In my mind there are two categories of blenders to choose from: pro or economical. The pro blenders will allow you to grind up virtually anything you’d like to drink…including iPads or golf balls…

The economical will unfortunately regulate you to softer fruits and veggies.

Professional Blenders

Cash flow permitting, this category consists of two amazing blenders: Vitamix and BlendTec. I have tried both over the years and honestly, the differences are negligible. They both rock.

Vitamix ($399) - The “original” pro blender.

BlendTec ($399) - This blender looks cool. It’s super powerful. It’s popular and has more friends than you on social networking sites such as YouTube and Twitter.

I use a BlendTec simply because I think it looks better and they’ve persuaded me with their killer YouTube marketing campaign.

Economical Blenders

You have to start somewhere, right? Many of us can’t initially justify spending so much money on one of the pro models until we wrestle with trying to get a cheaper model to do our bidding. I know, I tried for years.

Oster ($59) – Looks nice and it’s rated the best in the sub $100 category.

I’ve tried many blenders over the years for my green smoothie needs and these 3 are not only my top blender choices but are widely recognized as the best among a variety of sources.

What blender do you use for your green drinks?

The Tools: Blender or Juicer?

If finances allow, I would buy both. For instance, even if you have a top of the line blender, carrots are just better off being juiced. And sometimes you just want a nice refreshing glass of apple juice without all the smoothie-ness. Plus, variety is the spice of life.

Which Blender?

If a Blendtec or Vitamix is out of your budget ($400) I recommend:

• Oster Classic Beehive Blender ($59)

This is the best in the sub $100 blender category — I used an Oster for years and it worked just fine.

Which Juicer?

The higher end Omega, Champion and Breville are all very nice, however they cost around $300. For everyday fruit and vegetable juicing at a very reasonable price I recommend:

• Breville 700-Watt Compact Juice Fountain ($89)

Looks nice, works great and easy to clean.

Benefits of Juicing (no pulp)

1. Quick nutrition. The nutrients in freshly squeezed/pressed juice enter your bloodstream almost immediately after consumption since there is no fiber for your digestive organs to deal with.
2. Easy digestion. Because of the lack of fiber the digestive organs do very little work. This is ideal for people with shifty digestive tracts and is great for those looking to cleanse and heal.
3. Energy! Because of the quick nutrition absorption your body is instantly replenished and revitalized.
4. No bloating. After chugging a tall glass of juice you still feel light and it will not ruin your appetite. You’ll still be hungry 30 minutes later.
5. Variety. You can not blend everything. Ever try blending a carrot? It is rough.

Benefits of Blending (smoothies and shakes)

1. Harder to overdose on fruit sugar. It is really easy to juice 10 carrots, 3 apples, 3 oranges and drink it all down, multiple times a day. That is a lot of fructose and it can seriously increase your blood sugar and insulin levels, which can increase your risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Not to mention getting you all tweaked out on sugar. Blending fruits and sweet vegetables retains the naturally occurring fiber in these plants which will help regulate the speed at which the natural sugars enter your blood stream.
2. Fiber, fiber, FIBER! Blending fruits and vegetables retains the fiber which acts like a broom to your digestive system. It cleans us out and keeps us regular.
3. Complete meal. Since the smoothie is packed full of fiber and nutrients (add an avocado or coconut for some good fats), you can have a glass or two as a meal and be completely satisfied for 2-3 hours.
4. Easy to clean. Cleaning a blender is loads faster than cleaning a juicer and you do not have to feel bad about tossing the pulp or feel obligated to make a loaf of carrot zucchini bread. Although that would be tasty.
5. Add goodies. Adding flax seed to a glass of juice just ruins the whole juicy-ness you got going on. But with a blended smoothie you can add all kinds of great stuff: nuts, seeds, protein powder, snickers…

So Which is Healthier?

They are basically the same. It all comes down to personal preference, what finances will allow, your particular bodily requirements, and what you want your crap to look like.