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5 Reasons You Should Keep Your Blender on the Counter

Blenders can be a very useful tool in the kitchen, when used correctly and creatively. They can add nutrition to your meals and save you time and money. So often blenders are given as gifts or handed down and used a time or two then shut up in the cabinets or pantry never to be seen again... until someone mentions ‘frozen drinks’.

A blender can be the single most important appliance in your kitchen (for some, next to the coffee pot). The different uses of blenders are countless. I’ll list a few below which could keep your blender on your kitchen counter ready for use.

Reason #1 Breakfast Smoothies

Smoothies are an excellent way to begin your day. It’s is simple and easy to toss a few spinach leaves or different vegetables in with some frozen fruit and yogurt, milk or water and get lots of your daily vitamins and minerals as well as the important fiber in such ingredients. You cannot get these with over the counter vitamins or processed breakfast bars.

Reason #2 Simple Meals and Snacks

If you are a busy mom or dad or a busy person in general a blender could be a great companion for a quick lunch. Add a can of garbanzos, lemon juice and garlic/onion powder into a blender and you have instant hummus. Just spread this into a wrap with your favorite toppings and your lunch is ready, with left overs for tomorrow. Or use it as a dip with pita chips or veggie sticks or on a vegan hummus pizza.

Add a banana, peanut butter and a shot of milk into the blender and you have a great dip for apple slices. Kids love this. They can even do this themselves (supervised).

Blender soups can be made quick and easy by adding fresh ingredients into the blender jar with hot water and blending until smooth. Making soups this way is more nutritious and contains less salt as well as other unpleasant additives often found in canned soups.

Reason #3 Grind Your Coffee Beans Every Day

Coffee keeps its flavor much longer as the whole bean. Decide how many cups of coffee you want to make then add the beans to your blender. You get to determine the fineness of the grounds for your coffee taste

Reason # 4 Excellent Frozen Desserts

Desserts do not have to be costly or sugar/fat laden if you have a blender around. Add frozen fruit, ice and a splash of liquid to get things moving and you have a beautiful fruit sorbet. It is easy enough to make different desserts for everyones tastes, strawberry, banana, kiwi or blueberry. Get creative

Reason # 5 Clean Up Is A Snap

To clean your blender add a couple of cups of hot water (depending on your jar size) and a drop or two of liquid dish soap and blend away or pulse. This cleans the sugars and stuff that get trapped near the blade. Just rinse well and set to dry. Cleaning your blender in this way can also help extend the life of some models where the blade assembly is not removable for cleaning.

This article was contributed by April Jones, editor of a website featuring Kitchen Blender Reviews, various healthy eating tips, and Blendtec recipes.