Ninja Foodi Power Blender & Processor System

The processor blends well but makes so much noise its use has to be limited. My Apple watch measures the noise at 102 decibels. This really means earplugs should be worn when using it. Sorry Ninja I like your stuff but come on it’s a blender not a jackhammer. I’ve included a picture so you can see the unit I’m referring to. Show details

Lack of spare part availability – The gear on the base unit which the blade mechanism locks into has worn out on ours. The blade gears are an easy to find replacement part. For some reason the gear on the base is not available as a spare even though this is just as likely to wear out. Shame because everything else works well after about 3 years but device is now useless. Show details

Best Blender I've Used – After taking out of the box and learning how to use it and how it goes together I notice how well built and easy the bits snap together are. Early days on reliability and usage as I don't use it everyday but the few times I've used it's been amazing. blends much smoother than our old blenders ever have. Biggest test for it was fresh tomatoes for… Read more

sauce, I cooked the tomatoes and mashed them without removing the skin because I'm lazy and then blitzed in the blender and the result was smooth puree just like passata except that it wasn't strained of skin and seeds. Previously a stick blender would have been used with poor result and would need straining, never tried other blenders but I doubt they would even come close.

Next test was a comparison test against my old main blender, I peeled 6 oranges and put 3 into each smoothie cup and blended on the smoothie setting. The Ninja completely blitzed it smooth like orange juice with pulp that I would happily drink. The older blender on the other hand needed help to get it blended and the end result was much lumpier and pulpier that I would not enjoy drinking without straining.

So far I haven't found any dislikes apart from the suction feet which work well but I worry that as the plastic ages and possibly goes brittle could break apart from the base of the machine. It is fairly noisy but it has lots of power and works well so I'm not complaining. The attachments are fairly easy to clean and are dishwasher safe which is even better but will hand wash more then machine wash, the blades are very sharp and not easiest to clean by hand even with brush. I still need to try the other attachments and different recipes to see how it goes. It has a dough blade which I probably won't use as I have a bench mixer for baking and dough making. But I do like that it doubles as a food processor and being more sealed I might prefer this for some recipes to our basic food processor just doesn't grate or slice but we wouldn't use that feature anyway.

I will update on reliability and further usage when I used it more but for know I'm very happy with it.

Works great, excellent value for money compared to the Optimum 9400 – I have been making smoothies for almost every day of the last 5 years and have tried a few of the major blenders on the market, my previous blender was a super heavy duty Optimum 9400. The Ninja Foodi Power Blender and Processor system is a pretty good little blender. It comes with the large 2L jug/pitcher, a smaller Power Nutri Cup and the Power… Read more

Nutri Smoothie Bowl, as well as a dough blade. Preparing the cup the night before and blending in the morning makes life easy. In less than a minute, I have my lunch for the day. The blender is simple to use and I really like the removable blades for washing - properly cleaning the Optimum jug with the fixed blade at the bottom was always a hassle. The main pitcher blade is stacked in three levels which I'm sure helps with the blending and means no tamper is required. The down side to the stacked blade is that it takes up a fair bit of room in the jug. This makes loading it more difficult as the blades stop the ingredients going down. There is an urge to push them down as you load it which increases the risk of cuts to your fingers. I tried loading the smaller ingredients first but this takes more time in cutting them into tiny pieces. Not all of the leafy greens have blended in the first go. I have had to push them back down and run the smoothie cycle again. However, I like the fact that it has variable speed control to change the speed and texture of every blend.

The biggest problem with the Optimum was cleaning it - it's not dishwasher safe and even if you ignore the instructions the jug is sooo tall it's really awkward or impossible to fit in some dishwashers. Fun fact: a replacement Optima jug and blade costs a good chunk of the entire Ninja blender (on sale ;-) ! The Ninja jug and other parts are dishwasher safe and though it has the same capacity - about 2L - it's more squat, which is much easier to chuck in the washer.

So far I've made various frozen fruit concoctions, dips and a margarita - all came out great.

One thing to note is the design of the jug/cup receptacle on the base: it's a neat design, it seems impossible (?) to attach the cups (inverted) unless the lid is properly on - so no chance of a huge mess if you are a bit slack on attaching the lid. However I did once not have the lid on the cup properly, and though I couldn't accidentally start the processor, in turning the cup upside down some of its contents leaked into the base unit's receptacle. It seems all very well sealed so no concerns re. getting to the innards, but it was a little annoying to clean. Lesson learned - make sure the lid's screwed down properly and you won't have any troubles.

Compared to the Optimum, the Ninja has a smaller motor but frankly has no problem blending through the same things we used the Optimum for. The Ninja has more convenience features (press the button and let 'er rip), and more functionality with the cups. It's also easier to clean. If the Ninja lasts the distance, we'll be very happy!

My smoothies have been blended very well and I look forward to using the Nina Foodie for years to come.

Ninja Foodi Power Blender- The Ninja you want in your Kitchen – I always enjoy the drama of unboxing new appliances, I always have apple products in my mind as a benchmark. The Ninja Foodi had a lot of recyclable bags and compressed cardboard packaging which is good and was packed in a way the processor blades were out of reach. In the box is a recipe book with 15 recipes for your new Foodi processor and a QR… Read more

code to get access to loads more recipes on their website. A dough blade (plastic) for pizza dough, cookies, biscuits and cakes. A stacked blade (very Sharp) for your chopping for salads, meat dishes and egg dishes. A smoothie bowl that’s the smaller of the two plastic bowls 400ml, but has a top that you can twist (tamper Ninja call it) to help the blade get in contact with the food, which is very ingenious, as this is a huge problem with my KitchenAid machine. I did a fruit smoothie with peanut butter and cacao which normally I have to unblock the blade but this machine had no problems. The larger of the two bowls 700ml they call power Nutri Cup takes the same small blade set as the Smoothie bowl, but there it no built in tamper to unblock the blades which is great for fruit smoothies and protein drinks, also a lid with a pouring spout so you can pop it in the fridge. The main 1.2lt bowl (ninja call it a Pitcher) is well built, great for preparing meat, vegetables and blending frozen ingredients with the stacked blade, with the dough blade you can prepare dough’s and biscuits/cakes. The factory blurb is- The Ninja® Foodi® Power Blender & Processor System with Power Smoothie Bowl Maker and Power Nutri Blender has Variable Speed Control with smart TORQUE™ to power through at any speed and never stall. Yes with its amazingly powerful 1200W you can see it trying to twist on is rubber suction cup feet while I was preparing Pizza dough. Very easy to follow instructions, I love the dial on auto setting (IQ Mode) select either Extract, Smoothie, Bowl, Chop or Dough then press the start button. There is also a manual mode with 10 speeds or a Pulse mode, if you want to feel more in control. What I loved was-the soft rubber edges on the lids making them very easy to open and none slip, the suction cups on the motor base were amazing and kept the machine in place during operation, the ingenious 1.2lt bowl lid and locking mechanism was so easy to use and I loved the pouring spout, also extremely easy to clean with the provided brush.

What I didn’t like- the suction cups I know I said I liked them above, but my appliance cupboard is inside a roll down and the inside is a polished stone top, very hard to get it back out again. The 400ml smoothie bowl construction does not allow a silicon spatula to be used to clean it out efficiently the inside surface is ribbed. Conclusion-Great machine, cleaver construction and very powerful, eco packaging, BPA free, made chopping and blending very easy and the best part- very easy to clean, a great addition to our appliances without breaking the bank.

Luxury? No, it's essential - it was love at first use – This is a solid state, multi-tasking tool - in fact, you’ll wonder how you ever did without it. Packing to ship is compact, safe, simple to open and all components are easily re-used or recycled (no polystyrene at all). While a bit overwhelmed initially by the amount of reading required to re-orient myself away from other ‘blenders’, it all… Read more

was laid out clearly and concisely with illustrations where it helps. Full instructions are provided. There is a whole family of Ninjas including some designed for hot foods (which this is not) and ones with dual operation (which this is not) but this is a powerful tool for me to use in making a heap of whizzed up and mixed foods in one go.

I initially made a very fast batch of lemon frosted banana mango cupcakes from scratch, using the same bowl. The instructions are clear. I would advise just speed reading everything then attacking a simple recipe first, applying your new knowledge. I had a brain freeze figuring out the sequence at first, but quickly it all made sense and the instructions plus the enclosed recipe booklet are extremely clear and helpful.

Next day I made some salmon/dill dip in the Power Smoothie Bowl. So easy that I made two batches, one which was super smooth and whipped up to a light consistency that my food processor never could achieve. Then I decided to make a second batch, this time with chunks of salmon and dill sprigs stirred through and stored in the same container. That’s the week’s snack food sorted!

You want more food options? In the box there is a label with a QR code linking to a massive recipe trove, all tested so you can just follow the instructions with confidence.

Next project was a fruit smoothie. I made this in the pitcher with the multi blade using mango yoghurt, frozen pineapple, berries and mango chunks. Super easy, beautiful consistency and 100% delicious. In summer I will switch out the yoghurt for Cointreau, tequila, lime juice with ice. When we lived in Mexico we froze lime juice when we had a glut which made the process cheap and easy. The pitcher is the perfect size for an entertainer sized batch of margaritas made from scratch. The crusher chopper blade (Stacked Blade Assembly - D in the instruction book) makes short work of perfect blending. The design is elegantly modern, the digital control is clear and easily readable, smooth to operate and not at all fiddly. Pretty enough to leave on the bench. The bowls lock on firmly and the machine will not operate if they are not secured so there’s no damage of drinks exploding.

I prepped veggies and protein for soups when lukewarm or cold. Fast and even results.

Negatives? It is a bit noisy to operate in some cycles (eg. ‘Spreads’ ) but there’s a heap of power behind that process and the result is faster than anything I have seen in operation. The Smoothie bowl is an awesome tool and will get lots of use in our household.

Clean-up is easy-peasy – the Power Smoothie bowl and its blade can be easily cleaned using warm water and a couple of drops of dishwashing liquid, whizzing it for a few seconds on the machine then rinsing. My cupcakes AND frosting took only a few minutes to make from scratch because I used the same bowl cleaning in between. I haven't used the 700ml cup yet but it is a great design made to fit in the fridge door shelves easily or in a vehicle cup holder.

The cleaning brush is innovative and easy to use. Or you can just put everything in the dishwasher (containers, lids, blades).

Remove the power cord from the motor base, then wipe down with a damp cloth after use to keep it like new. The materials used are BPA free.

Bottom line is that I really love it as it replaces a few other things in my kitchen cupboards and my cooking productivity has increased. [The only wish-list modification item is that I would like Ninja one day to add a tiny spice grinder to this machine using the same base as the Smoothie Bowl.]