A blender is one of those appliances most of us have on hand but may use only once in a while. Well, it’s time to dust it off, and begin putting this kitchen essential to use for feeding your family. Although the blender can be great to use year-round, it is especially helpful in the summer when you really want to cut down on cooking. You can begin to plan a few meals, or snacks, a week using your blender, like a breakfast shake, a dip for snack-time, vinaigrette for salad, or a blended soup for lunch or dinner.
Smoothies for Breakfasts or Snacks:
Smoothies, or shakes, are an obvious use for a blender. There are great ways to add more protein and nutrition to morning smoothies with various powders and milks available, but even a smoothie made with yogurt, fresh or frozen fruit, and a little honey for sweetness is a terrific snack for kids. Consider serving smoothies in different kinds of cups or with wacky or colorful straws to make it more fun.
Soups:
For warm soups you can blend everything, and heat when ready. Cold soups are a good alternative in the summer, and you can take advantage of the great produce available. One of our favorite summer soups is gazpacho, a cold soup usually made with tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, and bread with other seasonings. It is a good idea to add some texture, or crunch, to blended soups. Consider croutons, various seeds like pumpkin or sunflower, or some set-aside ingredients that you used in the soup. Add some protein and flavor with diced hardboiled egg, shredded or crumbled cheese, or finely chopped ham, prosciutto, or bacon. For example, in the gazpacho you can put some cut-up cucumber and tomatoes into the bowl before pouring in the soup.
Dips and Spreads:
Hummus, salsas, or spreads like caponata (an eggplant spread) can easily be prepared in a blender and served with raw vegetables, chips, or pita. Often, these can be made ahead of time, too! Great for snacks or part of an assembled meal (like an antipasto or mezze platter).
Sauces, Dressings, or Marinades:
In our vinaigrette post, we mentioned using a blender to really emulsify the ingredients. You will be surprised by how well a blender works to make a dressing that can rival store-bought – and without any preservatives. Vinaigrettes made in the blender have great volume, and also last longer since the ingredients are so well mixed together. Other sauces and marinades are easy to make in the blender as well. Often, you don’t have to do too much prep work other than measure the ingredients out. Consider making double batches of sauces, like pesto, that you can also freeze for later use!
Desserts:
Using the blender for dessert can be a fun way to get your kids involved in choosing what will go into a milkshake or smoothie. You can make homemade popsicles with popsicle molds and any smoothie, milkshake, or blended juice recipe.
Enjoy!
From Kimberly’s kitchen: I recently got a new blender, a Vitamix, so I wanted to share my experience with it in case any of you have been interested in getting one, or have one already. How you use your blender — and how often– may depend on the strength of the blender you have. For years, I had a pretty good blender, but it usually took a lot for it to properly crush a good amount of ice cubes for a smoothie. So, when I was in the market for a new blender, I took a good look at a Vitamix blender. These are powerful blenders that I kept hearing about from others and seeing in catalogs. I also saw their demonstrations at Whole Foods and Costco and was always intrigued by their versatility. Here are a few reasons why I am so glad that I now have one and why I have been using it more than my older blender:
- Larger capacity – I don’t need to do batches for some dishes like soups.
- It is more efficient and consistent at combining ingredients since it is so much stronger than other blenders.
- I am confident that anything I try out in it will blend properly.
- I can make things directly in a Vitamix, like hot soups or sorbets, that you cannot make in other blenders.
- Clean up is easy – you run the blender with a few drops of dish soap in warm water filled half way, and then rinse – voila).
It has been fun to try different smoothies for my kids that are packed with nutrients they wouldn’t normally get at snack time. (One of our favorites is a “green” smoothie with grapes, green apple, swiss chard, orange, and ice cubes.) Aside from smoothies, we are trying new dishes (each blender comes with a cookbook) and I am finding new ways to use the blender to make meal preparation easier.