Blenders vs. Juicers--How to deal with a ton of extra fruit!

[bisous]

I apologize in advance. I feel like I constantly have posts on here about juicers and/or blenders. The truth is, I don't love either of the two blenders that we have right now and also I feel like if we had the right tool we'd be well placed to take advantage of the bounty of fresh fruits available to us!

In the past two weeks we've had neighbors drop off a giant brown bag of huge avocados, a giant brown bag full of persimmons, and a giant brown bag of clementines. Later in the Winter/early Spring we get a bumper crop of loquats from our own tree. We also have an apple tree that has good years and bad years. I feel like with the right tool, we might be able to take advantage of these fruits! By making smoothies/juices!

So what tool am I looking for? DH thinks that our kitchen is too small for a cold-press juicer (that also costs a fortune!) and he may be right. We currently have a Ninja blender (that doesn't blend smooth enough for my picky kids) that we use for things like pesto. It has a strong motor but doesn't blend very finely. Our other option is a very small Nutribullet that only makes single sized servings. We want a large capacity blender that is extremely powerful (like the Ninja) but blends very smooth (like the Nutribullet).

Does anyone regularly use a juicer? How big is yours? How much room does it take up and is it expensive?

Has anyone tried the Nutribullet blender system?

https://www.costco.com/nutribullet-blender-combo.product.100601243.html

It goes on sale on the Costco website (down to 69.99!) on Thanksgiving Day and since it is Costco I thought we'd give it a go. Though I wonder if it would end up being cheaper (and more eco friendly) if we just bit the bullet and bought a real workhorse like a Vitamix? And if so, what kind?

TIA!

[mmsmom]

The main difference is that a juicer removes the skin and pulp so you are getting less fiber and vitamins. Blending the whole fruit is better. I have the Ninja system from Costco that is a blender and food processor. The blender is great and I think works as well as a Vitamix which I have also used. You could cut up whatever fruit you can not use in a few days and freeze it for smoothies.

[bisous]

The main difference is that a juicer removes the skin and pulp so you are getting less fiber and vitamins. Blending the whole fruit is better. I have the Ninja system from Costco that is a blender and food processor. The blender is great and I think works as well as a Vitamix which I have also used. You could cut up whatever fruit you can not use in a few days and freeze it for smoothies.

Thanks for your input! Does your Ninja get things very smooth? I wonder if I have a strange model. I have one kid that won’t drink anything with any kind of texture.

[mmsmom]

Thanks for your input! Does your Ninja get things very smooth? I wonder if I have a strange model. I have one kid that won’t drink anything with any kind of texture.

I think it gets things very smooth but we aren’t picky about texture. Adding more liquid helps. I think it is the Ninja Pro that comes w/ smoothie jars and the food processor. Ours is about 5 years old.

[carolinamama]

I think it gets things very smooth but we aren’t picky about texture. Adding more liquid helps. I think it is the Ninja Pro that comes w/ smoothie jars and the food processor. Ours is about 5 years old.

Pretty sure I have the same Ninja. We have used it a ton for smoothies. They are smooth, definitely not lumpy. I do think the Vitamix does a slightly better job but no one has ever complained about it here.

[gatorsmom]

We also have a Ninja that we have used a bunch for smoothies. It really does a fantastic job of getting them smooth. However, if your dc doesn't like ANY lumps, there will be bits of fruit or even seeds in the smoothies even after extended blending.

I inherited my mother's and grandmother's juicers. They will eliminate ALL lumps and seeds. They really do produce a fine, thin liquid. However, you would be amazed at the amount of fruit and pulp that goes to waste. Then the challenge is to figure out what to do with all that extra fruit waste. We would put it in muffins and sweet breads. You could also put it in oatmeal bakes or apple sauce. But it's a challenge to use it all and not let it go to waste. Just something to think about.