I am early in this process but can already see that a good blender will be my best friend. So I'm turning to all you experienced folks and ask: Is there a certain blender that you recommend? Thanks for your help!

I have the Vitamix and I love it! It makes great Soups, smoothies, and frozen Desserts.

I bought a bullet, I bought a ninja, I bought a smoothie machine, I tried them all. I then realized I hated the pureed stage, I only needed my blender for a few weeks and I am never going back. So...I returned them all and just used my Osterizer retro honeycomb blender that I bought when we got married. It's finally been used for something other than margaritas!

If it chops ice, that's all you need IMO, unless you love pureed food, which I don't. My kids use my blender all the time for smoothies and milk shakes, so it's sufficient for those needs.

Consider how long you are really going to use it/need it before you spend a lot of money on it.

Depends on what you plan to use it for. The only thing I really use mine for is to make protein shakes. I use a Cuisinart stick blender -- I love it because it is easy to assemble, use, and wash and it puts no foam or air into the shake. However, if I wanted to put ice in my shakes I am not sure it would be powerful enough. It worked fine to make pureed food as well, but I also used a mini-food processor at that point.

I have a BELLA that is made like the bullet but cheaper.

Oh, yes! That's a huge one. Many of those blenders throw a lot of air in your shake and that makes for a LOT of burping, foaming and fullness, at least it did for me. Great point.

Many feel a blender is a must have. Rule #1 for success is dont drink liquids with high calories. There are those that think juicing is a good thing, but for most of us its a good way to cheet the sleeve. In my opinion, a blender is only useful in the very early stages after surgery. Therefor borrow one or purchase an inexpencive one.

I have a ninja and love it. Comes with large blender, small bullet size cups and a food processor and works great. Good luck!

I love having Protein drinks blended with ice, so I wanted a higher-power blender, so I go the Oster 4096-009 Designer Series Beehive Blender from Amazon.

I use a Black and Decker food processor for making mushies as it's easier to get the food out of a food processor than a blender. It does a wonderful job getting chicken to the canned-tuna type consistency, which is perfect. I don't see the model I use available anymore, but I use the 6-cup variety as I like to chop up large quantities at a time.

I also use a Cuisinart immersion blender for making power pudding and for blending soups right in the pot. I don't find it useful for making smoothies however.

I have a cuisinart stick blender that I really like for making smoothies with yogurt and frozen fruit but it sucks for ice. My big blender is an Oster brand from WalNart and I think I paid around $60. I LOVE my Oster! The key to finding a good blender that will hold up is to look where the gears that transfer the motion from the base to the blender carafe meet from the carafe and base. Make sure both are metal and there is no plastic there. Plastic will strip out and will leave you needing a new blender much faster than you anticipated. My Oster has been with me for over 6 years and is used almost daily and still works as great as the day i bought it. It chops through ice like nothing. I am an extremely frugal shopper so I couldn't justify the cost of a Ninja or Vitamix. My neighbor has a Ninja that she loves and I like it a lot also, but I won't shell out that kind of cash when my Oster does just fine.

Make sure you watch the Black Friday ads for Kohls, Carson's, Bed Bath & Beyond, etc because you can find a great deal on blenders during the sale. If you don't like fighting the crowd, order the blender online and have it shipped to you. I hoe you find one you like and meets your needs.

I have the Ninja Pro and I absolutely love it! I use it every morning to make my protein shakes. I love that it comes with 2 on-the-go cups that can be attached to the blender unit, so I can make a single serving shake at one time and not have a big mess to clean up.

Ninja hands down