If smoothies and juices are your thing, chances are that you love to watch your favorite fruit and veg combo spiral and blend into a delicious and fine smoothie. To do so, a top-notch blender is key.
The Ninja blender is one such kitchen tool that has been the talk of the town for some time now. It is a suitable alternative to the pricey Blendtec or Vitamix blenders and can blend practically anything with its sharp blades, thanks to its total crushing technology.
Using a Ninja blender in the right way didn’t only introduce me to its multi-specialty features such as mixing, grating, chopping, food processing, and others but also helped me ensure complete safety. So let’s learn how to use a Ninja Blender to its best and safest.
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How to use a Ninja Blender: Putting it Together
The Ninja blender comes in various types, and which one you pick can depend on volume, features, wattage, price, accessories, etc. It can range from the compact personal blender to the slightly heavy-duty mega kitchen system. But before putting any of these to use, I must tell you how to install them.
Instruction Manual
While no one likes to delve into the fine print on an instruction manual, in this case, it can be of enormous help as it will ensure that you assemble it in the right order. You can read multiple articles online or watch YouTube videos to put together your new blender but for original instructions, I prefer to understand the instruction manual.
Assembly
Assembly of the blender is easy if all steps are followed. The number of accessories may be close to or more than 8 for the advanced versions.
While this can be intimidating, in most cases for household kitchen use, I found myself mostly using the pitcher, the single-serve cups, and the chopping blade. Needless to say, in all cases, it is crucial to assemble the powerbase and the blade correctly.
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Step 1 – Blade on the Pitcher
You should begin by attaching the stacked blade to the pitcher and then placing the pitcher on the bulky motor base.
Step 2 – Locking the Pitcher
It is then highly important that you rotate the pitcher in a clockwise motion to hear a click. This is a sign that you have assembled it right.
How to use a Ninja Blender: Blending your Favorite Ingredients
Now comes the fun part as you may be tempted to begin stuffing your pitcher with the raw ingredients for your smoothie, sauce, puree, spread, etc.
At this point make sure that you are not stuffing beyond the maximum line. If you look closely, it will be visible on the pitcher. This is crucial to avoid splashes, inconsistent blending, and or slowing down the crushing process.
Once you have loaded the pitcher with your ingredients of choice and locked it securely with the lid, you can plug in the power cord and press the speed or setting you like. Then, just watch the magic unravel in front of your eyes.
Unlocking the Ninja Blender
Watching a perfectly blended ice-cold smoothie in a blending jar, it might be very difficult to stop yourself from pouring it right away and quenching your thirst.
But before you do that, you must ensure that the blades have completely stopped spinning. While I am guilty of sometimes detaching my pitcher before the blades come to a complete halt, I know it isn’t the right way to do it.
Once the blades stop moving, you can unlock the pitcher by rotating it anti-clockwise before removing it from the base.
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Pouring your Smoothie
In case your smoothie is beyond the filling line or if you used a stand-up pitcher, it might be a good idea to use the pouring spout. This will not only prevent you from making a mess but also against blade cuts or injuries, some of which can be severe.
If you’re pouring from the main mouth, it is important to remove the lid and the stacked blade first, once again to prevent yourself from any sudden cuts or blade-related mishaps.
With a Ninja blender, I must emphasize that its super-sharp blades are wonderful for the blending or crushing or pulverizing process but if not handled with care, they can cause you to regret your purchase.
Clean, Clean, Clean
Once again, your first instinct might be to enjoy your drink and leave the clutter for later. But a small step to ensure the right and timely cleaning of your blender can not only free you of the hassle to do it later and save you from stubborn stains but also increase the longevity of the product.
Like in the case of any blades, the washing of the stacked blade must be done with extreme caution and using a specialized tool. It should never be left in the sink or under a pile of dishes as it can injure anyone cleaning the dishes or using the sink.
The best way is to clean with the right brush and leave it to dry on a cloth away from your family members’ immediate reach. The pitcher should also be cleaned with soap and a brush and placed inverted on a dry cloth to fasten the drying of the Ninja blender.
As for the motor base, it’s best to store it in a kitchen cupboard instead of leaving it on the countertop.
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What Can You Do with a Ninja Blender?
You can do pretty much anything with a Ninja blender. They are notoriously good at making smoothies, they can be used for breaking down soft ingredients like bananas, and hard ingredients like carrots. The blades are strong enough to crush ice easily, and they can be used for smashing apart frozen fruit into a nice smoothie texture.
You can also use a Ninja blender for pureeing baby food. While the included containers are a little large for storing baby food, you can definitely use a Ninja blender for making big batches of baby food and then refrigerating it and saving it for later.
Another popular use of a Ninja blender is grinding. Because of their powerful motors, they are ideal for grinding coffee beans, dry grains, seeds, and nuts. They have serious power in their blades, and this allows them to crush ice, blend skin and stems, and absolutely turn hard seeds into powder.
This makes a Ninja blender extremely useful at making nut butter or spice powder. They can literally do any of these things. If you have a craving for some delicious peanut butter or almond butter, throw in a few ingredients and make a quick batch. They are the perfect size for making a full jar of homemade nut butter.
They are also the perfect size for grinding an entire bag of raw coffee beans into a fine powder that you can then use in your coffee maker for making espresso, coffee, and other specialty beverages. If you are in the mood for an iced coffee, go ahead and add hot coffee straight from the percolator into your tumbler, add a bit of ice, and sit back and enjoy any hot summer day.
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How to Use Ninja Professional Blender 900 Watts
Ninja offers many different blenders. They have lots of personal blenders, they have large industrial blenders, and they have everything in between. This particular model is the 900-watt personal blender. It uses unique tumblers and a set of Ninja pro extractor blades for making a single serving of just about anything.
Of course, the most popular use for this blender is making smoothies. It makes excellent smoothies and is comparable in power and in price to the NutriBullet Pro 900. Included in the package will be a pair of unique tumblers, a pair of seal & go lids, a recipe inspiration guide with 30 recipes, the motor base, and the extractor blades.
To make a smoothie with this blender, you can start by adding the ingredients directly into one of the tumblers. Once your tumbler is packed full of your favorite foods, you then need to attach the extractor blades by twisting them onto the lid of the tumbler. You will then insert the entire tumbler into the motor base and twist. This will activate the blades, which will then blend all your ingredients and give you an instant smoothie.
It is important to note that this machine does not come with a large pitcher. It only uses the two included tumblers, the exact same way the NutriBullet Pro works. To clean the machine, you will need to rinse each tumbler after use. You will also need to rinse the blades and the seal & go lids. However, you do not need to clean the motor base itself.
Because the seals are so strong, there will never be any leakage or spills when using this lender. A quick rinse of the blades and the tumblers immediately after use will be sufficient in maintaining your machine. A quick wipe of the motor base with a cloth every now and again is great for keeping out the dust.
How to use a Ninja Blender: Final Thoughts
Ninja blenders are fantastic products. There is really no getting around it. Considering their low price, you really can’t go wrong with adding a Ninja blender to your kitchen. They will last for years, They are extremely durable, and they work simplistically. When compared to other similar blenders, Ninja blenders are cheaper, they are more durable, and they have more uses.
A Ninja Blender is undoubtedly a wonderful kitchen tool. It can save you hours spent on chopping, grinding, or mixing by hand. It can also serve as a handy tool for to-go smoothies or blends when you’re in a rush to get to work or the gym.
While other brands like NutriBullet and Oster are also kitchen favorites, the Ninja Blender is beating them with its decent pricing and advanced features.
Within the various Ninja blender types and accessories, the assembly, pouring, or cleaning process may differ a bit but the basic installation is more or the less the same for all types.
No matter which type you use, you need to be extra cautious while installing, using, and cleaning the blender and its parts if you truly want to enjoy a flavorful and hassle-free safe experience.
For those who live a fast and active lifestyle, I can’t think of a better range of blenders to use. Because of their minimal cleaning and maintenance, Ninja blenders are great for busy people who need quick access to their smoothies and don’t have time for cleaning or fussing with big and awkward components. You can continue living a healthy lifestyle by using a Ninja blender.