By Scott Kramer
One of the things you learn quickly as a tech writer is that many products don’t work as advertised. A lot of them come to market much quicker than they should, and consequently have shortcomings. Sure they may do what they’re touted to — but they also have glaring bugs in them because they were rushed to market. So it’s especially nice to review the occasional product that just seems to work properly right out of the box — exactly the way it’s advertised.
Such is the case with the NutriBullet Balance ($180), a smart blender that connects to an iOS or Android smartphone via Bluetooth. I have to admit: I owned a Magic Bullet blender in the past, and liked that it was more convenient to use and clean than our Vitamix industrial-strength blender. Yet its 250-watt motor was much weaker. Thus, its smoothies weren’t that smooth. Some turned out chunky, in fact. Problem solved with the NutriBullet Balance, which boasts 1200 watts of pure power.
I pulled my test unit out of the box, downloaded the companion app to my phone, and then was wowed: Seriously within one second of plugging in the machine while the app was on, it announced that the machine was connected. Usually, Bluetooth connections take anywhere between 30 seconds and a minute — and sometimes on the second or third try. This was instantaneous.
You can make smoothies on this machine the old-fashioned way, by filling one of the two included 32-ounce cups with ingredients and then blending. But why? This will make a perfect drink for you, if you just follow the recipes on the app. I immediately selected an almond butter and jelly smoothie. Here’s where the unit shines. It asks me to put the empty cup on top of the base unit, where it registers. Next, I add ingredients by the exact amount — don’t worry, the machine automatically keeps track by weight, and shows you in real-time a virtual image of your cup being filled. It even verbally warns you when you just need a tiny amount of an ingredient. And then I start blending. In fact, the app will shut off the machine on its own, when the drink is ready. My smoothie was flawless — truly better than I usually get at the likes of Jamba Juice.
But the machine also displays the nutritional value — fat, calories, sugar, protein, fiber, etc. — of each drink. And if I don’t want to consume the entire thing, or if I want to split it, it tells me the nutritional value of just the portion I am having. Plus it keeps a running tab on my profile dashboard.
My wife is really into making us eat healthy. I blended her some kale, spinach, berries, milk and almond butter one morning at 8am. Again, everything was perfectly liquified. She told me at noon after her workout that she wasn’t even hungry yet — the smoothie kept her full for four hours. And yet her blend included far fewer calories than she would normally have had in that time.
The NutriBullet Balance will also blend soup — I’m going for its creamy tomato basil recipe next. Can’t wait to see how it tastes. Like I said up top, it truly works as billed. It’s fast, thorough, easy to traverse, and well thought-out. The manufacturer calls it “the world’s first fully integrated nutrient extractor” in its marketing material. I can see it as a transformational device — one that may actually change my daily routine for the better, helping me more closely stay to my nutritional goals.
Scott Kramer is veteran, Southern California-based writer primarily versed in golf and personal technology. Studying Computer Sciences in college, and then working as a programmer/software engineer for about a decade, triggered my passion for today’s high-end, high-tech gadgets. I can’t help myself whenever I see any kind of cool new personal technology. I feel compelled to further check it out and see what it’s all about. And even if I have no use for it personally, I’m always thinking who it might best suit. There are exciting new innovations emerging daily that are shaping the future and simplifying life. And I hope to be your eyes to that world, through the words of this column.