Should I Choose a Blender or Juicer or Food Processor?

I love cutting corners in the kitchen to make things fast and easy!!

Recently, I got a question about whether to get a blender, food processor or juicer. Here are my thoughts on this. One thing to note is that you can often find kitchen appliances like these and slow cookers in thrift stores, garage sales or in the back of your family member’s cupboards, unused. In other words, look for deals or people who’d love to free up cupboard space!

Food Processor

Saves time chopping, slicing, dicing and pureeing.

Personally, this is my go-to. I have a Kitchen Aid food processor that I got as a wedding gift about 23 years ago. For the past 15 years, I’ve been using it almost daily and some weeks it’s gotten some pretty high volume use as I experimented with recipes.

A food processor slices, dices, juliennes and purees food. Some of them do other fancy things, depending on the attachments. Most of the time, I use my S-blade for pureeing soups, vegetable mashes, pates, puddings, grain-free breads and raw food desserts.

It’s a real star when you have to cut an onion and don’t want to cry. Or julienne carrots, zucchini or celery root. If you love to make fermented vegetables, it can shred the cabbage and veggies easily.

The deep, wide bottom and wide S-blade means that I can make veggie mashes, puddings, soups and raw food desserts without having things going up the side and having to keep stopping to scrape the sides of the jar. For this reason, I use it more often than my high-speed blender.

Food processors are not good for making smoothies. If you are a smoothie fan, you may want a blender instead (or in addition).

Blender

Smoothies, soups, whipped foods, some raw food ice creams.

There has long been a Vitamix vs. Blendtec debate. I feel like the Vitamix is a sturdier product and I like the plunger, but I got a Blendtec because a friend got a can’t-pass-up deal on them and I jumped in with her. These are fabulous at liquidy foods — nothing too thick, like a raw food nut/seed pureed dessert or nut butter because it’s so thick that I find I have to keep stopping and scraping the sides. Some people -with a lot of patience- have done well, making nut butters in their high-speed blender (hahaha, clearly, not me!). If something has plenty of liquid, there’s nothing like a high-speed blender. They are smoothie stars. They are also good at whipping up liquidy puddings.

If something has plenty of liquid, there’s nothing like a high-speed blender. They are smoothie stars. They are also good at whipping up liquidy puddings.

The Blendtec has a new round twister jar with arms that let you scrape things off the sides without taking off the top. I haven’t tried it yet, but I find it very tempting. (If anyone has it, I’d love to hear your thoughts!).


YOU CAN MAKE JUICES with a high-speed blender.

Just make a smoothie and squeeze it through a reusable nut milk bag (purchase at Amazon or your local health food store). This might give you more options and I hear from people with juicers that this method is much easier to clean up.

Better for your Budget – many people love the Nutribullet and it’s more affordable than a Vitamix and Blendtec. I’ve used one before and really liked it. The smaller ones are even good for travel. If you are a fan of smoothies, this could be a great option for you.

Juicer

For fruit and veggie juices…

If you are ready to jump in and really commit to juicing, this may be for you. If you are torn between a high speed blender and a juicer, you may want to see my note above about making juices in your blender as a two-for-one.

I make my juices with my blender and a nut milk bag, so I’m going to share the wisdom of my juicer-juicing friends.

My friends and raw food/nutrition experts, Kevin Gianni and Annmarie Gianni, have told me they love the Tribest Twin Gear juicer and that they had good luck with the budget-friendly Jack LaLanne juicer (although it did break after 6 months of very heavy use). Apparently, the Norwalk press juicer is also a great option.

Juicing has some very important health benefits, particularly for viral conditions or healing cancer. On the other side, some people have found that juicing (even veggies) can feed candida because it absorbs so quickly into the blood stream that there can be a fast rise in blood sugar. In other words, this is a highly individual health option and you may want to try some locally made juices and see how you feel, before investing in a juicer.

While it’s pricey, masticating juicers like the Tribest Green Star juicer can do other things. It comes with attachments for making pate, nut butters, sorbets, sauces, doughs, and grinding grains and spices. There are two options for pulp screens: one filters everything out, and one leaves a bit of pulp in. Cleaning these machines can be rather challenging.

If you have experience with the dilemma about which kitchen appliance to buy, please voice your suggestions and questions here, so everyone can learn!

This article started from a conversation we had on Facebook!

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As a coach, writer and recovered former executive, I understand the challenges of creating a balanced, healthy lifestyle when over-scheduled. In my journey to radiant health, I created a whole health system of eating, exercise, renewal and recharging -- a roadmap toward health & vitality. I empower clients to create their own whole health systems, in their own unique ways. I have seen amazing results in working with my clients!