5 ON YOUR SIDE: Smoothies

5 ON YOUR SIDE: Smoothies5 ON YOUR SIDE: Smoothies

If sitting down for a healthy breakfast doesn’t fit into your mornings, why not try a vitamin-packed smoothie? Consumer Reports’ latest tests reveal which blenders can crush and purée your favorite fruits and veggies into a delicious breakfast you can take with you!

Smoothies are a great choice for an on-the-go breakfast and can help you pack a lot of nutrient-rich produce and fiber into one cup.

Smoothies contain whole fruit, which provides nutrients and fiber. It’s also easy to add vegetables like carrots or leafy greens, and protein sources like non-fat yogurt, nut butters, nuts, and seeds, which will make it more filling.

Consumer Reports says having the right blender to whip one up is key. You want something that will deliver a smooth, consistent texture because there’s nothing worse than a lumpy drink or smoothie.

Testers blend batches of nonalcoholic pina coladas and then pass the drink through a series of different-sized sieves. You don’t want something too thick and too chunky to get stuck early on, but you also don’t want something that’s just liquid and goes straight through all the way to the bottom. The pina colada from one blender was not very drinkable—it left behind lots of chunks and bits.

If you plan on adding harder foods like apples, carrots, or even leafy greens, CR tests to assess how well a blender can purée those raw ingredients into a soup.

The Ninja Professional Plus Kitchen System, BN801, which costs $220, is a great value. It’s durable, stellar for smoothies, earns top marks for puréeing and crushing ice, and is easy to clean. But, if all you want is a smoothie on the go, a personal blender like the NutriBullet Original NBR-0801 Personal, which costs $70, can save you money.

One last tip from CR: stock up on summer fruits and veggies now and freeze them for your winter smoothies later. You can reduce food waste by freezing any produce about to go bad and saving it for your smoothies and soups.
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