Blendtec: A 99% Rationale

I love gadgets and my kitchen is full of them: mini-food processor, mini-crockpot, Cuisinart, Kitchen Aid, deep fat fryer, slow cooker… You get the picture, but one item I’ve always lacked was a blender…until recently. I splurged and went with a Blendtec Total Blender, $400 worth of blending goodness. Yes, $400. I get that this is a ridiculous amount of money to spend on a blender when there are tons of cheaper blenders out there, and I’m sure something as simple as a Magic Bullet would suffice for smoothies.

Here’s my justification. I’ve been on a smoothie kick of late but the only place I can find one close to my office is at Whole Foods. They charge $7.50 a drink which I think is a little absurd for some blended frozen fruit and ice. A couple of bags of frozen fruit — enough for five smoothies — is $12, plus a carton of coconut water is $3.95. Instead of spending $37.50 on smoothies a week I’m now spending $15. A weekly saving of $21.50. In 19 weeks I’m going to be even. In 20 weeks that $400 Blendtec will start saving me money.

The BF thinks my rational is ridiculous. He thinks the idea of spending $7.50 on a smoothie to begin with is too much. I’m sure he’s not alone in thinking that. But he’s wrong. In addition to saving money, it’s pretty to look at and I will make many other things in the blender, not just smoothies — margaritas for instance.

Who’s right? Leave your thoughts in the comments, and enjoy a recipe for my smoothie du jour.

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Attack of the Meme: Hipster Ariel on Food and Drink

Fuck being a doctor, president or a flying My Little Pony. All I wanted to be when I grew up was Ariel, the mermaid. Turns out, it would have been a rad choice – Ariel is now a Chuck hi-top wearing, PBR drinking, music snob hipster. And being a hipster, she clearly owns some outlandish ideas on culinary appropriateness. Here”s the best of Hipster Ariel, from casino Fuck Yeah Hipster Ariel, on food and drink.

5. Not Something to Brag About


(Photo: teenage lobotomy)

4. Utensils Are Too Conventional


(Photo: Fuck Yeah Hipster Ariel)

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The Evolution of the Reusable Tote

whole foods six pack beer bag

It’s comparing presents time. 80P and I just got back from our long winter break, bringing back to the apartment new jackets (him), cardigans (me, although I really wish he would cave to that trend!) Converse sneakers (him), over-the-knee boots (me), and for both of us, a  Blu-Ray player (thanks 80P’s parents!)

As we took a couple hours to put everything away, I noticed a most adorable Whole Foods reusable tote bag. 80P’s mom filled it with gifts of sake. But it was no ordinary tote – there are interior dividers, morphing the bag into a reusable 6-pack container.

In fact, could there be more totes going on right now? DC charges per use of plastic bag (and gives the proceeds to the Anacostia River Protection Fund) so you will see plenty of shoppers lugging totes around to not only the farmers’ markets, but to grocery stores as well. But I’ve yet to see a clever upgrade of the tote. And as the girlfriend of a boy that is always bring a mixed-beer pack to friends’ houses, I’m excited by this development.

And while claims exist about reusable totes’ unsanitary qualities, this must be better for our lives than all that darn plastic.