Hamilton Beach Portable Blender for Shakes and Smoothies with 14 Oz BPA Free Travel Cup and Lid, Durable Stainless Steel Blades for Powerful Blending Performance, Raspberry (51131)

I LOVE THIS THING! Perfect for mixing up protein powder drinks, ice coffees, or whatever "floats your boat"! I love the fact that the top portion can fits right into my vehicle cup holder. Easy to use and easy to clean. The lid fits VERY tight, so use caution when removing or it's easy to spill. This is a great project at a nice price I wish I had bought sooner!!!

This is the second one I bought and the first one is because somebody at my job stole it that's how good it was it's so easy to clean it's so adorable it's so strong it can crush ice and the best thing is that you can take it on the go it's perfect for smoothies breakfast smoothies the crotch is not ailments frozen strawberries it can handle a lot it can handle dropping it tossing it throwing it on the floor accidentally like it's very durable

Why not try a $20.00 blender? After all, in this day and age a chuck roast, a few gallons of gas, a pair of leggings, a dog toy each cost $20.00. So, the answer is the same as the question...why not! 'Buy-It-Now" button, here I come!! Hamilton Beach has been around since 1910 pioneering the mid-price, small appliance industry, and their appliances have served me well for almost 50 years. The blender arrived the same day as it was ordered dictating that the art of smoothie making was about to begin! As always, I read the included instructions; the safety tips/warnings are quite detailed. First I crushed some ice in a vintage ice crusher as I was uncertain if the little miss could handle ice; however, the stats assure that it does. Next I added sweetened (with Splenda) sliced strawberries, chunks of water melon, unsweetened non-fat greek yogurt, and bits of the crushed ice. I pushed the button and away she went...whirring and swirling until a pink, frothy mixture began to emerge. It only took a few minutes before it was ready to taste. Delicious it was! But quickly it became just a liquid drink not a thick, luscious smoothie. I did learn to be sure to close the slide for the drinking spout; yep, some found its way to the outside world. Cleaning the blender was easy; I washed the two pieces by hand. and wiped off the motor. The next morning I considered myself a bit wiser and started off with pouring about 1/4 C milk into the blender cup then added chunks of one frozen banana, a handful of sweetened frozen strawberries, 1 scoop of protein powder, and about 3/4 of the yogurt again (this time sweetened with Splenda); no ice this time. I pressed the button, and she roared into action. With this smoothie I had to take the lid off several times and using a table knife, mix the contents. Soon a very thick, pink concoction took form. I poured it into an insulated cup and ate it with a spoon. It was a delicious, creamy, dense concoction. I had indeed made my very first real smoothie! Success thanks to this little Hamilton Beach blender.This handy-dandy little blender is quite petite weighing 2 pounds and only modestly powerful at 175 watts. The cup/bowl portion is a clear hard plastic with a raspberry colored (green and blue were the other color choices) lid and motor section. The lid does not snap or twist on. There is one on/off button that must be held down for the motor to turn on; there is only one speed. The blade does not remove, is 4 pronged, and is small. One nice little extra is a groove around the base of the motor for the cord to be wound and tucked out of sight and safely away. I don't think I will use this long term, but will pass it on to some little friends who with their parents, will have great fun making smoothies. However, my experience was very positive and I have no reservations recommending it.Top 3 Likes:-Petite, efficient, compact-Personal, portable unit-Produces excellent smoothies with good recipeTop 3 Dislikes-Unable to securely seal the lid on top of the cup-Limited versatility-Not conducive to traveling i.e. in a backpack, car, etc.

Was very cute hard to clean though

Blends well, competitive price.

I think this might be great for blending straight up liquids, or maybe liquid and a dusting of flavored powder. I purchased it for my Daily Harvest smoothies - essentially frozen fruits and vegetables that I blend with milk or water. Even if I completely thawed the frozen product out (ew), I'm not sure this blender could handle it. Which is fine, as long as you know what you're getting into.In my case, the blender would immediately whir to a frenzied rotation, rejecting anything but liquid and relegating the other items to the top - out of reach of those sinister blades. Aside from the fact that my frozen items were not getting blended, I think the must troubling aspect here was the absolutely frightful sound of a small kitchen appliance out of control - the stuff of nightmares. The aggressive, high-pitched whir was not only incredibly loud and piercing, but seemed disturbed, or vengeful - as if indicating its anger that I'd asked it to blend something including frozen fruit. Almost like it didn't want to work, or was on break, or wanted overtime pay which would be...what? It was a ransom I couldn't satisfy.Every second or so - and by "or so" I mean less than a second - I'd have to stop the whole operation, smush the frozen items down toward the blades with the handle part of a wooden spoon, then start again - for one second.Now, I like to think of myself as a helper — a collaborator, if you will. I'm happy to pitch in and, frankly, flattered just to be included in the process. But this dance was increasing the task's time to about 90 minutes, and I was very late to work on all the days. I'm still trying to streamline things and to be a good helper because the blender is cute (I have the pink to match the eventual smoothies) and practical (the blender cup itself is also a to-go cup with a handy little click-open, secure top that includes the perfect sized opening for sipping! And it almost - almost! - fits in my car's cup holder!).Now, while this plaintive whir is waking my whole neighborhood, I can be confident that I'll know the precise moment when the smoothie is ready thanks to a secret feature unmentioned anywhere in the item's description or instructions (or warnings). It's subtle, and relies not on visual or audible clues. Instead, it uses your senses of smell and touch to indicate smoothie readiness: the unmistakable, acrid fragrance of burning plastic and the searing heat felt when holding the motorized part of the blender down (holding for dear life, I might add, to prevent a reenactment of "Attack of the Mediocre Blender" - the old-timey black-and-white film favorite I'm sure you've all seen). And I've misspoken, because there is an accompanying visual clue: a growing band of white smoke emanating from the little vents (yes, vents for this warning smoke are built in and free with purchase!) and rapidly approaching smoke alarm activation level. Such fun features that innovate by relying on new senses for you to detect that the blending is complete and you don't go a second past the 90-minute blending time, allowing you to enjoy your long-awaited smoothie. Which by now, is warm and has a smoky flavor that does a great job of masking the kale they try to sneak into these smoothies to make them "healthier." No flies on me - I now have a warm, smoky smoothie that tastes as healthy as a cigarette butt! So there, kale!I write this in good fun. You get what you pay for: an adorable blender for liquid and powder (and nothing more) engineered to act as it's own travel mug. Avoid frozen items and ice and you'll love this little gem! ;)