Kenwood New York Smoothie Maker > Reviews (33)

As I said in the title I really wished, I had got one sooner as since I got mine I have found a great way of getting the kids to be quiet for a while :)

Ok ill tell you about that later ; )

First off I was wandering around my local supermarket actually looking for some kind of toy that would entertain the kids all summer so I could have a peaceful one myself, so after trawling through various isle and not finding anything worth while (does anyone else think that toys nowadays have got flimsy and cheaply made but plain extortionate prices?)
I came to the kitchen appliances and of course that's where I spotted the Kenwood New York smoothie maker, thinking it might be a good idea to try it out after all giving the kids their 5 a day fruit allowance couldn't be all that bad and worth the £30 price tag oh and of course the clincher was I fancied it for myself too :)

So once, I got it home I designated the wife to unpack the shopping and proceeded to rip the packaging of my new toy in a hasty manor placing the fine specimen on the kitchen counter and throwing away the instructions.

Now like anyone with some sense I gave it a wash out and a quick wipe then started raking threw all the shopping bags for the fruit I had purchased just for this machine.
After asking the kids what they would like to make first I then decided to just throw everything in with some ice :)

After cleaning and preparing the fruit I jammed as much as I could in and switched it on and I must state this I near enough messed my pants to be polite
The noise was terrifying but it soon chomped through all the various fruits with ease while spraying the kitchen with all the sticky goodness as I had not put the stirrer in the top because I thought it might hit the blades if I put it in whilst blending but being a typical male I had threw the instructions in the bin bad call on my behalf I think :)
Ok ill give you some information on the machine itself before I lose your attention and then ill proceed in telling you how I think this machine is a god sent

....THE MACHINE ITSELF....
The machine consisted of four major parts

1) The motor housing (in which you place your goblet) which has a nice chrome look to it and is shaped so you can place a glass where the tap sits on the goblet

2) the Plastic goblet with the tap connected to it ( holds up to 1500ml and also has nice little indicators to let you know how much liquid and frozen foods you can place in it without getting any spillage ( I had to find out the hard way lol)

3) The lid, which has a hole in the top to place the stirrer

4) The stirrer, which is long and black with a dome shape on the top so it can seal the liquid in whilst still being able to move so it stirs
It is a very stylish looking machine and should be proudly displayed on your kitchen worktop but unfortunately, mine has to sit on top of the kitchen cupboard as I cannot risk any of the kids getting their hands on it and deciding they want to make their own as the blades are VERY SHARP.

...

Now the bad bit first...

The only major problem I have with this machine is the cleaning of it basically to cut it short you need to wash it out almost straight after use or you end up with very annoying fruit particles clogging up the tap (which can takes ages to get cleaned out )

...........The Great ways I have used it to keep the kids quiet............

Now all this fruit smoothies was a great treat for a while and with the ice added (which by the way the machine has absolutely no problems with smoothing) it made for refreshing drinks on the hot days but that was all just a refreshing healthy drink and as soon as you mention to kids that its good for them they go off it.
Therefore, I scoured the internet for some recipes and came across one for making identical MacDonald's milkshakes, which I must say have been the highlight of having this super machine.

Firstly, kids seem to know that MacDonald's cannot be that good for them or we would have them there everyday so when I mentioned that I would make them some milkshakes they jumped at the idea
The first few times I tried they didn't come out quite so well but after I mastered them they were perfect I could give them a milkshake and they would sit for a good hour at least trying to sook the thick shakes up their straws ha ha ha perfect peace for a good hour :)
The best is yet to come after all that COLD milkshakes they usually got a brain freeze (although cruel) the wife and I would tell them the only cure for that is to go to bed for a while and as they were usually tired from romping around all day they would fall asleep ahhh perfect peace for yet another hour or so.

OK ill stop now as ive probably bored you all witless :) I will however leave you the secret recipe for that MacDonald's milkshakes :)

For just the plain vanilla milkshake.........................

2 Cups of vanilla ice cream
1 & 1/4 Cups of full cream milk
2 tablespoons (yes 2) of sugar

That should make two good-sized milkshakes

Strawberry milkshake...................
2 Cups of vanilla ice cream
1 & 1/4 Cups of full fat milk
Two table spoons of nesquick milkshake maker

Chocolate milkshake.............................
Same as above except replace the strawberry with chocolate nesquick.

Ok that's the basics on how to make them but you'll need to play around with the quantities so you can make them to your own tastes as I found out that if you want it thicker and colder put more ice cream in straight out the freezer and only blend for about 10 seconds but play around and see what you can get :) let me know if you cracked it.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read my review I hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it.