So are these blender/smoothie things just a fad? Is it really healthy? Are they any good? Does the IQ do anything? These are all good questions, and the same ones I had when I contemplated buying one of these. I did some research, tried to find some reviews – but there was little out there that gave me an honest opinion. I was about to spend £95 – as an attempt to get more healthy stuff into me, reviews generally positive so I went for it!

Nutri Ninja Blender with Auto IQ Review

So, firstly some background. I’m overweight and generally eat once a day (not a great lifestyle) so I wanted to get something to have as a breakfast, and after my research a smoothie seemed like a good way forward, incorporating lots of fruit/veg into something I can just gulp down.

The purchase of the Nutri Ninja Blender with Auto IQ was triggered by it being on offer! If it hadn’t have been I’d probably have not thought too much about getting a blender. I did some searches for reviews, mostly positive – some awful and overall just link after link saying how GREAT these were but not really saying why.

So it was boxed well, and unpacking gave you the base (main blender), two cups, one blending attachment and two lids. The cups are different sizes – for now I’ve only used the large one. But the intent is, put in the ingredients, blend, unscrew the blade attachment and screw on a lid and go. Personally I pour it into a pint glass.

The first smoothie I tried, made me wonder if I’d made a mistake. It wasn’t a great flavour, and I kinda forced it down. But that’s not the fault of the blender . . just the recipe I’d followed. I read up some more, and generally – MAKE YOUR OWN! Lots out there promising detox, losing weight and other wonderful statements. But for me I just wanted some healthy stuff, some of my 5 a day in a drink I could gulp down.

So back to the blender and the Auto IQ. Sounds funky doesn’t it – I’m a gadget freak, so for me this meant it MUST be good! Well overall it is as simple as two preset programs to either make it ultra smooth or just smooth. BUT – worth having. The programs auto pulse which helps ensure everything gets blended and ice gets crushed (infact – just to mention, not ALL blenders will blend ice at all or even well. This does!). So you fill with your ingredients, screw in the blades and pop it onto the base and press a button. 60 seconds later your smoothie is ready and blended perfectly. Cleaning – well just rinsing under a tap and both the cup & blades came out clean. So a quick rinse is all that is needed, another big positive.

The blender itself is rugged, the cups & lids perfectly good enough for the one a day smoothie wanna be. It’s quite powerful so makes sure everything you put in gets blended up nicely. So for anyone getting into blending, you won’t go wrong with this model. No pushing down to start it, the auto IQ programs do it all. Just twist in and press. It couldn’t be more simple!

As for recipes, experiment – find the flavours you like then add in the “healthy” stuff. For me I’ve settled on the recipe below. What surprises me most is how FULL I feel after one of these. It really is a meal replacement (and considering I didn’t eat breakfasts – a healthy breakfast that only helps my body and an extra meal which is a lot better than eating just one!).

I call it the Purple Monster – It’s purple and nearly a pints worth of goodness!

So get your big cup, and fill in the order below:

Big handful of baby spinach
Half a stick of celery
A small chunk of red cabbage (prob about 10g worth)
80g (ish) of blueberries
Kiwi Fruit (peeled and halved)
Banana (broken into 3).
Some ice over the top and a splash of water (try and add to your own preference)

Screw in blades, blend on the ultra setting and enjoy.

Now I’m not going to throw weight loss figures into this, as I don’t know if it is BECAUSE of this or a combination of things. But since having these daily (for the past week) I’ve consistently been dropping weight. I think these ARE helping – but time will tell. But regardless I’m getting some good healthy food inside of me I’d not normally have!

Summary – good blender, does what it says on the box. Experiment with recipes – don’t try one and not like it and give up. Add in fruits you LIKE the flavour of!!!

Any questions – sign up and add a comment.