Top 5 Best Personal Smoothie & Shake Maker

Samuel J TanKitchen & Cooking 0

There is nothing like freshly made smoothie. We tried smoothies from cartons and bottles and for some reason they seem to have a slight ferment taste. This could be due the amount of bulking ingredient used such as banana. If you make your own, you would know exactly the fresh ingredients that goes into your drink.

If you are like me and would prefer not to have banana in my smoothie, you are not left with much choices at the shops. Making your own smoothie lets you be creative and use different ingredients. Our favourite fruits are mango and strawberry which we buy fresh or sometimes in ready prepared boxes from the freeze section. Our preferred ‘bulking ingredient’ is orange pieces and orange juice.

In our quest for freshness and goodness, we look at five of the best personal smoothie makers in the market. Why can’t I use my standard blender we hear you say. These compact blender are more efficient, designed with ease of use in mind. The supplied container doubles as a drinks bottle so you do not have to transfer your drink from the dedicated blender jug to the bottle. That is one less thing to wash, and a lot less wasteful with your smoothie that typically happens when you transfer it from one container to another. All personal smoothie blenders listed here uses a carry with you tumbler (bottle) or mug that are BPA free and dishwasher safe.

Then there is the option to make other drinks and not just fruit smoothies; milkshakes, supplements (milk and protein drinks), ice slush, you name it. Check out the recipe books listed at the bottom of this post for more inspiration.

10 Things You Need to Know About Personal Blenders

Things to note when operating one of these personal smoothie and shake maker

These blenders come with a bladed cover and standard cover some with drinking spout and flip lid. Fill up the bottle with ingredients, close this with the bladed cover, turn it upside down and seat it on the base unit to blend the content. When ready, remove it from the base unit and replace the bladed cover with standard cover.
As with most blenders, do not operate it continuously for over a minute, leave at least a minute or two between blending to allow the motor to cool down.
These personal blenders have small motors and are only suitable for home use and not intended for heavy use
For better result, remember to add water or liquid ingredients such as juices before adding in solids, this allows the solid ingredients to move during blending
While most if not all compact blenders featured here crushes ice, it is worth nothing that you should keep it to no more than three ice cubes, this keeps the stress on the motor at a minimum. The same applies to frozen fruits, make sure you thaw or semi thaw frozen ingredients.
It is normal if the base unit smell of burning during operation. This is cause by the heating and burning of excess oil on the motor and should be taken as an indicator to ease off on operating the blender and allow the motor to cool down
Check on the manufacturers website for warranty covers and remember to register your product should this be required to activate your cover
Get at least one recipe book, most blenders come with a small recipe booklet or include a small number of recipes in their instruction manual. However, you would be better off checking out a proper recipe book from the library or store (see our recommendations below).
Some blender lets you set the speed and pulse function. This is helpful to set how smooth you like your drink, some prefer it with bits and others smooth texture. Use the pulse function to mix up your ingredients or ice during blending.
Also, find out if you can get spare bottles, tumblers and mugs. These are useful if your blender does not already come with spare tumblers. Some blenders come with a family pack option with additional bottles throw in.

Best Personal Smoothie & Shake Maker

Here is our top 5 best personal blender for all your smoothies and shakes:

1. Breville Blend-Active Personal Blender Family Pack – 4 BOTTLES, ONE TOUCH

2. Kenwood SB055 Smoothie 2GO – 2 TRAVEL MUG, VARIABLE SPEED & PULSE

3. Russell Hobbs 21350 Mix & Go Blender – 2 BOTTLES, PUSH & TWIST TO OPERATE

4. Duronic BL3 Blend & Go Personal Smoothie and Shake Maker – 2 BOTTLES, PUSH TO OPERATE

5. Andrew James Family Fit Smoothie Maker – 4 BOTTLES, ONE TOUCH

Others

Now for a look at the details.

1. Breville Blend-Active Personal Blender Family Pack – 4 BOTTLES

Create quickly and easily, nutritious shakes, smoothies and slushies straight in the tumbler, great for the gym, school, work and days out. The stainless steel angled blades is built into a detachable cover. Use this cover to blend your drink. When ready, remove the tumbler from the base unit, turn it over and replace the blade cover with the supplied tumbler cover with SuperSeal leak proof pop open lid. You perfect drink is just a push of a button away. It’s worth mentioning that the bottles are lightweight, impact and shatter-resistant, kid friendly and will fit most cup holders in cars and bikes.

Power: 300 Watt motor
Simple one touch blending operation – ONE TOUCH
Crushes ice
Detachable dishwasher safe blade bottles and lids
Included: the family pack comes with 4 tumblers, 2 x 600ml and 2 x 300ml BPA free bottles, instruction manual and recipe book

Also available: Breville Blend-Active Personal Blender (without the extra tumblers)

2. Kenwood SB055 Smoothie 2GO – 2 TRAVEL MUG

To blend, fill up the supplied mug with ingredients according to your recipe then screw on the detachable blade cover making sure that the mug is shut properly. Turn the mug upside down and place it on the base unit. Switch on the blender and use the desired speed setting to blend. When ready, turn over the mug and replace the blade cover with the spill proof drinking lid. Kenwood is the only blender in our line-up that features a travel mug with handle instead of the usual tumbler. This is also the only blender with variable speed settings and pulse option.

Power: 300 Watt motor
Speed settings, low, high and pulse function – VARIABLE SPEED & PULSE DIAL
Crushes Ice
Included: 2 x 500ml spill-proof travel mugs with lids, instruction manual and 13 recipes
Available in silver or black

3. Russell Hobbs 21350 Mix & Go Blender – 2 BOTTLES

The Russell Hobbs stands out from the other blenders in that there are no buttons or dials on the base unit. To operate you either push down or twist the bottle once seated with the bladed lid secured to pulse or blend the ingredient respectively. While it crushes ice, the manual does state clearly that you must not overload this and keep the ice cube to no more than three.

Power: 300 Watt motor
Push and twist to activate the blender, no button to push. Once seated on the base unit, push the bottle down to pulse or twist to blend – PUSH & TWIST
Crushes Ice (no more than 3 ice cubes advised)
Included: 2 x 600ml BPA free dishwasher safe tumbler, instruction manual and recipe booklet
Available in silver or black

4. Duronic BL3 Blend & Go Personal Smoothie and Shake Maker – 2 BOTTLES

Here is another push activated blender. Fill up the bottle with your ingredient, put on the blade cover, turn it upside down, seat and push down the bottle to operate the blender. Once ready, remove the blade cover, and use a standard bottle cover.

Power: 300 Watt motor
Push to activate the blender, no button to push. Once seated on the base unit, push the bottle down toblend – PUSH TO OPERATE
Crushes Ice (no more than 3 ice cubes advised)
Included: 2 x 600ml BPA free dishwasher safe tumbler (1 x clear bottle with black lid, 1 x red bottle with black lid) instruction manual and recipe booklet
Available in White or Black with stainless steel finish (shown below).

Spare bottles with lids are available to purchase separately: Duronic Clear 400ml/600ml BPA Free Water Bottle

5. Andrew James Family Fit Smoothie Maker – 4 BOTTLES

If you are on a budget, here is a blender that is not only good value but includes additional bottles, perfect for the family without the premium of a family pack.

Power: 250 Watt motor
Simple one touch blending operation – ONE TOUCH
Detachable dishwasher safe blade bottles and lids
Included: the family pack comes with 4 tumblers, 2 x 600ml and 2 x 300ml BPA free sports bottles with clip and spill proof drinking lid, instruction manual and recipe book
Available in Blue or Green

Others

Smoothie Recipes

Whatever your reasons for buying a smoothie maker, be it health, fitness or general wellness, here are some books with tonnes of recipes and inspiration to keep you going.