I have a confession to make. You know all those kitchen gadgets I mentioned in Gadgets Anonymous ? Well… <typing in quiet voice, head down, eyes looking sheepish> I have another one… But it’s not a blender!
Nope, a spiraliser. Lurch is its name.
To be fair, it isn’t new. It’s been sitting in the cupboard for some time, still in its box, waiting for us to catch up to it. And last night, we finally did, amd what fun!
On this plate are a Red Apple, a Carrot, half a medium Courgette and a quarter of a long Cucumber. Look at the wonderful colours!
It is highly unlikely anyone would sit and eat those items whole with a knife and fork. But spiralised, it becomes a whole different experience. Spiralising really does make a difference to how they taste, the texture and how much you can eat.
I had all this for dinner last night, along with a couple of very tasty, easy-to-make items from Jason Vale’sSuper Fast Food app, which I hope to review when we’ve given it a good workout – so far, so thumbs up!
(We made the Zesty Creamy Rocket Pesto and the Nutty Seeded Crackers, both flavourful and nourishing and now added to our menu for regular use).
For the kids, it’s so much fun watching the twirly ribbons of veggie noodles emerging from the spiraliser, they just want to take a handful, tip their head back and start feeding the spirals into their mouth.
The Lurch spiraliser is very light and easy to use. Kids can help make their noodles with supervision. It comes with 3 different blades which are stored in the side and have protective hand grips to make it easy to switch.
It has suction feet to stop it slipping or travelling while in use. It also cores, and kids find the leftover middles amusing to play with or eat, or they can be juiced.
I am so excited! I know I am late to the party as far as spiralising is concerned, but I’ve been wanting to try for so long and better late than never!
Just hope the juicers and blenders aren’t going to view this as an act of betrayal! (But they needn’t worry, they continue to have pride of place on the kitchen counter, the spiraliser for the moment is still confined to the cupboard).
Thank you, timelesswheel for nominating me for this award, I am a little taken aback as I am a blogging novice and I feel I am still serving my apprenticeship! It did, however, inspire me to write a post on creativity and health:
Creativity is a basic human instinct, a need. We all need to express ourselves and if we repress this instinct or we are not given the physical or emotional space to do so, we can become withdrawn, resentful, introverted, insular, develop disease or depression, become frustrated and even angry, often hurting those close to us.
If we are not creative how do we progress as a society?
Being creative doesn’t mean you have to be an artistic or writing genius or require other people’s approval for your efforts. Doodling is being creative! Making a meal is being creative. Constructing medieval weapons or a castle out of cardboard for your grandchildren is being creative!
One blogger, scribbleartie, makes lovely whimsical images out of ink blots and soap bubbles, she is still working on her technique and loves having fun experimenting. She also takes everday items that have been discarded and turns them into works of art.
My son-in-law gets great pleasure from stacking logs and has recently studied Norwegian methods of creating different shapes out of these stacks from a book he was given for Christmas.
My husband, who was never interested in food, cooking or nutrition, now spends Sunday mornings communing with bread dough.
My first efforts were nothing to write home about at all, but as with anything, the more you do it, the better you get. The benefits to your wellbeing of mindfulness, of being completely in the moment, having fun through being creative, are many and varied, from increased self-esteem to a strengthened immune system and improved mental health.
Watch a child unihibitedly splashing paint on a large sheet of paper: she doesn’t ask what colour she should use or what shape she should make, she doesn’t feel she has to keep within the margins or hold her brush a certain way – heck, she doesn’t always even use a brush, her fingers and toes will do!
Go on, free your mind, let it wander where it will, pick up a pen and write a silly story or poem for your children, or even a letter the old-fashioned way; or grab a pencil and sketch the cat or the dog – it can be a cartoon or as surreal as you like; find a pair of scissors, some images or card and some glue; grow some plants or vegetables; look at the clouds or the embers in the fire and see what shapes are developing, what thoughts and images do they conjure up? Arrange some garden flowers or twigs in a vase. Pick up your camera, go for a walk. Build a bike from recycled parts. Meditate, find your inner creator.
Take a leaf out of timelesswheel’s book, she had no idea why she wanted to write a blog or what she wanted to say. She just started writing and is still finding her voice and her creative eye in her photographs. And we are enjoying watching her do it.
Give it a try. Express yourself. You will be so much happier and healthier for it.😊
Now *I* have to get creative and come up with 5 things about myself:
I have pens, pencils, paper, scissors, glue in every room I or visiting children use
When I can’t sleep, I create new recipes for juices, smoothies or raw treats
I love watching children playing, talking to themselves and being completely focused on what they are doing or being
At school, I was no good at art, sewing or knitting nor did I ever have a cookery lesson, yet these became my main pastimes in adult life.
I think maybe I should buy shares in Caran d’Ache! Their watercolour pencils are so soft and have such depth of colour, I can predict a growth in their future sales!
Here is my list of recommendations for creative blogs that I hope will inspire:
As the irrespressible James Brown sang, ‘I Feel Good, I Knew That I would!’ (Click the link to see black & white footage of a very energetic performance and you’ll see what I mean).
So, here we are, the end of my Super Juice Challenge following Jason Vale’s SuperJuiceMe! Plan.
Results
I feel alert, energised, my digestion is calmed, I am calm, my aches and pains are calmed, no inclination to snack mindlessly, and I have lost 5lbs – but that was just an added bonus, I was not looking to lose weight.
Plus, despite having to cope with some quite stressful situations, I am the only one in the family not to have caught a cold or cough this month!
There were times when I really wanted to crunch an apple and occasionally I added some ground seeds to a juice, but the Plan allows for occasional SOS additions. Apart from my Bit of a Wobble, I found it easy to get into the routine of it and didn’t have any desire for junk, sweet or savoury treats.
The plan is devised so that every so often you have a sweet, fruity, almond milk smoothie that assuages any craving for something sweet or just different from a juice, and the juices provide all the essential nutrients your body needs.
So no cravings.
Many people ask, so what now?
Well, the first thing is to say what you don’t do: Don’t start planning your next visit to a fast food restaurant! Not that you will want to after any kind or length of juice cleanse. You will find that your tastebuds have been rewired. What you really look forward to is a colourful, crunchy salad or a big, juicy green apple!
Likewise, don’t be persuaded by those around you to go out for a celebratory meal/drink – you will regret it. Your body has just been given a oil change and tune-up and you don’t want to start putting the wrong fuel in!
It is important to ease yourself in gently to eating solid food or your digestion will suffer and you will lose some of the benefits you’ve striven to gain.
Continue having a couple or more juices a day for the first 2 or 3 days at least – I do this normally when I am not juice cleansing anyway – no coffee, alcohol, grains, pasta, meat, dairy.
Eat slowly and mindfully, chew thoroughly, sitting down at the table.
Try to keep eating fresh and raw as much as possible, as many colours as possible on your plate.
My First Post-Juicing Meal on a Plate: Mixed Rocket & Spinach Salad Leaves, Sugar Snap Peas, Mung Bean Sprouts, Carrot, Grapes, Broccoli, Cucumber with Tamari and Olive Oil Dressing
7. If you eat fish, you can then introduce fresh salmon (high in omega oils) or steamed or baked other fish. Light Soups or Baked Sweet Potatoes. Steamed Veg. Stir-Fries
8. Keep grains to every other day to begin with to allow your digestion to get back into the swing of things and to help identify any problem foods.
9. Take note of anything that makes you feel yuck. Anything that makes you feel tired, uncomfortable, bloated, have heartburn or indigestion and cut it out for a while. Try again another time and if the same thing happens, probably avoid.
10. There are several follow-on plans you can use if you need ideas and support: Jason Vale has his 5:2 plan, the Soup’n’Juice Plan and his new Super Fast Food App that has over 100 recipes and the facility to devise your own 7 Day Meal Plan with shopping list provided. See his website for details.*
Here we are, the penultimate day of my Super Juice Fortnight and I don’t want it to end! I am loving the Sweet ‘n’ Smooth Veggie Blend for breakfast (see Jason Vale’s Super Juice Me! Plan*), despite the ever-present parsnip in the list of ingredients – and of course it was very swiftly replaced by a sweet potato!
I am so full of energy and have been very productive, writing new blog posts and recipes, editing old ones, making cards and participating in a Blogging 101 course.
None of the usual January slump.
My brain is firing on all cylinders, I’ve made decisions I’ve been putting off for ages, I am bursting with ideas for writing – my body can’t keep up!
Many people find January a difficult month to do a juice cleanse due to the drop in temperatures, others find it an ideal time after all the Christmas over-indulgence, when they are full of New Year resolve.
Spring isn’t too far away – I have crocuses out already in the third week of January and daffodil buds that have been bursting to open for a couple of weeks now – so if you didn’t manage to join in the January Juicing, but have seen the stunning results achieved by others who have:
Why not plan to do it in February or March?
Here are some tips on how to begin:
Begin by reducing your intake of processed foods, sugar, coffee and alcohol while adding fresh veg and fruit. This will reduce any withdrawal symptoms you might experience in your first few days of a juice cleanse.
At the same time as you are preparing yourself physically, prepare yourself mentally by reading a book or watching a film about juicing and how to go about it.*
Make sure you use a nutritionally-balanced plan.
Buy the best juicer and blender you can afford. Seek the advice of regular juicers, read my reviews and those of other bloggers/consumer sites. If you’re reluctant to splash out until you’ve given it a try, you can often find secondhand juicers at car boot sales and on eBay.
Introduce one juice a day to get into the habit and get used to the preparation, timing and consuming of it.
Find a good local source of organic fruit and veg if possible
There will always be people around you who are sceptical, arm yourself with the knowledge you need to commit to your goal, don’t try to engage them, let them see your results.
If possible, recruit some like-minded friends, or find support online, there are Facebook juicing groups and lots of juicers on Twitter who will provide support and advice.
See your doctor before embarking on a cleanse, have your BP, cholesterol, blood sugar and so on tested, then again later on.
Don’t just weigh yourself, take your measurements too. It is usually these that are the most startling if you need to drop a size or two.
You don’t need to juice just to lose weight. Do it for your health!
You will be so pleased with the improved condition of your skin and your hair, your eyes will shine again, you will have more energy, feel more alert. Many people experience improvements in aches and pains and chronic conditions, including Type 2 diabetes, as well as more balanced hormones and a resetting of your taste buds!
You will discover which foods irritate your digestive system, produce mucous, make you feel tired and which make you feel more alive.
You will be flooding your system with all the nutrients it needs and it will thank you for it!
NB You don’t need to do a cleanse to beenfit from juicing, just adding one green juice a day will make a difference to your health and sense of well-being.
I have one more day of my Super Juicing and I am so looking forward to the shakes for tonight and tomorrow night’s meal – they both have home-made almond milk in them (see Nut Milks, Shakes and Smoothie Recipes). Yum!
You can watch Super Juice Me! The Documentary free on YouTube here:
*Joe Cross’s website also has juicing plans and resources while his film Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead is another inspirational tool when considering juicing.
This morning, my husband is as happy as Larry. His old friend is back and he is beaming from ear to ear. After a difficult 6 months during which his friend has been away having some extensive work done, the smile is back on his face and he is looking forward to having new adventures together now the old dear is looking and moving like new. The old friend? His Morris Minor, of course!
1963 Morris Minor 1000
It is his pride and joy. It is just back from the workshop and after spending a long time taking photos from every angle, he went off to sweep the garage before putting it to bed! My daughter remarked, ‘He’ll be wanting a blanket for it next!’ They have spent many hours together, stopped by the side of the road changing spark plugs or coils, come pouring rain, blizzards or sun.
For my husband, having the Morris Minor back has relieved a little of the stress of not being able to get back on his bike while recovering from an accident.
Finding what lights up your happiness gene is so important to your health. We all need something that is ours, that we schedule time for, that we can lose ourself in and that just for a while helps us distance ourselves from the the stresses of work and family problems, from the pain of illness or disability, from the worries of the world in general.
For me, it’s making cards or colouring whilst listening to music or an audiobook, or even just watching the birds in the garden on a sunny or snowy day.
My son loves going cycling for miles, in any weather, testing himself on the steepest of hills, he also loves creating a mess in the kitchen 😉, while my daughter loses herself in large sewing and knitting projects or walking the hills with her labrador pup.
What is your passion? What lifts your spirit, re-energises you or helps you regain perspective when it all gets a bit too much?
A long time ago, in the dark depths of serious health problems, I didn’t know how to lift myself from the mental mire of trying to cope with it all without any outlet.
Two things happened.
A little girl came into our lives and I discovered ‘Simple Abundance’ by Sarah Ban Breathnach, a book that is now dog-eared from over-use.
The little girl had 2 loves in her life, Barbie and The Spice Girls (‘but not Victoria!’). So we created a scrapbook of pictures that we cut out and glued of everything to do with these topics: photos, clothes, shoes, concerts, anything. I loved it. Those moments were precious. I still have the scrapbook.
It had been so long since I had done anything remotely creative or crafty.
My son and daughter were the artists in the family, and although I had spent a lot of time with them on various art or craft projects when young, I never felt able to do so once they reached teenage years a) because I was rubbish by comparison b) I didn’t want it to look like I was trying to compete or detract from their efforts. I would spend a lot of time selecting and buying art materials for them, wishing I could buy some for myself, but not believing I had the right or the ability.
Then I read ‘Simple Abundance.’ (Don’t let the subtitle put you off). Among the many encouragements and suggestions for women to express themselves creatively – to go on ‘creative excursions’ – was starting an Illustrated Discovery Journal.
The idea is to buy an artist’s sketch book with a hard cover in a design that appealed and collect images, samples, articles, poems, travel pictures, anything that resonates with you, and gradually it would build up into something that would show you where your interests lie, what makes you happy, what makes your heart sing, and show you the direction you would like to take in terms of hobbies or career.
These two events showed me how much I liked using scissors and glue, colour and card. Coincidentally, this little girl gave me a large box of assorted pens – gel pens, metallic pens – for my birthday. I realised there was no reason on this earth why I shouldn’t or couldn’t begin using them.
I didn’t have to create a masterpiece. I didn’t have to do fine art. I could just mess about and see what happened. I could just do it for it’s own sake.
And so I did.
Now all my family and close friends receive hand-made cards at Christmas and birthdays whenever possible.
They are very kind in their comments. I know my efforts are very hit and miss, but people seem to like that I took the time and created a one-off card especially for them.
There are lots of adult colouring books around now. They are often described as Mindfulness colouring books. They help you focus on something creative that you can lose yourself in, that relaxes your brain and eases tensions in your body.
Psychotherapists don’t usually like them being described as therapy, since the patterns and pictures are already formed – although some do have partial drawings that allow you to complete them as you wish – but they do allow that they can be therapeutic, which is different.
Or perhaps getting your hands dirty is more your thing, stripping down bikes or engines, or whittling bits of wood from fallen trees. My neighbour is keen on wood-turning.
Fortunately for me, my daughter-in-law likes tinkering around with blogs and websites!
But you don’t even actually have to do anything. You can simply meditate. Observe. My son-in-law, for example, loves observing clouds and weather patterns.
This time of year when there isn’t a lot of warmth or sun is an excellent time to discover the happiness inside you. Give it a go and see what you like, what makes you feel proud, what lights a spark. Try singing, it doesn’t have to be anything formal. Or pick up that book you’ve always meant to read.
No-one else needs to know what you’re doing until you feel ready. But never feel you don’t deserve to try, or to spend time on yourself. Everyone needs to replenish their caring tanks, relax the overworked parts of their brain, stretch out the kinks in their muscles or just enjoy the feeling of complete abandon, of laughing out loud.
After all, if all of you is used up on everything and everyone else, there will be nothing left. And you deserve to be cared for, too.
One of the many interesting aspects of doing a juice cleanse is that it can often confirm or uncover food sensitivities and intolerances. This occurs either during a cleanse or when you begin gradually introducing solid food again. It is easier to identify the offending foods.
As I indicated in my first Super Juicing post, I knew I was sensitive to pineapple. Following Day 1’s juices, and the severe effects it had on my mouth and stomach, I cut back drastically on the pineapple, just having a thin slice when called for but only once on the relevant days: if 2 juices required pineapple, one was replaced with apple.
I also stopped having lime – the addition seemed to compound the effects of the pineapple – and have been replacing them with kiwi or lemon.
Then came Day 5’s morning juice with pineapple and the afternoon juice with the tomatoes, which I hadn’t had for over 6 months. I had a really bad time next day. (See Bit of a Wobble). I put it all down to the tomatoes and skipping a juice.
However, after 3 days of juices without any pineapple, Day 1’s first juice came around again this morning and despite only including a small slice of it, I felt the effects straightaway. Not as severely as that first time, but I could feel a slight tenderness of my tongue and inflammation in my stomach.
And so, I have to accept that these items do not suit me and I have decided to let them go. Tomatoes I don’t mind too much, but I love pineapple and so many juices contain it.
This Super Juicing fortnight has clearly confirmed that it is bad for me.
Years of painkillers, muscle-relaxants, and Non-steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs led to moderate gastritis which is extremely painful and takes a long time to settle down again once reactivated. Having stopped the medication, the gastritis is under control if I stay clear of trigger foods.
Ihave to accept that pineapple sets it off and I have been in denial because I love it so much.
Ican’t hide from it any longer, and I have decided that’s it from now on.
Fortunately, the second juice today contains fennel and hopefully this will help calm my stomach down again.
Here we are, Day 8, back on track after my weekend wobble, feeling good and very proud of myself for getting through it and sticking to my goal of 14 days’ juice only.
So what’s my ‘reward’ for making it through Saturday’s struggle?
Parsnip!
Except, not. As you can see from the photo, the offending parsnip is noticably absent from the prep board and replaced with a sweet potato. I have tried at least half a dozen times to have parsnip juice, but for me it never gets any better and I have decided to just give in and adapt accordingly. It is my one weakness and I think I’ve done well.
The juice turned out really tasty – sweet potato is one of my favourite vegetables to juice, skin on when organic – as was this morning’s Oxygen Elixir:
Another lovely beetroot and avocado blend
Quiet day today, no disasters, no wobbles. Just lots of honest to goodness juicy veg and feeling fantastic!
Yep, I admit it, I had a bit of a wobble yesterday.
I was hungry. I was cold. I was tired. I was fed-up with the grey, damp weather. Everything hurt. Then at night I couldn’t sleep. My tummy was gurgling. I was seriously concerned about being able to carry on another week.
I had decided to have a rest in the late afternoon. This caused me to break one of my own Tenets of Juicing: Remember to have your juice!
By the time I got up, I was so hungry I skipped the green juice and went straight to the more substantial evening shake, Tahini Cocoa Beany.* I had been looking forward to this all week, it was lovely.
But in doing so, I filled myself up and didn’t feel like having the skipped juice before I went to bed.
Big Mistake.
I just couldn’t fall asleep. I tried the slow breathing technique – breathe in to a count of 4, hold for 7, breathe out for 8 – which certainly made me feel more relaxed, but I couldn’t drop off. My tummy growling and gurgling. I tried the audiobook. 3 cds later I could ignore it no longer.
Finally, I got up at 3 am, had the missed juice and 6 cashew nuts – magnesium helps you relax and can help with insomnia – and went back to bed. I fell asleep.
Today, I am back on track. All systems are go. I know I can do this. I no longer feel tired and am superalert again.
I think what also happened was that my body reacted to the tomatoes in a juice on Day 5. I haven’t had them since doing the Clear Skin Programme* and had always wondered if I was sensitive to them. My stomach felt bloated after the juice and I had slight indigestion. I felt uncomfortable that night, but not seriously. That’s the only other thing I can think of to explain yesterday’s pain and tiredness and consequent need to rest.
Further Tip:
I forgot to mention in an earlier post that, psychologically, it helps if you ‘eat’ the thicker blends and shakes with a spoon rather than straight from the glass. If you also chew, even better. It makes the juice last longer and you feel more satisfied.
A Juice Cleanse/Fast/Detox is Not a Diet:
I have so far lost 4 lbs. But as I indicated at the start, I am not doing this to lose weight.
When I was at the dentist’s last week, I got into a conversation with the receptionist about juicing. She asked me if I could recommend a plan.*
She also looked me up and down and said, ‘But why are you doing it?’ clearly linking juicing with dieting.
I told her I was doing it for the health benefits. That it helps with the aches and pains, that I hadn’t had to use an inhaler for 2 years, that I had cleared myself of a horrible rash,* that it eased my digestive problems, lowered my cholesterol and gives me more energy.
Day 4 : Beetroot juice everywhere except in my tummy, and I was soooo hungry! Took us ages to clean up: after we took these photos, we lifted up the base to find red juice pouring out of the bottom like it had just had it’s jugular sliced!
Tip No. 1 for today:Make sure you tighten the lid properly!!
(The juice, Anti-Oxidant King, was lovely by the way. Pineapple, beetroot, mixed berries, banana, apple, spinach. Yum).
No further surprises on Day 4, but the temperature was dropping and I know that for many, doing a juice cleanse in January is a real challenge.
Cycling to and from work every day in icy weather and working in cold conditions can cause a rethink. I am fortunate in that I am in a warm environment, but even I am sitting with a hot water bottle on my knee!
Lots of herbal and fruit teas and hot water can help, but if you really begin to suffer then transitioning to light soups is recommended. Jason Vale’s Soup’n’Juice me plan is a good place to start.*
Tip No. 2: Try not to jump right back in to eating starchy, fatty meals. Your digestion will suffer.
Day 5: Our first dusting of snow!
It had begun to thaw by the time I took this.
I am feeling good. No headaches at all this time. I am super-alert, my skin and hair look good and I also survived a visit to the dentist! I am keeping hydrated this time too. No cravings now. On Day 2 I would have given my right arm for an apple or some Brazil nuts – my usual morning snack!
After several juice cleanses, one thing I have learned is that I often can’t manage a whole serving of juice and I can’t go the full 3 hours between juices. So, if a juice is too much for me to consume all in one go, I divide them and have them more often, so every 2 hours or so rather than 3.
Tip No. 3: It is important to listen to your body.
I have lost another pound, making 3 so far. I am keeping an eye on my weight loss as I don’t need to lose any, having already lost 36lbs since I began juicing 2 years ago.
Tip No. 4: if you want to do a juice cleanse for health reasons and don’t especially want or need to lose weight you can add ‘a little something’ to the juice in an easily digested form.
For instance, some Udo’s Choice Oil, or some ground up almonds or seeds. Yesterday, I added some homegrown mung bean sprouts that I didn’t want to waste. The extra ‘little something’ will help keep you feeling satisfied for longer too.
When I get into the juice plan and I get used to not eating whole foods, I have a tendency to forget my juice. When I am not having to think about meals or mealtimes, I become preoccupied with other things. I become involved, time passes and suddenly I am feeling light-headed. Blood sugar levels crash. Oops, missed a juice.
Tip No. 5: Remember to have your juice!
The next 2 days will be a bigger challenge I think because the temperature is set to plummet further and also because my body is used to beginning the transition after 5 days. But I am really looking forward to the Tahini Cocoa Beaney!
Ihave never particularly liked gadgets. I didn’t get a mobile phone until about 5 years ago – under pressure from the family – and I still have the same non-smart keyboard phone with text-only plan.
Today, however, I realised I have a problem. I have succumbed to gadget mania. You see, I just realised that I now have an ever-expanding collection of kitchen gadgets and I feel an intervention coming on next time my minimalist daughter pays a visit.
To be more specific, I own 3 juicers, 6 blenders (I know, I know), a food processor, a chopper and a spiraliser! Of course, this is in addition to the usual toaster, kettle, handheld mixer and breadmaker. In my defence I do not own a dehydrator – yet. Nor do I have an espresso machine or ice-cream maker. I did once have a yogurt maker and used it for many years. I actually don’t recall what happened to it – my son’s miffed that it isn’t still hiding at the back of a cupboard somewhere.
My husband uses the gadgets of course, but I have to take full responsibility for our ownership of them as I am the one who initiates their purchase – one of the side-effects of becoming a keen juicer and raw foodie!
But I hear you getting restless. Go on, ask the question: ‘Never mind the rest, what on earth do you need with six blenders?’ you ask in wide-eyed disbelief.
Well, as I explained to my daughter, they all perform a different function.
Sort of.
So, let me introduce you to my family of blenders – but like any mother, don’t expect me to choose a favourite!
The oldest is the ever useful Braun stick blender with grinder attachment, variations of which we have been using since making baby food and more latterly for blending soup. But its functions are obviously limited. It needed a hand with the bigger, tougher, strong-arm jobs. And you can’t get much bigger, tougher, stronger (or faster) than this:
This powerful large Optimum blender from Froothie is used principally for making nut milks, raw soups, nut butters and larger quantities of smoothies. It is fast, it can cope with anything, including ice cubes, makes the smoothest smoothies in no time at all and is easy to assemble and clean. (By the way, Froothie have one of the most helpful and responsive customer service teams I have ever dealt with).
In between we have the handy flask-size blend-and-go type blenders,2 of which are Fusion boosters – yes, I have two! (Covers face with embarrassment). One was a replacement for the first which had a fault, but they both still work. Great for smaller quantities that you want to make quickly and go. Light, twist and go action, BPA-free, pouring lid. Its drawback is that you keep having to renew the rubber seal. Frustrating and expensive.
Recently, however, on discovering it was no longer manufactured and therefore the parts no longer available, I bought a lime green similar type from Breville – the Blend Active – because it looked cheerful, was a great price (£20) and had great reviews! And it came with a spare flask and pouring lid. A one-button action. 30 seconds and you’re done. It has a small motor, just 300w and you have to keep your finger on the button while it blends, so it is just used for small quantities of easy-to-blend ingredients when in a hurry.
I was very happy.
Until I received an email from Jason Vale informing me he has just brought out a new Retro Super Blender to match my Retro Juicer and – wait for it – it is being sold for half price for one day! And it has 15 parts, extra flasks large and small, a grinding blade, lids, drinking rings, all sorts! Plus, it’s twice as powerful as the Breville and it too can make nut milks etc.
What’s a girl to do? I am a marketing manager’s dream customer. I admit it. I am the daughter of a sales manager, I know all the tricks of the trade. I fall for them with my eyes wide open.
And so, the Retro Super Blender has duly joined my stable of kitchen gadgets! (see review here – hint: I love it!).
Ps I am now on first name terms with all the delivery drivers such that they have been added to my Christmas ‘thank you’ list!
PPs I can no longer claim the moral high ground over my husband’s shed full of bikes and I daren’t tell him I think we need a new sprouter!
PPPs One of the Fusion boosters has gone to the charity shop.
How to cook "with visual instructions" "using familiar ingredients from your local grocery stores" healthy, traditional and delicious Japanese dishes!!
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