I’ve Been Osterized!
Written by admin on August 12, 2009 – -In preparation for International Green Smoothie Day, I’ve been upping my green smoothie quotient.
This morning was a test.
I’ve always told people that you don’t need a fancy, shmancy blender to do the Green Smoothie Challenge. I’ve always told people that they can just use a cheap $10 Osterizer from a garage sale to do the trick.
But as long as I’ve been a raw foodist, I’ve always had a fancy, shmancy blender. So what did I know? Until, this morning!
I had spotted his Osterizer some time ago and decided that it would be perfect for trying out some kitchen experiments for raw foodists on a budget!
Well stocked with Swiss chard from our little garden plot, and oodles of fresh fruit, this morning I decided it was time to pull out the OSTERIZER!
I loaded it up with:
- 2 fresh bananas
- 2 frozen bananas
- 2 peaches
- 1/2 cup of Mr. Right’s Tropicana juice.
If you’re hard core, just add water. I was trying to impress the Prince of Prosciutto, so I sweetened it up with some of his favorite juice!
Then I got this whizzing, whirring, stirring and blending in the old Osterizer until there was a creamy smooth consistency happening. (Honestly, at this point I was already very impressed with the smooth texture.) I was expecting the peel of the peach to be a bit chuncky, but it was smoooth as smoothie gets.
That’s when I started adding the Swiss chard.
I don’t usually add the spine of the leaves. I suppose I added about 5 or 6 big leaves before I called it quits.
I was SHOCKED, AMAZED, IMPRESSED and sooooooo SURPISED that the cheap little Osterizer had pulled off a green smoothie of magnificent smoothness.
Could she have pulverized parsley with the same finesse? I’m not sure.
Could she have done it to grape skins, or think, curly kale? Hard to say.
But this morning’s ingredients were no competition to the persistent little blades of this blender beauty.
I still loooove my Blendtec. I don’t think this little Osterizer could ever pump out almond milk or other concoctions that I’ve come to love with my fancy, shmancy blender. But the proof is definitely in the green pudding this morning:
When you’re starting out on green smoothies
and managing a budget, you definitely,
definitely do NOT need to spend
a fortune on a blender!
P.S.
Aside from the 10 reasons I’ve written before about why I prefer Blendtec, and aside from the fact that Blendtec wins the banana ice cream making competition HANDS DOWN, E V E R Y TIME over other blenders that might attempt to compete against it, the BIGGEST reason I am fiercely loyal to Blendtec is because they have no quarrel with the fact that we tell people they do NOT need to buy a fancy, shmancy blender to make green smoothies.
When International Green Smoothie Day launched last year, we were actually approached by another company who offered to sponsor us. We politely declined when we were told that their sponsorship was conditional upon us removing all traces of garage sale/hardware store blenders from our site and instead telling people that they must buy their fancy, shmancy blender to make green smoothies.
Pshaw!
Money should NOT get in the way of your health!
Here’s a BIG Green Smoothie toast to Blendtec, and to Osterizer-uses everywhere and here’s to making due with what you’ve got when you’ve got it!
Because grass roots grow, Baby, and you’ve gotta start somewhere.
Now, I’m off this soap box and outta here to take on the day!
Charmed by chard,
Green Smoothie Queen
Tags: Blenders, Blendtec, green smoothie, green smoothie challenge, Green Smoothie Queen, Green Smoothie Recipes, Raw Food, raw food diet
Posted in Green Smoothies | 5 Comments »
5 Responses
to “I’ve Been Osterized!”
2 Trackback(s)
- Aug 15, 2009: Meet the Queen’s New “Smooth-ie Operator” | Green Smoothie Blog
- Apr 11, 2011: Meet the Queen's New "Smooth-ie Operator" | Green Smoothie Queen Blog
By Hanlie on Aug 13, 2009
I totally agree with you. About a year ago, I had to replace my more expensive blender, but since we thought that we might emigrate, I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on a blender. So I bought the cheapest blender I could find, about $25. I didn’t expect it to last, but I’ve been making green smoothies in it almost every day. Sure, it doesn’t work for things like pesto, but for dressings and smoothies, it’s perfectly fine. My trick is to blend the greens in water first and then add the fruit. We never did emigrate.
My husband has promised me a fancy blender (the other one) – I don’t think Blendtec is available here – when my weight drops below 100kg (220 pounds). They’re really expensive here – $910 compared to $400 in the US!
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By Jenni on Aug 13, 2009
I have a cheap and terrible blender. It’s fine for spinach/fruit smoothies. For kale, if I cut out that big stem in the middle and chop the leaves a bit, it’s ok. But it sure wouldn’t make banana ice cream. I tried to make a raw nut “cheese” ball during Xmas and almost killed that blender doing it!
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By Jeff Klein on Mar 31, 2011
I agree with you. I just recently started getting interested in the health benefits of green smoothies. I looked around the web and at various stores for what people recommended the most– blendtec, vitamix, and waring blenders, and I was shocked about how expensive they all were. So, I got out my old Osterizer from the 1990s, and did an experiment. I cut a raw carrot and a raw beet root into the smallest pieces I could manage with a knife, and put them into the Osterizer. Then I took 3 big kale leaves and cut out the stems and rims and threw them away. Then I cut the remainder of the kale leaves into small pieces with my knife and put them into the Osterizer. Then I put in a handful of frozen blueberries. Then I put in a half a cup of fruit juice. AND then I pulsed the blender for a while and finally hit liquify and much to my surprise it did liquify it and made a delicious green smoothie for me. Very healthy, very tasty, and cheap! There’s no need to spend a fortune on a blender to make a green smoothie.
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