Thinking about post op soft foods, purees etc...which kitchen gadget was most helpful in your journey,

brand name suggestions appreciated.

If you need a blender, I definately recomend the Ninja. Got one at Sam's Club for the wife a couple months ago, & I swear the thing never gets turned off.

If you just wanting it for shakes and such, then a mini blender (bullet) are very handy.

My daughter bought me an Oster mini blender for Christmas last year. It is a sports bottle size blender that, once blended, you can twist off the blade attachment and twist on the lid that you can drink out of. I love it! Here is a link... http://www.amazon.com/Oster-BLSTPB-WBL-250-Watt-Blender-Powder/dp/B004P2OLB8/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1345038765&sr=8-4&keywords=oster+blender

It is a 20 oz. bottle so it wouldn't be good for large volumes of food or liquid. Hope this helps!

Oh, Dayum, now I need one if those. The green one would would go great with my truck.

I love the $15 Hamilton Beach blender that I got at Walmart. The blender is "personal size" so I don't have drag out my huge blender when making shakes in the morning. It blends up frozen bananas and strawberries well into my shakes.

I got the bullet a few weeks ago and have used it several times. If you're just using for one person or smoothie/shakes, it's awesome. I debated the other two blenders mentioned on here too because they looked pretty nice also.

I have a bullet, a blender, and a ninja. The ninja gets used multiple times a day every day. The bullet was used before we bought the ninja and we are actually considering getting rid of the bullet. I still have my blender but it's one of those good ones with a thick glass canister. The only thing I wish was different about the ninja was that it isn't plastic. But it works amazingly well. Mine has a smaller canister and a larger canister. The smaller one works for single serve. It all depends on preference of size you want and the cost of the appliance. Look for them at bed bath and beyond if you have one of those 20% off coupons.

I have the bullet and love it. My son and I both use is for smoothies, shakes and I even make my granddaughters baby food in it. Awesome. I got mine at Costco for a really reasonable price with tons of attachements.

My daughter bought me an Oster mini blender for Christmas last year. It is a sports bottle size blender that, once blended, you can twist off the blade attachment and twist on the lid that you can drink out of. I love it! Here is a link... http://www.amazon.co...s=oster blender

It is a 20 oz. bottle so it wouldn't be good for large volumes of food or liquid. Hope this helps!

Thank you so much, I am starting my pre-op liquid diet on 8/29 this is just perfect!!!

I used to swear by the bullet. I bought one when I had my lapband in 2006 and used it every day for 4 years. When I brought it out to use it again, the lid seized onto the base and would not come off (even with mechanical help). So I basically had to throw the whole thing away. Plus those little seals you need between the cup and base are hard to find. And it's easy to spill down into the base, and it gets gunky after a while.

I looked at the Ninja but then I opted for a $12 immersion blender and it's perfect.

For short term things (puree stage, Protein drinks, etc.) don't invest heavily. But if you will use it going forward (general kitchen tool) go ahead and get something that will last.

O.T.R. -- you're funny! I like that you are matching your food prep tools with your truck's color scheme.

FeelsMe2 -- I am only 9 months out and I do still use mine quite a bit. I make a lot of the Hungry Girl frozen drink recipes in it. My son, who is 15, uses it quite a bit too. I didn't buy it myself but I'm sure I would feel I got my monies worth out of it by now and it is still going strong. The only thing I can say is that you NEED to make sure you have enough liquid in the container when mixing or it does seize up the blades. It isn't a permanent thing, it just makes a terrible noise and the blender is smelly.

The $29.95 price tag seems to be the going rate, although Meijer.com (hope I'm allowed to list this info, not giving a plug just trying to be helpful) has the yellow, pink and green versions for $24.99 on "clearance".

7Carol3 - Thanks tried to order it on clearance, but I live in NY and it is only ship to store -- I'll go with your original link. Thanks again!!

I looked at the Ninja at Bed, Bath, and Beyond with the 20% off coupon but found the ninja to be cheaper at Walmart then at BBandB with the coupon.

I have a nice little bullet but it sucks when it comes to ice! I need something that can nicely blend up a smoothie with some ice. It makes them taste so much better, in my opinion. What do you guys use for ice crushing or finer grating?

i just had a simliar post the other day!

i opted for the nutri-bullet. so far so good. you can leave it run longer to get more smoothie types or you can turn it off sooner to get more mushed up.

i can keep you posted if yo like as i experiment. i know a lot of people on amazon probably havent gone through what we are/will be going through i spent a few nights reading reviews on amazon on all the blenders, juicers, etc. that i was interested in.

good luck!

I just told my husband that blender what I used for our kids would be working for me now

I LOVE my blender:

Miallegro 9090 Mitutto 550-Watt Immersion Hand Blender

I used this blender for almost 7 years already (change 3 of them )

I am using it in kitchen very often. and now I will use it for my puree after the surgery.

It allow you to do single portion and you can do 3-4 of them. very powerful ( 550watt) with turbo button. it can make chicken meat very puffy and delicious.