Jamba at home Smoothies - Just Add Juice

Because our out of town guests needed a blender to cater to a particular diet, we decided to buy a Cuisinart blender before they arrived. We learned a few tips from the masters and after they left we decided to give it a whirl and make a smoothie. We always have a lot of fresh fruit on hand and had gotten extra strawberries, bananas, blueberries, and raspberries for them. But we also looked in the frozen food section in search of smoothie ingredients. We found one brand called Jamba At Home Smoothies in the strawberries wild flavor, and some frozen strawberries that could be used to mix with whatever we thought might do. So we tried the Jamba At Home package. We dumped the contents in - strawberries, bananas, and yogurt. Then we added a cup of orange juice instead of the recommended apple juice. There is a specific button on the blender for smoothies, so we turned the thing on and off it went. It is very loud! It definitely would wake up anyone in the house if used in the morning. So my husband and I split the smoothie and have to agree that is tasted pretty good. We could never replace a meal with a smoothie like our friends do, but it is a good reason to have the blender and use it to create whatever flavor you like. So we did learn something after all. But we always knew we liked smoothies. 

Hill’s Kitchen Cuisinart Velocity Ultra Blender

We are expecting guests from the Midwest this weekend. In order to make the accommodations most accommodating, we always ask if there is anything particular that they would like to have in the house during the visit. Because our friends have a more vegetarian approach to life, they like to eat bananas, berries, strawberries and the like - and so do we. But what we didn’t have was a blender, because they like smoothies. So while we were on our morning walk we were trying to figure out a way to avoid a trip to Target in Alexandria. Then we remembered Hill’s Kitchen near Eastern Market and walked that way. We have been there before and apparently the store is doing well. They had a couple of options, and we decided to go with the Cuisinart Ultra Blend. There is a button on it just for smoothies. So we carried it home - a little heavier than expected. But we were glad to have found it and made it a part of our kitchen. So today we went to the grocery store and got some bananas, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and a couple packages of frozen fruits - just for smoothies. Maybe we will like it enough to have ourselves. Not a bad idea.