For Christmas, Santa brought us a Blendtec blender and we've been having a lot of fun trying out different uses.  It’s fabulous!  We used to have an old (about 20 years old) Osterizer.  So, this fancy, new and far more powerful machine is certainly a change.

We've done some blending of various things (flax seeds to make flour/powder and almonds to make almond butter) but, so far, we've mostly used it for making great tasting vegetable and fruit smoothies.  For healthy veggie smoothies, you just throw in the chunks (and I do mean chunks) of veggies, select the right setting, push the button and walk away.It speeds up and slows down, then shuts off by itself.  The finished smoothie is just that - smooth!  No lumps, no chunky pulp, no small pieces of spinach to get stuck in your teeth.  Even the hemp hearts, that we've sometimes added for some protein content, are completely blended.

Here’s a fruit smoothie recipe that’s fast becoming one of our favourites.

Raspberry-Orange Smoothie

1 cup non-fat or low-fat soy milk (or almond milk)

1 cup of frozen raspberries

1 medium banana

½ cup of orange juice

It’s quick and easy.  Simply add everything to the blender, cover and blend until smooth.

It’s SO good, and good for you!  It will alleviate your “sweet” craving and can also be used as a pre-workout snack/meal.  For more of a “full-meal deal”, as mentioned above, we've occasionally added in some hemp hearts (a couple of heaping tablespoons) for protein.

We’re real keen to try out more stuff, so please leave us a comment and/or share YOUR favourite blender recipe.