One of my favorite things about being a food blogger, aside from the cooking and eating aspect of it, is the opportuities I am afforded every now and again to test and try out innovative products. I was contacted by AO a couple of weeks ago and asked if I would like to review an appliance for them. I was really torn between the microwave (in a previous post) and the Nutri Ninja Smoothie maker. I needed a new microwave, but I also really wanted a smoothie maker! I couldn't choose between the two items and asked them to choose for me, and was really pleased and surprised when they told me that I could review both items!
Engineererd as a system, this innovative nutrient and vitamin extractor helps to produce nutrient rich beverages to support a healthier lifestyle. 
The set includes a Power Pod base with a powerful 700 watt motor and patented stainless steel Ninja blade, two "single-serve" blending 470 ml Nutri Ninja cups along with two "to-go" lids. The Ninja's extraction blades are designed to make light work of blending the chunkiest, hardest pieces of food. Whether you are blending raw fruit for a healthy smoothie, or chopping through root vegetables to make a hearty soup, the crushing power of the Ninja's power blades can create the consistency you need in just a few seconds.
You start by adding fresh fruits or vegetables to the Ninja cup, along with any leafy greens or herbs, seeds, powders, nut butters, juice, yogurts, and ice or frozen ingredients, taking care not to go above the clearly marked maxium line on the Ninja cup.
Here you can see I have put in some fresh raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, orange juice, half a sliced banana and a dollop of plain yogurt into the cup. 
You screw on the extractor blade and then invert the cup onto the power base, clicking it into place. Once you've done this you simply press down for short intervals and let this powerful blade do its stuff, blitzing until you have the consistency you desire. This handy pulse system gives you complete control over consistency. Another plus. Very simple.
It is rather noisy, but it does a fabulous job of grinding your ingredients down. This only took about four 20-second pulses.
As you can see the end result was very creamy and smooth. Delicious actually. I had also done a spinach one with apple and ginger, etc. earlier, but we were not overly fond of that one.It will be very much trial and error on our part and I am sure with time we will have our favourites!
I came with an in-depth owners guide and an inspiration guide with 30+ recipes to get your started on your smoothie journey!
The "to-go" lids make it very easy to carry your smoothie with you as you go about your morning duties, sit at the computer, etc.
I prefer to drink mine from a glass, but that is just me. The cups, lids, blade are dishwasher safe as well, which is another plus. Another thing I really like is the compact size which means that it is easy to store and doesn't take up a lot of storage space in our kitchen.
You can also use it to prepare frozen cocktails and frappes, iced coffees, crushed ice, etc. It is a very powerful machine and comes with a 1 year manufacturer's warranty.
To find out more details do check out the AO site. Delivery can be as soon as tomorrow and a finance plan is also available.
Many thanks to AO for sending me the Nutri Ninja Smoothie Maker. I think that this is a quality machine and something which we are going to be getting a lot of use out of over these next months. What a fab, delicious, quick and easy to way to get in some of your five a day! I love it!
If you want to check out me using it in real time, make sure you take a peek at my You Tube Review of this brilliant machine! I had so much fun doing it. What you actually see is about my 10th attempt at doing the video! I never knew it would be so hard, but I learned a lot about what you can and can't do when making a video! I need to get a stand to hold my phone so that I can do them totally hands free in the future! Try not to laugh too much! Todd says its great, but he's my biggest fan! 👍
Disclaimer - Although we were sent the Nutri Ninja smoothie maker free of charge for review purposes we were not required to write a positive review. Any and all opinions are our own and honest.
