With everyone telling us we should eat five portions of fruit and veg a day, eat three portions of wholegrain, drink pre-biotic, probiotic yoghurts, get more omega 3, etc. It seems to me that the entire country is on a health kick these days, but all these things are so damned expensive, unless you are a celebrity or royalty how are you supposed to afford all these things?! Now, my boyfriend and I recently decided to try and avoid over processed food and eat some more fruit. We all like smoothies but they are one of the most expensive accessories in the healthy living program. And so, this is where getting a blender comes in…

When I got the blender home I quickly unpacked it, there is nothing particularly interesting in the box. The blender is composed of a large jug with a capacity of nearly 2 litres, a lid with a feeding hole, a washable hole cover, a base unit with wired lead and fused plug and a special key which allows you to remove the blades. There is nothing to put together with this appliance simply fit the jug to the base unit and lock into place, construct the lid by securing the hole cover to the lid, plug in to the mains and you're ready to go.

I have used my blender to make smoothies form frozen fruit and fresh fruit, I have used it to make pasta sauces and soups. I tend to use the P setting initially and then turn it up to 1 and eventually 2. It is very easy to use and extremely effective. Once it has been used it is straightforward to clean and maintain. You simply run the jug and lid sections under warm running water which removes any food pieces from the device. You then remove the blade with the provided key and wash in the same way as the rest of the apparatus. The instructions say you should then dry everything and store in a clean, dry place. I don't bother with all that all I do is leave the bits to dry and reconstruct the blender on the worktop and leave it until I next use it. I have also washed the parts of this blender in the dishwasher but this is certainly not advisable as the heat has changed the shape of the jug slightly and means the lid catch does not reach the position it should do, so the blender is not slightly temperamental.

(update 09/03/2008)
In the last few days since I wrote this review, the white plastic covering of the handle has come away, My boyfriend not just takes this off and presses the plastic tracking into place so that the blender thinks the lid if locked into place. I think this makes the device rather unsafe, as it is possible to blend without the lid in place. This is yet another problem created from sticking the jug element in the dishwasher. If you do get one of these I would definitely recommend not putting it in the dishwasher, if you read the instructions it does clearly state not to. OOOPPPSSS!!!