Strong & Healthy: To Health: Making Smoothies with Veggies

My Blender, sweet Blender. Oh, how I love thee! How did I come to have a love affair with my Blender you ask? Well, being the smoothie enthusiast that I am, it is only natural that I also make them at home. I bought my first blender about a year ago. It was a Black & Decker Cyclone that I bought at Wal-Mart for around $30-$40. It did alright. It made smoothies and I was satisfied. That was until it started acting up and smoking... and it finally broke last week.

So I began my search. Site after site, reading reviews, watching videos... until I came across my love. It has over 400 5 star reviews on Amazon.com. It cost $99 in stores (but I was able to snag a 20% off coupon from Bed Bath and Beyond). What is it's name? It is a Kitchen Aid KSB560OB 5 Speed Blender. I didn't realize how crappy my previous blender was until I learned about this one.

Some of the pros:

Durable Steel-Reinforced Coupler
Jar coupler is coated for quiet operation
Built for continual blending
Powerful motor (.9 horsepower)
Intelli-Speed control
The pitcher is ONE piece
Easy to clean
Sturdy metal base
Soft, Non-Slip Grip Pitcher Handle

I could go on and on, but it's just designed so intelligently. It's made for the user. But back to my topic - my other new love - making smoothies with REAL veggies. So I typically make smoothies with a bag of Yoplait Smoothie, vanilla ice cream, 100% real fruit juice, and top it off with whip cream. I've now learned to substitute the ice cream with vanilla yogurt and add veggies to give it an extra boost. In the past I've used spinach (I had bought some to make salad and had it left over and just threw it in) and today I am using broccoli and I've also added in a scope of protein. I am out of yogurt, so I had to use vanilla ice cream, but it turned out great and it's super delicious! Plus I'm eating broccoli with my dinner so this is just an extra boost of vitamins and protein!