I have always loved my Vitamix. It is more than just a blender….I use it to grind up flax seeds, herbs, grains….pretty much anything. So, when I heard about the Nutri-Bullet being similar to a Vitamix, it peaked my curiosity because I am always on the lookout for solutions for my clients who cannot afford to invest in a Vitamix.
When Marie bought a Nutri-Bullet, we decided to put it to the test and compare it to my Vitamix. Here are the results:
It made a great smoothie, and it ground up everything very well. I did notice a few tiny chunks when I tasted it, but it was just a bit that had sunk to the bottom of the container. The rest of it was very smooth!
I love the paperback booklets that come with the Nutri-Bullet. They are loaded with tons of useful i
nformation, everything from how to pick out ripe produce to all sorts of smoothie recipes.
Marie has been using it regularly now and finds it will grind up leafy greens and goji berries much better than the standard kitchen blender she had been using. She loves how the milling blade will grind up flax seeds into flax meal- so easily!
Overall, I think it is a good, inexpensive option for someone who wants an easy way to make smoothies and other blended recipes.
Update: We wanted to compare the two machines in their ability to grind grains into flour. We used 1 cup of whole brown rice for our test and ground it into flour with both machines. Here are the results:
- The Vitamix (using the dry container) was a bit more finely ground and did not heat the flour very much. The machine was on high speed for about a minute.
- The NutriBullet was a little more coarsely ground and did heat up the flour considerably. It was hot after grinding for about a minute. This may cause a loss of some nutrients, depending on the temperature level.
In summary, the NutriBullet is very similar to the Vitamix and works very well for grinding grains and produce. The differences we found between the Vitamix and the NutriBullet are minor and we believe it is still a very good option for anyone seeking a healthy lifestyle.
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Becky Mauldin, N.D. is a Naturopath, teacher, speaker, and author. She has authored two gluten-free cookbooks, Vibrant Health and Recipes for Life. Her story of recovery from an incurable illness has inspired many people around the world. She is known for making a healthy diet achievable for real people and real life.
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Cheers!
I have a magic bullet and like how easy it is to use and put away. I was thinking of getting a Vita Mix because of its ability to break foods down at the cell level. Then I saw the Ultra Bullet and it claims to do the same. Does it? That's basically all I want it for…for the nutrition in breaking the cells of plants. I don't need to make soups, etc. What do you think?
Thanks!
Chris
I own the Nutribullet, and although it works beautifully when it works, after one month and having it work one day, it stopped working for no apparent reason the next. I have read so many complaints about their customer service, I decided not to bother sending it back and took it apart to see how it's made and why it stopped working. Couple of things:
1) There is almost no way to avoid leaks every time. I was extremely careful knowing this was an issue before I bought it. I not only did not overfill it and tightened the blade carefully and tightly, I underfilled it with water only going at most halfway between the bottom and max fill line. Still had leaks at times.
2) There is a clear plastic lining around what I call the drum of the device (where the blade sits when you attach the cup to use it). Because you can't avoid some kind of leak with this product, food/liquid seeps between this clear plastic part and the "drum inner shell" and dries onto the sides. This dried food is what causes the plastic activators (the things that make the motor run when you push down on the cup to activate it) to get stuck and not work. There is no way to seal this part of the drum because of these two activators. This is a design flaw. Screwing on the cup and an on/off button would work better.
3) The rubber seals (there are three) that are inside the drum do not seal out liquid so if you have a leak, the liquid is flowing into the part of the unit where the motor resides. I know this happens because when I clean the part, I have to get around and under these, and they simply pop out and pop back into holes. I assume they need these because of the way it's activated (pushing down). Unfortunately, the liquid does eventually seep down and I assume gets to the motor, eventually shorting it out.
I'm no expert. I don't have electrical experience. I don't even know if my assumptions are right. I just took out all the screws and took it apart to look at it and hopefully clean it out to make it work again because I like it that much. The results are great, they really are. But I could never recommend someone buying the Nutribullet based on my experience.
Roz,
Thanks you so much for sharing your experience! It's our shared knowledge as a community that makes us stronger. I'm so sorry you to hear about the poor customer service and the loss of function in your Nutribullet. Obviously, I love mine, and would be equally upset if it just stopped for seemingly no reason. Let us know if it gains it's use back "post op", I am curious if this is a common occurance or an anomaly? Sounds like it's research time! Thanks again for reaching out and sharing this with us!
Be Well,
Marie Crowe
Pure Vitality
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i gather ignoring molly's question is better than no answer at all for you. i disagree, in my mind if you ignore a question it tells me your answer would be disagreeable to what you are trying to accomplish, hence no reply. although i do believe you are genuine and trying to be helpful.
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charles
Hi Charles,
Thanks for pointing out that I did not reply to Molly's question! Somehow I missed it and now have posted a reply. I do not have personal experience with a Blendtec but I've heard it's very similar to a Vitamix. Have you tried one?
I wish to know if any of these machines can liquefy berry seeds? For ex the seeds found in blackberries?
Thanks in advance Mark
Hi Mark! Both the NutriBullet and Vitamix will blend up both blueberries and raspberries completely. Blackberries are the only ones that will have a few seeds that do not blend up completely.
Thank you for this post. I am a person who is looking to use more natural foods but do not have the budget for the Vitamix right now. Your review helped me.
Thank you for this demonstration. I will never replace this Vitamix with a Nutri Mix, but when I travel home to Minnesota or up to Canada to visit my son etc. I end up taking my vita-mix with me and from your demonstration, it tell me that I could bring something smaller that would work close enough that it woud make me happy. Thank you for demonstrating this for everyone.
Great idea, Susan. Yes, I think you will love how the NutriBullet works for traveling. Thanks for stopping by!
Hello there! Very nice blog post! Please keep all of us posted!
I haven't heard of the smaller nutri bullet, we just got our viatmix in the mail and we love it!
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Thanks and have a great weekend!
I've been using the NutriBullet for 17 days now and loving it! One thing about the Nutribullet is that it's great for fruits and vegetable consumptions that you otherwise don't get when chewing. It's small and compact solely for that reason , in my opinion. If your'e going to bake and make purees for your entree and desserts, VitaMix is the way to go – there is a reason why it's so expensive and widely used by professional and amateur chefs alike.
Do you think it will grind grains for flour?
Yes it does! We just tested it and it worked well. It did heat up the flour considerably, but aside from that, we think it is a great alternative to a Vitamix. See the post above for the update.
I love my blendtec! It is as powerful as the vitamix but I think easier to clean due to the shape of the container. It is also a little less expensive than the vitamix. I use mine 3-4 times a day sometimes. I considered the vitamix, but I'm happy with my blendtec. Do you know of the differences between the two?? Just wondered.
Hi Molly,
The BlendTec is very similar to the Vitamix and I am glad you are happy with it. I do not have direct experience with the Blendtec, but from everything I've seen about it, it looks like a quality high speed blender.