This is my nod to being (marginally) healthier in my daily diet. Since being unable to work my strange daily routine includes very little by way of food and what I do consume generally amounts to copious amounts of coffee, lots of ciggies, some chocolate and maybe some “real” food here and there. I have very little appetite you see, but I am aware of the fact that I need to be eating and drinking a wider, healthier range of food and drink.
My best friend suggested the idea of maybe drinking smoothies as a way round this – they’re not a heavy meal, they satisfy my need for drinks and at the same time can contain healthy things like fruit and yogurt as well as tasting very nice. I thought it was a great idea but know that shop-bought smoothies are not cheap and my budget wouldn’t support having a few of these daily. So the solution would be to get a blender and make my own. OK, there was the initial expense of the blender to take into account but after that it would pay for itself in the long run (hopefully!) AS it turns out a decent blender needn’t cost a fortune – there are many good, basic blenders out there costing in the region of £15-£20 unless you want extra gadgets or a “prestige” brand.
As luck would have it the same friend of mine kindly bought me the Hinari Lifesyle BL836 blender as a little present to help me out. This was to replace the blender I had recently bought cheaply which spectacularly exploded (literally|) on its second use – but that’s another story. Needless to say I was very please and grateful and immediately put it to its first test use to make us both some banana smoothies.
So, let me tell you about my new toy first! This Hinari Blender was bought from the Index catalogue shop and is also available at similar outlets such as Argos, Robert Dyas, Woolworths etc. It was the very reasonable price of £14.89 (even though it wasn’t me who had to pay for it!) which appears to be its usual price and not an offer or sale price so you may be lucky to find it even cheaper somewhere. It looks pretty much like any other blender – a white base houses the motor and has the one control button offering three speeds and a pulse option. I wonder about this pulse option – I mean what is the point exactly? It seems to operate at the lower speed and requires you to manually push the dial on and off – why not just do that on the lower speed setting anyway?! Oh well, I expect someone knows better. The blender comes with a clear plastic jug which has a maximum capacity of 1.7 litres – that’s a lot of a smoothie! It has a lock tight lid with a removable centre stopper for adding ingredients while in operation if required. Within the jug the chopping blades are positioned at the bottom and look quite lethal so do be careful when you clean the jug.
The whole appliance looks modern and more expensive than it is and feels very sturdy. Indeed the lid, stopper and jug itself have a clever “locking” system to ensure everything is correctly engaged before switching the blender on and the machine does not work if these points aren’t locked – very good for safety AND avoiding a potential mess!
As with most new electrical appliances these day this comes with the correct plug already fitted for use in the standard UK household 230-240V supply so there are no worries there – you just plug it in, add your ingredients, click it all together and go! Now I know these are noisy appliances and only have personal experience of using two but, whoa, this IS noisy. Maybe my neighbours in the surrounding flats think I have just fired up a chainsaw ready to do some serious damage or maybe they just think I’ve got a new blender…who knows…..
What are my smoothies like? Very nice thank you very much! Blended in minutes, or rather seconds, with a nice froth if they’re very liquid. I have no complaints on the operation of this blender. As yet I have only used it for making smoothies and milkshakes so it’s only had to grind its way through fresh or tinned fruit, yogurt and a few ice cubes. I haven’t tried it on anything much more substantial but you shouldn’t put anything TOO hard into it or you may damage the blades or cause it to overheat and burn out. Neither should you pour boiling liquids into the jug – presumably it may damage the plastic of the jug or just because of the potential danger should it explode, leak or spurt but I guess that’s just common sense.
To clean the appliance just wipe over the base motor unit with a damp ( not wet) cloth and never put it into water or you risk a nasty accident. Obviously the jug and lid can be removed and washed as normal but make sure it is fully dry before connecting to the base again to make sure no water gets into the electrics.
This appliance comes with the obligatory user guide/instruction manual of course, although most of it is fairly obvious and it is only brief but covers all important points much as, I hope, I have done here!
If you’re looking for something that is a budget price, functional and looks good in your kitchen then I can’t complain about this blender on all points. ------
"Cooks Corner"! - A few people have enquired about recipes etc. I have to confess I make most of them up as I go along but I generally include fresh or tinned fruit, yogurt (usually plain but use what you like!), maybe some fruit juice or milk and ice. AS for flavours - it's pretty much decide what you like and make up yur own combinations. For a bit of added fibre you could also throw in a handful of oats or other grains :o)
This product has not yet been reviewed. 
