I’ve had my Breville Blend-Active for a little while now, a couple of months perhaps, and I love it. I bought it after seeing lots of the people I follow on twitter and instagram using them and I was a bit jealous of how healthy they were being. It cost me £20 from Asda (also available from Amazon) and came with the base unit (in a cool green colour), the blender attachment, and a couple of large 600ml bottles with sturdy lids that click shut. A bargain, really, for something that I hoped would stop be buying expensive ready made smoothies from the shops at lunch time. It’s small and neat in my kitchen, and the bottles are ideal for carrying about and drinking from directly.
With the exception of just a handful of days I have enjoyed a freshly made smoothly every morning since I bought the little blender. And I haven’t bought a single ready made smoothie since I started my little home-made smoothie habit. The few days I haven’t used my Blend-Active are down to poor stock control rather than lack of interest – I’d run out of fruit. I love how quick and simple it is to use, and means I’m having a pretty decent breakfast.
The bottles are easy to clean, which is an important feature as otherwise I don’t think I’d bother using it every day. I have found that unless I get the bottles rinsed out fairly soon after finishing the smoothie I’ll have to soak it to get the bits off the side – I can’t get my hand inside to clean the sides so it’s a case of hot water and washing up liquid and waiting a couple of hours for the bits to slide off. Bits (especially raspberry seeds) get caught under the gasket around the lid seal too, which involves using a fork to get the bit of plastic out to clean underneath. Not really that much of a problem but worth mentioning.
My favourite smoothies are the simplest of recipes. Banana with strawberries and some apple juice, pineapple and kiwi with orange juice, all the berries (blackberries, strawberries, raspberries) with natural yoghurt. I also like adding watermelon to everything – I love the taste of watermelon! I find that the juice of half a lime goes with pretty much every recipe I’ve tried so far, adding a bit of sharpness to the drink, and ginger is also an excellent added ingredient.
I’ve also been using the Blend-Active for milkshakes (milk, ice cream, strawberries or chocolate), but fruit smoothies are definitely part of my morning ritual now and the reason I bought it in the first place.
So far I have been unable to bring myself to make the move from fruit to vegetables in my smoothies. I’ve not added any powders or seeds, either. I’d like to do both, but something has put me off.
I’ve been using all kinds of fruit along with yoghurt, milk, juice or water, and am really enjoying the various concoctions I’ve come up with (dictated generally by what is in my fridge and/or freezer). I know that by its nature fruit is incredibly high in sugar and while it’s definitely better for me than chomping on artificial cereals or white toast and butter first thing in the morning (mmmm toast and butter…), it isn’t quite as good for me as it should be. But I just can’t seem to take the plunge into adding kale or cucumber or anything else yet.
What are your easy-on-the-palette vegetable smoothie recipe suggestions? I could do with something inoffensive to get me started. What should I put in my Blend-Active tomorrow morning to fill me with nutrients to start the day in an even better way?
I couldn’t find the Blend Active on Asda Direct so use this link to find it on Amazon instead.