Giveaways and Reviews

Blending Like a Boss

I’m not telling my kids that their first month of summer holidays is almost over, but we all know that when the calendar flips to August it’s BTS (back to school) mode and our focus shifts even if we don’t really want it to. Thankfully, we’ve got a ton of fun planned in August first, including a trip to the Calgary for the Spartan Sprint/Super Weekend where both my husband and my daughters will be competing (did you know they have Spartan races for kids?) I’m in awe of my husband for competing in Spartan Races and for my girls for trying out the kids ones. Me, I’m absolutely happy being a bystander for these races because as an adult, carrying a pail full of rocks up a hill has zero parts fun for me.

While preparing for these races, we’re ensuring we eat well, get enough rest, and of course train. So, I was happy to have the Boss™ by Breville to help us! We’ve recently tried juicing and enjoyed not only the yummy and creative juices as a result but also of course the nutritional benefits. People have their preference, it seems, between juicing or blending and some people – like us – like a little bit of both in our diets. Here’s a quick look at the difference between the two:

And here, from Breville’s Colour Me Healthy site, is what makes the Boss bragworthy:

The Boss™ features a high velocity ProKinetix® blade and bowl system that pulverises virtually any combination of ingredients. Creating up to 50% smaller particles, this superfine texture can create a smoother mouth feel than some other blenders.*

With one touch functions including the world’s first ‘Green Smoothie’ function and variable speeds ranging from a slow stir to a pulverising high speed mill, create everything from green smoothies, nut milks to hot soup, from sorbets to hummus and from nut butters to flour.

Eager to try out the Boss, I made room for it on our kitchen counter and then wondered where I’d store it after we were “done with it”. It turns out, I haven’t decided we’re done using it and it’s likely that the Boss is going to simply stay right on my counter because I’ve been happily making smoothies and find it so useful and convenient!

I haven’t once had to scoop anything aside, mash things towards a blade or otherwise do anything other than wait for the blades to do their job. It’s an impressive product and – as the kids have noticed – it operates just like the blenders at the smoothie shops we visit.

One-touch button performance means you simply select, in this case, Smoothie, and the Boss blends everything perfectly while a timer counts down. Hear it stop? Don’t do a thing, it will whirr into action in just a few seconds, then pause again, just like those fancy blenders at the smoothie restaurants! I actually love that part. It means that the smoothie will be perfect, every time, and you won’t end up with a watery concoction because you blended too long, or a chunk of frozen fruit because you didn’t blend long enough.

My favorite smoothie to make for my Spartans is one that I found the recipe for at ColourMeHealthy.Breville.com – the Super Food Shake! Ingredients in this shake include coconut water, frozen blueberries, coconut flakes, sliced almonds, mint leaves and whey protein powder – yum! We’ve made it so many times that later today I need to go out for more coconut water!

When school starts in September, I have no doubt that a morning smoothie or after-school shake will be a common request in our household with a high school student and two grade-school kids so I am eager to try new varieties this summer to find more favorites. I know that with the Boss blender from Breville, I don’t have to worry that it won’t be able to perfectly blend things like almonds and mint leaves (leaves in teeth, yuck!) I also am eager to try some soup recipes this fall, as well as try my hand at some dressings, cocktails and nut butters.

Look for the Boss by Breville at Breville.ca, The Bay ($599.99), London Drugs ($599.99) and Best Buy ($427.99 on sale until Aug 9th).

Naturally (see what I did there), I’ve got an extra box holding the Boss by Breville set aside for one of my lucky readers to win! To enter, simply fill in your name and email address in the form below and then click BEGIN! Then leave a comment on this blog post telling me what ingredients you use to make the ultimate smoothie or shake? OR, maybe you know of a great recipe for a dip, dressing or soup that you or someone you know makes in a blender. I’d love to hear all about it!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post in partnership with Breville. All opinions are, as always, my own.

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  • I live by my morning protein shakes. I use whey protein powder, almond milk, frozen berries, spirulina, and ground flax seeds! YUM!

  • I would love the chance to win this blender! My current blender smells like burning and leaks when I use it, so I haven’t made a smoothie in awhile. But when I do, I put in almond milk, spinach, blueberries/blackberries/cherries, vanilla protein powder …. and sometimes some peanut butter powder.

  • My husband can make a great smoothie. He uses mixed berries, banana, apples, Greek yogurt and ice and they are delicious.

  • I will use, Kale, ginger, water, mixed berries, ground flax seed, oatmeal, banana and cinnamon.

  • Greek yogurt, vanilla protein powder, half banana, strawberries or blueberries, green tea, multivitamin, Vit D, Calcium, probiotic.

  • Our current blender is so under-powered that I have never tried to make a smoothie in it – but I love strawberry/banana smoothies!

  • We make our smoothies with frozen banana, frozen berries, frozen grapes, spinach, yogurt, milk and a dash of cinnamon.

  • I love it simple. With strawberry, banana, yogurt and maple syrup. Sometimes i sneak in spinach and/or avocado

  • Our favourite is frozen lemonade. 1 lemon (peeled), tbsp of lemon zest, cup of ice, and a tbsp of honey or agave.

  • For smoothies I like strawberries, mangos, coconut, pineapple and yogurt. Never bananas! I just can’t stand the taste of them in a smoothie.

  • This would be a such a great versatile blender for me because I love soups, purses and smoothies! I would use this for baby purées too! Squash, apples especially in the fall!

  • i love tropical fruits in smoothies – often I’ve got a mix of mango, pineapple, peaches, cherries and banana

  • I love making smoothies! We usually use a mix of berries, banana, yogurt, some cucumber and some pineapple if we are feeling like a little extra yum. 🙂 thanks!

  • This sure beats the blender I have, this one would be great to pulverize the pineapple and spinach, no more gritty drinks!

  • My daughter would love anything with Strawberries, and sometimes even a little vanilla ice cream!

  • There is nothing better than a fresh fruit smoothie with a handful (or more) of spinach added. Hemp hearts give an added Omega boost too!

  • I found this fabulous recipe for homemade pizza sauce on Pinterest. It is so delicious and takes just five minutes in a blender.

  • I like to use a small frozen banana, handful of spinach and kale, almond milk and 1 T raw cacao powder.

  • (I first thought this post would be about makeup blending! hahaha)

    I LOVE smoothies! My favourite includes:
    – Vanilla protein powder
    – Spinach
    – Banana
    – Frozen berries (whatever I have at the moment)
    – Flavoured or plain yogurt
    – Cinnamon
    – Flax seeds
    – A splash of juice or almond milk, maybe some water if I feel it needs more liquid.

    What an amazing blender! Thanks for the chance to win 🙂

  • I used to make an awesome Hollandaise sauce in my blender, but when that blender broke, the new one splattered ingredients all over my kitchen and i couldn’t make it anymore. I suspected the shape of the glass was the problem. Boss by Breville has a very similar shape to my old blender.

  • I use a frozen fruit mix, bananas, orange juice, water and vanilla. Our favourite frozen fruit right now is a mix of peaches, pineapple, mango and strawberries. It’s so yummy!

  • Made a smoothie with Kefir, strawberries, bananas, pineapple, almond milk, what a delicious taste and oh so good for you.

  • My daughter got me hooked on healthy smoothies and they came in handy after some serious dental surgery I had. My fave is kale, spinach, blueberries, chocolate protein powder and coconut yogurt. It’s really thick and yummy!

  • I usually use tropical frozen fruit (pineapple, bananas, mango) and whichever local fruits are fresh (wild blueberries when I can get them).

  • On hot summer days… Between making smoothies or the Brazilian limeades (just limes, condensed milk, ice and water) I’d be set!!!!! Then when it becomes colder, I’d so want hot soy milk. Fresh soy milk tastes much better than what I get in the jugs!

  • I love sneaking spinach into my daughter fruit smoothies in the morning for some extra vitamins! I have an amazing tomatoe bacon soup recipe!

  • I love putting bananas, strawberries, raspberries, apples and oranges followed with yogurt and juice in my smoothies. so yummers and very refreshing

  • GAhhhhh, August is so close and I smelt a bit of a fall in the air this morning! ( 6degrees, really Saskatchewan??!) but with that, come the pumpkin flavoured stuff. so I likely would like to try a pumpkin based shake in this fancy pulverizing blender. 🙂

  • Frozen mixed field berries, banana, plain yogurt, honey, ice & a splash of vanilla soy or almond milk.

  • Here is a recipe I use often. This is my favourite blog of yours to date. Thx you for all the great info:)
    Blueberry Almond Smoothie
    • 1 1/2 cups ripe chunks frozen banana (~1 1/2 bananas as original recipe is written)
    • 1/2 cup frozen blueberries (wild, organic when possible)
    • 1 Tbsp almond butter (or peanut or sunflower seed butter)
    • 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
    • 1 Tbsp flaxseed meal
    • 1 Tbsp chia seed
    • 1-2 Tbsp protein powder

    Approx. 180 Calories

    C

  • My go to breakfast smoothie has a banana, frozen mixed berries, matcha powder, protein powder and almond milk. Mmmm….

  • I like to use premier protein drink, canned pumpkin and a pinch of pumpkin pie spice, splash of vanilla, greek yogurt and I throw in some overnight oats that have soaked…….maybe some stevia to taste….

  • Orange juice, a sprinkle of wheat germ, almond milk, banana and any other leftover fruit I might have: mango, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries. Blend it up together, pour over ice.

  • We used a ton of garden fresh strawberries this summer to make smoothies. The kids and adults loved them.

  • With a recent heat wave, we have been using our blender SO much. For us a milkshake is frozen fruit/veg plus milk, and a smoothie is frozen fruit/veg plus water (sometimes adding yogurt as well). We have also been doing a lot ice plus some juice to make a homemade ‘slurpee’.

  • We use lots of fruit with barley grass, spirulina, kelp and coconut water in our smoothies. They taste awesome.

  • It changes depending on what I have on hand , but this morning I made a chocolate cherry smoothie using frozen cherries a sliced banana unsweetened cocoa and hemp hearts for protein . It was awesome !

  • I love bananas, blueberries, Nutella, peanut butter, milk, spinach, flax seeds, peaches, and icecream in my smoothies/milk shakes (not all at once of course)!

  • My daughter makes super soup with squash and lots of other veggies and uses the blender to smooth out the soup.

  • LOVE THIS! My current blender was a wedding gift to my parents in the 70’s and would love an upgrade lol. I love the idea of a smoothie in the morning before school. The perfect type to try would be a brain boosting one to help focus in class! I would use
    1 1/4 cups orange juice
    1/2 avocado
    3/4 cup frozen blueberries
    1/2 cup frozen raspberries (or strawberries)
    1 kiwi
    1/2 – 1 banana
    1/2 cup ice

  • My smoothies have greek yogurt, kale, orange juice and an apple…sometimes a date or two for a bit of extra sweetness.

  • My kids and I absolutely love smoothies! We usually toss in a bunch of berries (strawberry, blueberry, raspberries, saskatoon berries etc) with some skim milk and no fat yogurt. We sometimes put a banana in as well.

  • I don’t usually get too adventurous. Just some frozen fruit, milk (almond milk if it’s in the house).