Let’s talk about my blender situation.

I’m hard on blenders. Really, terribly abusive. I’ve had the same bright orange KitchenAid blender since I was about 22, and the poor girl is in bad shape. We’ve done a lot of fixes and repairs, but the truth is, my eight-year-old blender just isn’t made to go through the kale-blending, soup-pureeing, ice-chopping daily abuse I put it through. In fact, a few months ago, some part in the blade assembly broke again, and she’s been sitting in basement purgatory waiting for me to decide if she’s going to be fixed again or going to go to the landfill ever since. We’ve had a good run, but my blender was made for folks who want to make the occasional blended margarita, and as much as I love the occasional blended margarita, I use my blender for a lot more than just that.

smoothie

I’ve seen the big ole fancy high-speed blenders demonstrated at Whole Foods, but as much as I love a good kitchen appliance that can blend a cell phone without losing step, I gotta draw the line at dropping $500+ on an appliance that isn’t really necessary in my life. I’m just way too cheap frugal to spend that kind of money. It’s the same way I feel about organic red bell peppers. Would I love to buy them? Yes. But I cannot justify $4 a pepper, regardless of how pesticide-free they are.

ANYWHO. This sordid tale of my blender-related life is all to inform you about my frame of mind with I walked up to the Ninja booth at the Healthy Living Summitย a couple of weeks ago. They had this beautiful, incredible, high-speed blender (the Ninja Ultima) sitting out, and right next to it, a sign saying they were giving away five blenders to HLS attendeesโ€”just as long as you snapped a photo with the blender and posted it on Instagram. I was, quite shamelessly, all over that.

me blender

And I found out the next eveningโ€”I won! I never win raffles or giveaways or things like that, so I was SO pumped. I was at dinner with Lauren, Gretchen, and Amy, and I totally flipped out.

blender

And immediately started thinking about all the amazing things I was going to whip up in my new, shiny blender. So many options! No longer would I have to pre-smash ice. Or only blend things a cup at a time. Or drink a gritty smoothie. Oh, the possibilities!

blender

I really wanted to put my new blender to the test, so I decided to start off with a green persimmon spinach smoothie. Green smoothies can be tricky because if you aren’t careful, you might find yourself chewing your smoothie a lot more than drinking it. No one wants to chew a smoothie.

blender smoothie

I know a lot of folks use bananas as the base for smoothies, but we don’t eat a lot of bananas in our house, so instead, I make sweet, tangy persimmons the base of this persimmon spinach smoothie. If you’ve never had a persimmon before, it’s one of the sweetest fruits on the planet, it’s soft, and has a slightly citrus-y flavor. It’s incredible delicious. And we’re very lucky that they grow wild right in our backyard. But if you don’t have your own persimmon tree, many grocery stores carry them (albeit a totally different variety than what grow around here).

smoothie

The Ultima totally rocked this persimmon spinach smoothie. The thing that impressed me the most was the speed. With my old blender, it took me a good 3-4 minutes worth of blending to make sure there aren’t any spinach chunks, but with the Ultima, it was ready to go in just a few seconds. And the added ice? Absolutely no problem. It was smooth, creamy, and totally delicious. I’m a big fan.

smoothie

I am so thankful to Ninja for being an HLS sponsor, and giving away their awesome blenders to attendees. And if that wasn’t cool enough, Ninja also decided to giveaway more blenders to two friends of the winners. Which means not only did I win an awesome blender, but so did the amazing Coach Krissie (because it was the least I could do to pay her back for all the awesome she brings to my life).

 
Persimmon Spinach Smoothie

Persimmon Spinach Smoothie

Yield: 1 large smoothie
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes

Sweet and tangy persimmons and super healthy spinach combine to make one healthy and delicious Persimmon Spinach Smoothie.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup fresh spinach
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/2 cup persimmon puree
  • Pinch of cinnamon
  • 1 cup nut, soy or cow's milk
  • Handful of ice cubes

Instructions

Combine all the ingredients in the carafe of a high-speed blender. Blend on high until very smooth. Serve immediately.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1 large smoothie
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1076Total Fat: 77gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 59gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 521mgCarbohydrates: 76gFiber: 16gSugar: 31gProtein: 37g

At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.

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268 Comments

  1. Most definitely, puree homemade squash soup to ease my way through the first batch of midterms. Such a perfect fall eat

  2. I would totally make a smooth filled with all sorts of spinach and other good vegetables that my toddler daughter refuses to eat!

  3. what a cool giveaway! i would probably make a green smoothie for the first time ever. i love smoothies, but i have to admit that i’ve still never tried putting veggies in them. i’m too nervous that it will taste funny!

  4. I never win anything either, so it would be awesome to win this! I would make a green smoothie, too, because I have yet to have one that doesn’t have chewy spinach chunks!

  5. The first thing I would make would definitely be a green smoothie! We have a cheap $30 blender and that thing can hardly blend water the right way, lol!! Having a family of 8, a Ninja would absolutely make everything better around here!