good blender! That is the bad news.

The good news is that by the time I started looking to invest in a good blender, I felt like I had EARNED it. I am committed to this lifestyle. I have drank the chunky smoothies, the pulpy juices, I have struggled with my recipes…but I kept at it. Now it was time to say goodbye to all these gadgets, clear my kitchen cabinets and make room for the real deal.

After doing all my research I chose the Blendtec. The final deciding factor for me between the Vitamix and Blendtec was the Twister Jar the Blendtec offers. I liked it because its great for baby food and nut butters and I make both often.

And then there was an added perk to this purchase. Starting a new hobby, health plan, exercise routine is exactly that…NEW. New is fun, different, exciting…even when painful or uncomfortable. But after a while new becomes routine, ordinary and boring. There is nothing wrong with that but its always nice to spice things up. The new blender did the trick for me. Not only was it fun to use my cool new toy, but it also came with a recipe book.

My favorite of all was a Cocoa-Nut Almond Butter recipe I tried with my twister jar.

Here it is:

• 1 1/4 cup raw almonds
• 1 Tbsp raw cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes
• 2 Tbsp of coconut oil
• a dash of celtic sea salt

Yummy!!! This was my modified recipe. (the recipe called for sugar but I didn’t add any) This butter is delicious with a banana or pear or a slice of ezekiel bread. And it is sooooo healthy and full of good fats. Its a must try.

As for the quality of the blender, I am totally in love and impressed! My smoothies and juices (yes it actually makes whole juice) are smooth and delicious. My husband who never liked the texture of these drinks before is constantly pleasantly surprised! And it works great for soups and purees and all the good stuff we eat here at the Pile On the Greens household.

I have decided to keep my nutribullet to travel with because of its size but I had to order new parts.

In summary, if you can make the investment, go for it…you won’t regret it. But if you can’t…that is no excuse! You don’t need a fancy blender to commit to a healthy lifestyle. You can make do with a cheaper alternative.

What you do need is the will to make the change, the right state of mind, and the time to prepare. Those things, my friends, are priceless!