Smoothie (n)
1. a smooth, thick drink made with puréed fresh fruit and yogurt or milk

2. what you call ice cream when you want to sound healthy

I'm in!

I got this new when last offered here. All I can say is, WOW. The big deal with this thing is the tri-blade design. The problem I've had with blending hummus and other thick items in a traditional blender is the blades would always just spin at the bottom and nothing would happen. Not so with this machine. Plus it's very quiet.

lana24 wrote:Does anyone remeber how much this was NEW during the woot off?

I bought when it was listed new on Woot, so looked it up for you. $40 shipped.

It's AWESOME, I don't regret it one bit. Threw out the blender, hand mixer, and I'm sure the food processor will follow soon.

Had to grab one of these...my magic bullet is about dead and the Breville blender is a bit of pain to clean.

Looking forward to getting it and putting it to use!

Bought it in April "new" on WOOT! for $39.95 with shipping. That deal included a hand mixer that I haven't yet used. I must say the the Ninja is an excellent product. I am a frozen smoothie freak in warm weather and nothing I've ever owned does a better job.

I got the "Euro-Pro Ninja Master Prep Food & Drink Maker" here on Feb for the same price. Not sure what the difference is. Love my Ninja. Toss in your stuff, like onions, tomatoes, cilantro, peppers, in smallish pieces, pulse three times, & whamo, (its like voila but better) you got salsa!

Maybe I should get another for when I wear mine out.

gottahavit wrote:Bought the less powerful silver model a couple of months ago and threw away the smoothee maker that leaked. GREAT purchase. I don't recall the packaging though - are refurbished items packaged like new?...would love to buy as gifts.

I bought a refurbished Ninja a while back. I buy a lot of refurbs (vacuum cleaner, Tivo, DVD player, camera, etc). Only the camera was a gift and I probably wouldn't do it again. The refurb Ninja packaging was normal but the product was not. I was SHOCKED and disappointed to find food particles on the motor housing. Yuck.

Long story short: I wrote to Woot and they took care of it for me. I also called Ninja because I thought they should be ashamed of sending a dirty product. I explained to everyone that the pitchers seemed new but the motor was old, scratched, and dirty.
I'm glad Woot was so helpful because I might feel better about taking the chance again here.

Ninja was not as responsive at first, but I finally got through to someone presumably in India (supervisor) who seemed to understand my concern of getting bits of someone else's old food on my "like-new" product. The result is that I now have a new Ninja (this model) and I do really like it even if I use it occasionally and sometimes find a chunk of ice or two.

Moral of the story in this case is: getting refurb gifts is like avoiding buying groceries for a dinner party. You can heat up week-old leftovers instead if you want to, but your angry guests may leave with a rumbling stomach and a resolution to eat at McDonald's before ever coming to your house again. I think I would open and inspect before giving any refurbished food items away.

I bought this new on woot when it was $40. Very impressed with the high quality of the mixing bowls. When I first swa them I thought they were glass.The motor is surprisingly heavy.Am buying this one for college going son.

SOLD.

I just made a pesto dip yesterday with my cheapo blender, although I hate using it because it's always the same thing: it only blends the bottom inch of the blender. I have to pretty much shake the entire thing to get the food to move around and chop more up. And then to clean it? It's a pain to get underneath those blades, down at the bottom of that pitcher.

A blender that works from the top down? With blades interspersed throughout? Yup, I said it, I'm instantly sold.

My only caveat is it's a refurb, but I've never bought a refurb from woot before, and for the same price as my old blender, I'm willing to bite the bullet.

lana24 wrote:Does anyone remeber how much this was NEW during the woot off?

It was $29.99 when it was new on Woot.

In for one, Grasshopper!

My wife wants to make her own baby food, for a baby, not herself. Is this what we should have? We have a little Kitchenaid food processor, but I've always hated having to scrape down the sides. This seems to eliminate the need for that. I've always thought the three sets of blades was one of those, duh why didn't someone think of this before, type innovations. If I have this would I also want to buy the big one or is this enough for everything?

I bought this when woot offered the mixer with it... This is absolutely the BEST investment I have made in a kitchen tool (aside from my Kuerig machine).

This machine is powerful and relatively quiet. It turns fresh fruit into a smoothie in about 5 seconds, and I made a cilantro based salsa in no time at all.

The key to using this is to use short bursts or pulses like a food processor, not a long mix like a blender.

$20 is amazing for this, and it blows away the Magic Bullet by a longshot!!

multifacet wrote:SOLD.

I just made a pesto dip yesterday with my cheapo blender, although I hate using it because it's always the same thing: it only blends the bottom inch of the blender. I have to pretty much shake the entire thing to get the food to move around and chop more up. And then to clean it? It's a pain to get underneath those blades, down at the bottom of that pitcher.

A blender that works from the top down? With blades interspersed throughout? Yup, I said it, I'm instantly sold.

My only caveat is it's a refurb, but I've never bought a refurb from woot before, and for the same price as my old blender, I'm willing to bite the bullet.

You won't be sorry, trust me. The one I have is a refurb, and I've had NO issues at all.

To the guy asking about making baby food.. This is what you need!!

lana24 wrote:Does anyone remeber how much this was NEW during the woot off?

34.99 and it came with a mixer. got it. love it. BUY IT!

Watch it in action here!

http://video.canadiantire.ca/v/12018/ninja-master-prep-system-pro-food-maker-drink-appliances/

looks excellent for the price! I'm in for one.

If its like others with plastic gearing and blade shaft to motor coupling expect the thing to shred its nylon coupling pretty damn quick, esp if the top slips off while its going. These top attach type are like cheap stick blenders, the plastic bits just are very weak..and thin.

i've bought cheap stick blenders and such and had to return them after one or two uses when the wear was clear already.

Does anyone know if this is powerful enough to chop almonds? I already broke two coffee grinders making almond meal.

I'm in for 3. It sounds like it will replace my giant blender and the other 2 are for gifts. Thanks Woot!

I bought one but now want to buy another one.. Anyone know how to do that?

In for one. We were just discussing the other day how much our blender-with-spigot sucks and is a total pain in the ass. And if I never have to dig out our 15lb. food processor from the back of the highest shelf in the kitchen again, I'm ok with that too.

I got the new one with mixer and cups last month and I think this is a better deal. Excellent blender. Crushes ice like nothing. I too, cut myself badly while loading the dishwasher, so the blades are super sharp. I don't use it a ton, but it's performed better than any blender I've ever had whenever I have used it. Good buy.

I have an older model of the Ninja from ~2 1/2 years ago. I adore it, and it's still going wonderfully! Grabbing one of these for 2 reasons: My old one only has 2 sizes of containers, and there are times I'd love the medium pitcher. And two, the old version of the big one had two blades, not three, and that detail sold me. Not getting rid of my old one, just adding this one to the collection (Looks like the motors are the same on both, so I'll put this one's motor up and on the off chance we ever need it, I'll already have it!).

Qualitywise, I love Ninja's motors. I used to run through a regular blender motor in 6 months, even the expensive ones would break easily when all I wanted was a good smoothie or slushie. I haven't managed to even dent this thing's motor with regular usage!

malkav11 wrote:What are the differences between this item and the Cuisinart over on Sellout? And which, if either, would be recommended for a lazy single guy who is dabbling in maybe cooking some and would like food processing to take care of a lot of the tedious chopping and similar for veggies and meat?

I don't have exactly either, but I have sort of both: the 400W Ninja that was wooted maybe 4 months ago (blender and prep bowls, 2-blade choppers for each) and a Cuisinart mini-prep (similar to the food processor part of the duo) and the Ninja blows the Cuisinart out of the water. The extra blade makes the difference. Also, the Cuisinart bowl shaft is awkward to clean, and I just like the format of having the motor pod on the top with one big button to make it go whirr whirr.

Hummus and other dip-like substances are much easier and quicker to make with the Ninja. Breadcrumbs were impossible with the Cuisinart but easy with the Ninja. I haven't used it for simple chopping or ice crushing, though.

spicedrum wrote:So tempted to buy another one. Don't really need it, but maybe I can give it as a present (or just keep it in reserve for when mine breaks). ???

I bought two last time to give one as a gift and keep one for myself. Fortunately I opened up the one that was DOA and Woot was awesome and took care of it for me. If you do buy a refurb for a present, I strongly suggest you check it out and make sure everything is good to go before gifting it away.

On that note, my blue Ninja is AWESOME! The blades are sharp and it chops circles around my regular blender (which I was sadly using for food processing as well). Definitely another great purchase, courtesy of Woot!

Has anybody that Woot charges sales tax on shipping?

waltz4themoon wrote:Is it as good as the infomercial makes it out to be?

I picked one of these up last time they were on here and it's awesome! Well worth the $20.

cprochilo wrote:Does anyone know if this is powerful enough to chop almonds? I already broke two coffee grinders making almond meal.

I use mine (the 400W version, so less powerful) to make a walnut spread, and it works beautifully. Dunno whether almonds are significantly harder than walnuts, though.

malkav11 wrote:What are the differences between this item and the Cuisinart over on Sellout? And which, if either, would be recommended for a lazy single guy who is dabbling in maybe cooking some and would like food processing to take care of a lot of the tedious chopping and similar for veggies and meat?

The Cuisinart on sellout has TERRIBLE reviews on amazon... wouldn't recommend that! Ninja would be perfect for the lazy single guy!

this thing is great, makes ice into snow
then just add 1/2 cup water to 1/2 cup sugar on the stove and stir in a koolaid packet... instant snow cone flavor.

spicedrum wrote:So tempted to buy another one. Don't really need it, but maybe I can give it as a present (or just keep it in reserve for when mine breaks). ???

I agree. I bought the one about a month ago with the mixer (which I will probably never use). The Ninja is so awesome and makes such GREAT ice cream and smoothies in practically no time with no effort. I am going to buy this one, just in case the one I have breaks or the blades go dull. I love this item!

I have been using strawberries, banannas, Silk soybean milk, splenda and shaved ice to make the most amazing smoothies--completely healthy and delicious. I think it is my new diet drink; satisfies my sugar cravings, dessert cravings and adds no fat!

daiseered wrote:The Cuisinart on sellout has TERRIBLE reviews on amazon... wouldn't recommend that! Ninja would be perfect for the lazy single guy!

http://reviews.qvc.com/1689/K30092/ninja-master-prep-k30092-the-ninja-master-prep-professional-food-drink-maker-reviews/reviews.htm?sort=rating&dir=asc

sounds like they should have used a metal gear coupler instead of including so many sizes of chopping bowl...

malkav11 wrote:What are the differences between this item and the Cuisinart over on Sellout? And which, if either, would be recommended for a lazy single guy who is dabbling in maybe cooking some and would like food processing to take care of a lot of the tedious chopping and similar for veggies and meat?

I have the cuisinart and it is deafeningly LOUD. -
I am considering the Ninja since I am seeing comments with the word "quiet". It would be nice not to go deaf everytime I wanta chop or blend.

I bought the Ninja with the mixer the last time it was on Woot for $34.99. This is by far the best blender I've ever owned.

I still use my Cuisinart as the Ninja is too small for some things but for smoothies and shakes the Ninja is amazing!

And convinced. Mainly because I was just trying to figure out how to make a smoothie with my immersion blender without making a huge mess and this looks like a much better option. Piles of pesto here we come.

I got one last month.. nice... but paid 34.00 for the same thing on WOOT

Is this unit NSF for true professional use?

Consumer Reports top rated chopper! Beats Cuisinart and Kitchenaid!

Is it a juicer too?

LSlipetz wrote:Previous Woot

It also includes a hand mixer, but the reviews should also include this product.

According to the product description here, this package does not include the hand mixer. :-(