Nutri Ninja, Auto iQ Pro Nutrient & Vitamin Extraction Blender
This blender is amazing! If that were enough to satisfy Google and its SEO algorithm, I would stop there. However, I suppose I should articulate why I like the Nutri Ninja blender so much more than the one I’d been using for 15 years.
This line of blenders has earned a reputation for being powerful and versatile. I have used this one to make juices, smoothies, soups, and salad dressings. Mine came with a recipe book with 30 suggestions. Not only are the motors in these strong, but the blades are solid and perfectly balanced. Mine also has suction cups on the base, so that the Ninja doesn’t jump or fly off the counter like an extra in a Jackie Chan movie.
Convenience
Part of what makes this blender so handy is that it completely eliminates the need to precut ingredients. This saves time in the preparation, and reduces food waste. Also, shakes and smoothies have come out of my other blenders with clumps, even after running on the highest settings (and the ingredients aren’t always well mixed either). This is definitely not a problem with the Nutri Ninja.
Cooked vs Raw Ingredients
Food has different nutrition profiles when raw versus cooked. Including some of each allows you to get the greatest benefit from your ingredients. In raw fruits and vegetables the heat sensitive vitamins and minerals are left intact; however, if the cellulose around the cells is largely untouched, then many components of the nutrition are sealed away. The Nutri Ninja absolutely decimates raw food, breaking it down to a fine pulp. This tears open more of the cells, giving credence to their “Nutrient & Vitamin Extraction” moniker.
On the other hand, cooking also breaks down cellulose to unleash all these stashed goodies, and it can also transform various compounds into new micronutrients. The trade off is that heat might diminish some of the nutrition. For example, raw tomatoes are an excellent source of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that reduce inflammation. This is an important component of protecting yourself from disease. However, raw tomato is acidic and causes problems for people with acid reflux or kidney stones. Some people also dislike the slimy texture of raw tomatoes. Cooked tomatoes have a smoother texture, and they provide lycopene. This an especially important nutrient for men, as it combats prostate cancer.
Whether you plan to consume your ingredients raw or cooked, the Nutri Ninja blender will help to increase the nutritional value of your meal. It gives you more access to nutrients in raw plants, while also reducing the heating time cooked meals require.
I invented these by way of improvisation. All three soups are raw coming out of the Ninja. I can drink them as juices, or serve them like gazpacho for a cold soup. I sometimes heat them gently for warm soup course for dinner, or pour them over meals as a sauce. They have a consistency like Indian Saag when they come out of the juicer. For his particular batch I want a chunkier texture. After they were blended, I dropped in raw diced vegetables that weren’t pureed. The green and red are both chunky this week, and the yellow is smooth. You can make them creamy and velvety buy adding some sour cream or crème fraîche.
They all have a base of beef broth, fresh garlic, fresh ginger, and celery. Green = Broccoli/Spinach/Cucumber with fresh cut lemon and lime, and seasoned with dill and mint. Yellow = Butternut Squash/Sweet Potato/Carrot with a whole orange and fresh cut lemon, seasoned with yellow curry and cinnamon. Red = Tomato/Roasted Red Bell Pepper/Radish, seasoned with cayenne pepper and Italian herb blend.
Recent Updates
Glycemic Index vs Glycemic Load
This score indicates how damaging a food will be to your blood sugar levels. Foods that score 0-55 are rated low impact (and thus presumed to be better for diabetics and those looking to maintain healthy weight and/or body fat ratios), but this is not the whole picture.
Caffeine: 14 better options to ease SAD
Nearly a year ago to the dot, I wrote an article about Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), but there I focused on the importance of getting access to a full range spectrum of light. Here I’d like to focus on caffeine and sleep’s effect on SAD. I’ll also offer suggestions for what to do to help you feel better on the dark days.
Avoid fish oil supplements
I don’t generally promote supplements. Most of them play to specific, isolated points of medical research to serve as a magic pill. One remarkable example of this is fish oil.
