ottawa foodies

My wife got me one of these for Christmas, and fortunately it is from Costco so it will be easy to return if I want to.

We've got a strict "appliance-verbot" in our tiny house which is in part why I'm more than a bit surprised that she got me this.

Is this thing in any way, shape or form better than the blender I already have?

If not, I'm just going to return it. If so, I'll consider retiring the blender.

The only obvious advantage I see is that it takes up less space. Well, except for the fact that she got me the "deluxe" package which has a crapload of stuff included.

Zym.
its great for making just enough for one serving. I use mine for my protien shake in the mornings and it come with a screw top for the mugs so I can take it with me when I am in a hurray. As you have a family it might not be worth keeping it.

It's totally awesome. I use one for a couple of years. It's small, yet powerful enought to crush ice and frozen fruit. It's super easy to wash. I hated washing my full size blender, because it's big and awkward in the sink. I think it's my fav appliance and I have too many :$

I have seen stripped-down versions of the MB in a couple places

I believe a larger Cdn Tire (for awhile they were out of stock)
& "As Seen on TV" Store at Place D'Orleans (a different make).

The stripped-down one was basically the machine - no extraneous stuff.
If I got one that's what I'd get.

One of my co-workers bought one a year ago.

She really enjoys it for things like beverages/smoothies/alcoholic drinks, and says it makes good salsa.

However, she was rather unhappy with it when she tried using it for any of the recipes that called for cheese.

I guess it all depends on what you plan on using it for.

I returned it already - thanks for all the input.

Looking for a good food processor now - they did not have one in stock when I was at Costco returning this.

On the food processor front, there's a constant Kitchenaid vs. Cuisinart arms race that takes place. I believe that Cuisinart is ahead right now, but don't take my word for it.

I've heard that, similar to mixers, it's worth the extra money to get the ones with higher-wattage motors. So it's probably worth checking restaurant supply stores, rather than Costco, to see what they have. My understanding is that the Costcos, Bays, and Searses [sic] of the world get the lower-end models, whereas the restaurant supply stores get the beefier ones.

My girlfriend got a magic bullet for x-mas from her parents, I tried making smoked salmon pâté using the magic bullet. I ended up dirtying the food processor as well because the MB was just not cutting it (literaly)... hah.

We have a Kitchenaid food processor and I can only give it props.

I got one for Christmas as well. It was a bit WTF because I had asked for a food processor and wasn't expecting a Magic Bullet. It's wonderful for making my morning (and afternoon, and evening) smoothies, but not too much else because of its super tiny size.

I use mine for many things - mostly smoothies but I use it a lot for making grated parmesan out of a fresh block and you just add the shaker top for your pasta.

It is also awesome for making whipped cream. You use the flat blade, pour in the carton of whipped cream and in seconds the cream is whipped. You can "hear" when it is whipped because the sound changes.

Love it for my Irish coffee on a cold Sat/Sun morning or to add to the top of pie/dessert etc...

BTW, I've been made aware of the fact that there is another popular product with the name "magic bullet" - but going into further detail is definitely off topic for this site :-)

I have had one ever since it came out on the market about I guess 3 years now...I have to say that it has it's limitations and I prefer using my new kitchenaid blender which has a much better capacity and a higher wattage motor which I got for $49.00 on sale from $109.00 I think, at Walmart. I just find it has it's limitations. For a small kitchen with minimal storage or counter space for gadgetry, it works for most uses. Great for the cottage as well...

I use mine quite frequently (almost everyday) and when I bought it I was able to retire my blender, food processor, and coffee grinder! I too have a small kitchen so space is definitly at a premium.

I hear ya on the small-kitchen front - but you'll have to drag my burr grinder out of my cold, dead hands!